Living Planet: Environment Matters Around the Globe

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DATE : Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:30:00 GMT
Entered in Database : 2009-12-24 16:30:00
length : 14578905
Link to the Show / Show Notes

On this edition of Living Planet, a look-back at the Copenhagen summit amid disappointment over its outcome, an analysis of the drawbacks of the European Emissions Trading Scheme, and Australia faces a thousand-year drought!
Widespread disappointment over outcome of climate talks

Living Planet takes a look-back at the Copenhagen summit, for which tens of thousands of climate activists and delegates from 193 countries had gathered in the Danish capital for almost two weeks.

A treaty to combat global warming failed to emerge out of the marathon Copenhagen conference which ended last weekend. That’s despite the presence of over a hundred world leaders in the summit’s final days. What emerged was a weak political accord which has been widely condemned by African countries and small island states in particular.

Given the extent of interest in the event and the apparent determination to come up with a new and strong global treaty on climate change ahead of the talks in Copenhagen, a lot of people around the world are wondering why the summit in the Danish capital settled for a non-binding and weak political accord.

Report: Nathan Witkop

There were already concerns over flaws in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS, the largest such scheme in the world, even prior to the climate summit. But the so-called Copenhagen Accord has cast even more uncertainty on the post-2012 future of carbon offset trading schemes under the Kyoto Protocol.

There’s widespread disappointment at the outcome of the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The European Union said the accord was not ambitious enough to persuade the bloc to raise its carbon cutting target to a 30 percent cut by 2020 versus 1990 levels, from a 20 percent cut.

Traders and analysts had forecast that a weak deal in Copenhagen would make carbon prices fall. They were proved right when prices in the European market dipped to a six-month low at the start of the week.

Living Planet takes a look at the overall shortcomings in the ETS as well as the carbon market’s latest woes.

Report: Ellice Mol

Experts are warning that one of Australia's most vital fresh water sources is drying up.

The Murray-Darling river system is one of the most important in Australia, with the Murray-Darling Basin producing about one third of the country’s food supply.

There was a time when some 24 trillion liters of water flowed through the various rivers and estuaries in the system every year. These days, however, by the time the water reaches the mouth the stream is often down to just a trickle.

For decades, the water was used without much thought about the consequences, and climate change is now exacerbating the problem. Experts are warning that Australians could be facing a thousand-year drought.

Report: Esther Blank / Sam Edmonds

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