The UN climate summit in Copenhagen closed with a face-saving deal, but everyone is going home disappointed.
After a tumultuous day of negotiations, leaders in Copenhagen reached a climate deal late Friday. The agreement falls short of many negotiators' expectations and hopes, but it salvages the conference and lays the foundation for a binding treaty somewhere down the line.
Thirty years ago today, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the General Assembly. Susan Rice has a nice statement marking the occasion. It's about time the United States gets on board and ratifies the treaty, eh?
Sector-wide the most under resourced aspect of communicating in emergencies is the communications with those affected by the emergency. All too often the onus is on getting communications materials out to the Head Office or to the international media -- overlooking those at the heart of the emergency.
Information is a right, and it is a deliverable. It bestows power -- power to take control of a situation that is by definition out of your control.
From John Anthony Energy and Climate Communications Director, UN Foundation, writing from Copenhagen
UN climate negotiations have reached a critical juncture after 10 days of often fractious deliberations.
Q&A with Diane Coyle, co-author of the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation report New Technologies in Emergencies and Conflicts.
What key advantages does use of social media and new technologies bring in disasters?
I'm sure Lindsay, Aaron or Abhishek will have more on this later, but I wanted to flag Secretary Clinton's big announcement that the United States will help set up a $100 billion fund to help poor countries adapt to the consequences of climate change and help developing countries grow in non-carbon intensive ways. This has always been an important part of the international diplomatic puzzle.
Tempers flared in Copenhagen today as protesters were beaten back by police outside the Bella Center, where the international climate talks were taking place. The police used tear gas to subdue the protests, and they arrested around 250 people.