KATOWICE, Poland (AP) - The Latest on the U.N. climate talks in Poland and other climate news (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
The head of the Maldives delegation to the U.N. climate conference is questioning the point of the yearly summits, saying they are “failing” to produce meaningful results.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed attended the 24th edition of the U.N. talks, being held this year in Poland and set to end Friday. Negotiators have not yet agreed on the rules for implementing a three-year-old global warming treaty.
Nasheed asked “What’s the point?” of having such negotiations if they don’t lead to progress or solutions.
He said: “There is a view among many of us that this is failing.”
Nasheed says global warming threatens the existence of the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. He says a lack of agreement in Katowice would only worsen the situation.
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4:55 p.m.
A Swedish teenager who has inspired youth around the world to campaign for the environment, urged action to ramp up pressure on delegates at the U.N. climate talks.
Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student, says negotiators from almost 200 nations in Katowice, Poland, have not yet shown enough commitment to finding a way to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7. Fahrenheit) during this century.
For the final day of the summit on Friday she said: “Stand outside your parliament or local government office even for just a short while to let them know we demand climate action.”
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3:45 p.m.
A diplomat representing Fiji at the U.N.’s annual climate talks says he expects a “helpful” outcome but also one that won’t make everyone happy.
Satyendra Prasad, the South Pacific island nation’s permanent representative to the U.N., said the talks in Poland were at a “critical juncture” and “from everything I have heard there should be a good, a helpful outcome.”
But Prasad added the need to find “middle ground” would result in some of the 200 participating countries walking away disappointed from the talks that end Friday.
Delegates have been working for two weeks to agree on ways to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7. Fahrenheit) during this century.
Prasad told The Associated Press a consensus is within reach on rules for keeping global warming in check and progress is expected on addressing climate-related costs in developing nations.
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2:50 p.m.
A prominent researcher is proposing establishing a “climate passport” for people driven from their homes by the impact of global warming.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said Thursday the passport could be modeled on a similar certificate given to refugees of Russia’s civil war in the 1920s.
The so-called Nansen passport was later extended to other people who were made stateless after their citizenships were revoked. It helped hundreds of thousands of people to find refuge elsewhere in the world.
Schellnhuber’s proposal, made on the sidelines of the U.N. climate talks in Poland, is likely to face resistance from rich countries concerned about the possibility of millions of refugees heading their way in the coming decades.
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1:55 p.m.
Vulnerable countries are warning against a “mediocre” outcome at the U.N. climate talks in Poland.
With just over a day left before the scheduled end of the meeting, a group of 48 countries called Thursday for greater unity among rich and poor countries.
The group, calling themselves the Climate Vulnerable Forum, said they are already experiencing the harmful effects of global warming such as prolonged floods, storms and droughts.
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said countries such as his island nation “have no intention of becoming climate change’s first victim. We will do whatever it takes to survive.”
The group called for a clear signal to come out of the talks in Katowice, Poland, that would spur more ambitious action by governments, businesses and citizens around the world to halt global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
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10:45 a.m.
Negotiators from almost 200 countries are making a last-minute effort to resolve differences on the rules that will govern the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Diplomats and ministers worked through the night to present fresh drafts on the rulebook and other issues Thursday to the chair of the U.N. climate talks in Poland.
A Polish diplomat overseeing the two-week meeting is expected to merge the drafts and present them to delegates in the afternoon.
German negotiator Karsten Sach told reporters that a key test of whether the talks will conclude successfully Friday.
Other issues include financial support for poor countries and how to acknowledge of a key scientific report on keeping warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7. Fahrenheit) that major oil producers called alarmist.
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