Tony Blair urges leaders to secure deal in Copenhagen as time runs short

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Courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Tony Blair said today it was time for the world to get moving as negotiators in Copenhagen entered the final few days of talks still deeply divided on how to avert climate catastrophe.

With ministers, tycoons and celebrities flooding to the Danish capital, the former British prime minister said a compromise was possible, though likely to fall short of the actions recommended by scientists to avoid dangerous levels of global warming.

"There can be a deal at Copenhagen. There should be a deal. It will not be all that everyone wants. But it was never going to be," he told an audience on the sidelines of the conference.

But time is running out. Major differences emerged in the first week of talks as developing nations accused richer countries of offering insufficient emissions cuts and inadequate financial and technological assistance to help poorer countries deal with climate change.

Heads of state will fly in at the end of the week to try to seal a deal. But even that is emerging as a contentious issue because developing nations want an agreement in place before they arrive and have their arms twisted.

Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary for Britain, warned that far more progress needed to be made before the leaders arrive.

"We're getting close to midnight in this negotiation and we need to act like it. That means more urgency to solve problems not just identify them, more willingness to shift from entrenched positions and more ambitious commitments," he said.

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