Tough climate deal mooted amid crisis
China Daily | Updated: 2008-12-02 07:50
UN climate talks opened in Poland yesterday with pleas for urgent action to fight global warming despite the economic slowdown, and a warning that inaction could mean water shortages for half the world by 2050.
US President-elect Barack Obama also won praise at the opening ceremony of the talks among 10,600 delegates from 186 nations for setting "ambitious" goals for fighting climate change.
"Our work on the natural environment should be timeless ... irrespective of the economic situation," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said amid worries that the financial crunch is distracting from a drive to agree a new UN climate treaty.
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