Yes, the international scene is very discouraging -- the nation-state 
seems to be an impediment to action. The only (faintly) hopeful sign I 
have seen recently is the Cochabamba conference 
http://pwccc.wordpress.com/. Perhaps the world's indigenous peoples can 
show us the way to an alternative world.

John

Chris Keene wrote:
> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hqI3wKPaGKW8M_EyY25KvXg1yGIQ
>
> Is there any hope that such multilateral consensus talks can save us 
> from global warming? If not, is there anything else that can?
>
> Chris
>
> Saudis block call for global warming report
>
> (AFP) – 4 days ago
>
> BONN — Saudi Arabia on Thursday blocked a call by vulnerable island 
> states at climate talks for a study into the impact of 1.5 degrees 
> Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming, delegates said.
>
> The appeal came from the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), 
> gathering low-lying islands in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the 
> Pacific, which is lobbying hard for the UN climate arena not to 
> abandon the 1.5 C target.
>
> The goal is receding as emissions of greenhouse gases rise and 
> political problems for tackling climate change multiply.
>
> AOSIS, supported by the European Union (EU), Australia and New 
> Zealand, called for a technical report on the cost of reaching the 1.5 
> C target and the consequences of breaching it.
>
> But it was thwarted by Saudi Arabia, with support from Kuwait and 
> Qatar, under the UN's consensus rule, the sources said.
>
> Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers argue that ratcheting up 
> action on carbon emissions will hurt their revenues as fossil-fuel 
> consumers switch to cleaner energy.
>
> The spat soured the mood in Bonn, where a 12-day round under the 
> 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) draws to 
> a close on Friday.
>
> "The atmosphere [in the meeting] was very bad. Many countries said 
> they were very disappointed with the Saudis," said one source.
>
> "Some small island states could become stateless from sea level rise, 
> which is why they are calling for global temperature rise to be kept 
> below 1.5 C," added Wendel Trio of Greenpeace.
>
> "That Saudi Arabia, a country with such obvious oil interests, 
> exploited the UN consensus rule to stop the world's most vulnerable 
> countries from getting a much-needed summary of the latest climate 
> science is breathtaking for its criminal disregard for the human 
> impacts of climate change."
>
> The UNFCCC is tasked with shepherding the world's nations to a new 
> treaty on climate change that would take effect from 2012.
>
> But the arena is still struggling to recover from a bust-up in 
> Copenhagen last December.
>
> Under a last-minute deal, a small group of leaders set a target of 
> limiting warming to 2 C (3.6 F) through voluntary actions. Their 
> document, the Copenhagen Accord, has been backed by around two-thirds 
> of the UNFCCC's 194 parties.
>
> Two more rounds of UNFCCC negotiations are taking place before a major 
> conference in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10.
>
> Few delegates hold out hopes that the Cancun meeting will deliver the 
> much-promised climate pact that eluded the Copenhagen summit.
>
> Instead, the most favourable scenario is to seal the treaty at the end 
> of 2011, in South Africa.
>
> Meanwhile, a paper released on the sidelines of the Bonn talks warned 
> that the world was heading towards 3 C (5.4 F) of warming by 2100 on 
> the basis of the Copenhagen pledges and other policies.
>
> "The current pledges and loopholes give us a virtual certainty of 
> exceeding 1.5 C (2.7 F), with global warming very likely exceeding 2 C 
> (3.6 F) and a more than 50-percent chance of exceeding 3 C (5.4 F) by 
> 2100," said Bill Hare of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate 
> Impact Research (PIK).
>
> Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More » 
> <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/copyright?hl=en>
>
>
>         Related articles
>
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>
>       Indian Express - 3 days ago
>     * Saudis block call for global warming report
>       <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hqI3wKPaGKW8M_EyY25KvXg1yGIQ>
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>       AFP - 4 days ago
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>       <http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100612/BUSINESS/706129937/1005>
>
>       National - 2 days ago
>     * More coverage (1) »
>       <http://news.google.com/news/story?ncl=dijnZ52qIK_kSrMSOiUMzIqCsjkOM&hl=en&ned=us>
>
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