The United Nations-led Copenhagen climate change summit began with what the New York Times today called "an impassioned airing of what leaders here called the political and moral imperatives at hand." U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said the "clock has ticked down to zero. After two years of negotiation, the time has come to deliver." The summit is scheduled to run through Dec. 18.
Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said: "At this particular moment, the bids on the table are too low, and we still expect the parties to deliver more," Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Associated Press quoted Conference president Connie Hedegaard, Denmark's former climate minister, as saying: "This is our chance. If we miss it, it could take years before we got a new and better one. If we ever do."
The Los Angles Times noted banners declaring the host city as "Hopenhagen." Grenadian diplomat Dessima Williams, who spoke on behalf of island nations, said: "If a legally binding outcome is not achieved, we do not accept [that] a political agreement will be adequate, and we will have to consider our options."
- Related stories also appeared in New York Times and Dow Jones Newswires.
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