Climate change negotiations continue

Climate change negotiations are wrapping up in Copenhagen this week and world leaders including prime minister Gordon Brown and US president Barack Obama are expected to be in attendance. The Prince of Wales will deliver a speech tomorrow at the conference and meet with global business leaders to lobby for measures to reduce deforestation.

Also in Copenhagen tomorrow, Danish foreign minister Per Stig Moller will be joined by NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, who will be representing the EU, and African Union Commission chairperson Jean Ping for a debate on the security implications of climate change. The discussion on tackling climate change could change course on Wednesday when BNP leader Nick Griffin, who denies the existence of global warming, is expected to attend the talks.

On Friday, the final day of the conference, Brown and Obama are expected to attend. Obama had originally planned to join the talks on 9 December on his way to collecting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. It is expected he will announce a provisional US emissions reduction target of 17 per cent from 2005 levels.

In line with emissions reductions, Boeing plans to undertake the much-delayed first test flight of its fuel efficient 787 Dreamliner airliner. The aircraft maker has announced delivery of the first plane to All Nippon Airways is now scheduled for the final quarter of 2010. Boeing blamed supply problems and the machinist strike in 2008 for production delays, but the latest delay this summer was due to a design issue with the side-of-body section of the aircraft. The long-range passenger aircraft will carry 200 to 300 passengers and is the first commercial jet to be made predominantly of carbon-composite materials, which is claimed to weigh up to 20 tonnes less than comparable commercial aircraft and allows it to use 20 per cent less fuel.

Siobhan Wagner

Chief reporter