RTNews & BBC News – 2015-11-30 01:33:16
https://www.rt.com/news/323877-paris-climate-protest-tear/
200+ Detained, Tear Gas & Scuffles at
Banned Global March for Climate in Paris)
RT News
PARIS (November 29, 2015) — Crowds gathered in the French capital on Sunday to attend a global march for the climate, despite the ban on gatherings enforced by French authorities. When one of the groups charged a police cordon, tear gas was deployed to push them back.
“Huge amounts” of tear gas were fired at protesters near Place de la Republique in central Paris, according to witnesses’ reports on Twitter, with objects flying in the direction of security forces.
The march, which was set to take place in dozens of cities around the world, was restricted in the French capital falling under the ban on gatherings introduced after the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris.
La Republique metro station, closest to the scene, has been closed by authorities, citing security measures.
The riot police repeatedly attempted to push back the activists, spraying the crowds with tear gas. Ahead of the summit, 24 green activists were put under house arrest, with police saying they were suspected of planning violent protests, according to Reuters.
Over 200 people were arrested in the scuffles, AFP reported citing officials. The detained protesters were found to have been in possession of projectiles and other suspicious objects, AP cited Paris police chief Michel Cadot as saying. About 200 to 300 people who violated the official protests ban during the state of emergency have been identified by police, Cadot added.
While it was initially expected that some 400,000 people would gather in Paris ahead of UN climate change talks taking place at Le Bourget outside the capital, hundreds of activists took to the streets despite the emergency measures.
Protesters first formed a human chain, and then around 200 activists, some wearing masks, clashed with police on a street leading to the square, Reuters reported.
Earlier in the day, people opted for more peaceful ways to be heard by politicians at the climate talks. While some were holding hands standing on sidewalks in central Paris, some activists brought their shoes to the Place de la Republique and hundreds of pairs appeared at the square.
The important environmental meeting in Paris, known as COP21, will be attended by nearly 150 world leaders and about 22,000 other officials. During the two-week event, participants, including the world’s top three carbon-emitting countries (US, China and India), will attempt to reach a global deal on cutting carbon emissions to limit climate change and keep average global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius.
State leaders have expressed hope for progress, after most countries submitted pledges and measures to reduce their own CO2 emissions. But the UN, which seeks to impose top-down targets, has opposed the voluntary moves.
COP21: Poor Countries Fear Being
‘Left Behind’ in Rush for Deal
Matt McGrath Environment correspondent / BBC News, Paris
PARIS (November 29, 2015) — A critical UN conference aimed at agreeing a new global approach to climate change is set to open in Paris. Negotiators from 195 countries will try to reach a deal within two weeks. Leaders from 147 nations will address the meeting, known as COP21, on Monday.
But the world’s poorest countries say they fear being “left behind” in the push for a new treaty.
The French government will officially take over the running of the talks during Monday’s opening ceremony. Police have locked down the conference centre in Le Bourget, closing roads amid strict security for the leaders’ visit.
Presidents and prime ministers will address the gathering amid a growing sense of optimism that an agreement can be secured.
“It will be the turning point, which is what the world requires,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the weekend. Mr Fabius will chair the conference until it reaches a conclusion.
UN Climate Conference 30 Nov – 11 Dec 2015
COP 21 – the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties – will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities.
Boost for Clean Energy
The leaders, who will only stay at the meeting for one day, are likely to make a number of significant announcements to step up the fight against rising temperatures.
Details emerged on Monday of new plans designed to boost investment in clean technology. France and India will announce a global alliance that aims to bring together 100 solar-rich countries in tropical regions to rapidly expand the availability of electricity from the Sun.
An initiative involving at least 19 governments and private individuals including Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will see up to $20bn (£13bn) of public and private funds poured into the development of low cost, clean energy projects, every year from 2020.
Mr Gates is expected to put up $1bn of his own money while governments including the US, China, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil and the UK are expected to promise to double their spending on low carbon technology over the next five years. The US is expected to increase its spending on clean technology research to $10bn per year.
The private finance is said to be contingent on the public funds becoming available.
Meanwhile a number of European nations, working with the World Bank, announced a $500m fund designed to help developing countries cut their carbon emissions. Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland are backing what’s termed the Transformative Carbon Asset Facility.
This will measure and pay for emission cuts in areas like renewable energy, transport, energy efficiency, solid waste management, and low carbon cities. According to the World Bank it could make payments for carbon cuts to countries that remove fossil fuel subsidies.
‘Catastrophic’ Temperature Rise
But among the warm words and good intentions, there are growing concerns among the very poorest countries that their interests might be sacrificed in the clamour for compromise.
Most of the discussions here will revolve around a new deal that would limit global warming to 2C.
Assessments of the more than 180 national plans that have been submitted by countries suggest that if they were implemented the world would see a rise of nearer to 3C.
However, the 48 members of the least developed countries (LDC) group at these talks say that for them, anything more than 1.5 degrees would be catastrophic.
“For the LDCs, economic development, regional food security, ecosystems, and the very survival of their populations and livelihoods are at risk if talks aim only for a 2C world,” said Giza Gaspar Martins from Angola.
“The heads of state will be in Paris to set the tone for the negotiations. We renew our call for an ambitious, robust and binding climate deal that does not leave behind the most vulnerable among us.”
While the arrival of the leaders will give a significant boost to the conference, the practical difficulties of securing a deal have not gone away.
‘Differentiation’ Issue
At present the negotiating text runs to more than 50 dense pages, filled with brackets, indicating disagreement.
Teams of negotiators began the work on Sunday conscious of the fact that so many issues remain unresolved.
The hope is that, by the end of this week, a new draft agreement will be ready for environment ministers to haggle over during the second half of the conference.
One of the biggest disagreements is said to be over what is termed “differentiation”.
The US and other wealthy countries object to the fact that in these negotiations, a country is determined to be developed or developing based on its wealth when this body was formed back in 1992.
They argue that any new deal must accurately reflect the current position, meaning that a larger number of countries would have to share the burden of cutting carbon.
COP21 live: The latest updates from Paris
In video: Why does the Paris conference matter?
BBC News special report (or follow “UN Climate Change Conference” tag in the BBC News app)
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