The Latest: Germany says Trump wrong on climate change costs
KATOWICE, Poland (AP) — The Latest on the U.N. climate meeting (all times local):
1:40 p.m.
Costa Rica’s environment minister says the trade spat between the United States and China is playing a role at the U.N. climate talks.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez told reporters in Katowice, Poland, on Friday that “socio-economic, political issues are reflected” in the talks, including the “trade issue between the U.S. and China.”
But he said countries concerned that taking action to curb global warming might harm their economies should consider that “it is in the self-interest of prosperity and economic growth.”
He added that “climate action won’t be a barrier for growth and trade,” citing his own country’s economic growth even as it cuts its use of fossil fuels.
Rodriguez said Costa Rica is not yet ready to commit to hosting next year’s talks, after Brazil pulled out. He noted the estimated cost of $100 million to organize the summit and said Costa Rica is discussing “a joint effort with Chile.”
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1 p.m.
Polish teenagers have staged an action at the venue of U.N. climate conference urging the negotiators on the last scheduled day of talks to reach an agreement on ways of fighting global warming.
More than 30 school students from Katowice, the Polish city where the talks are being held, responded Friday to a call by 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg for a “climate strike” to pressure politicians into greater ambition in fighting climate change.
They sang Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” and “They Don’t Care About Us” as they stood near where negotiators from almost 200 countries were trying to reach agreement on the fine print of the 2015 Paris climate accord.
One of them, 15-year-old Gosia Czachowska, said she responded to Thunberg’s call because “I care about the Earth … and because I want to have a good future.”
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11:35 a.m.
After a long, hot summer that shriveled crops and left river levels unusually low, “hot age” has been chosen as Germany’s word of the year.
The Association for the German Language announced Friday that a jury chose “Heisszeit” — a play on “Eiszeit,” or “ice age” — for this year’s honor. It joins previous winners that include “postfaktisch,” a reference to the rise of “post-truth” politics, in 2016.
The group said that the expression reflects not just “an extreme summer that felt like it lasted from April until November” but also points to broader concern about climate change.
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10:35 a.m.
Germany says failure to curb climate change would cost the world “a lot more” than the trillions of dollars President Donald Trump’s claim he’s saving by quitting the 2015 Paris accord.
German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said Friday that “if we let entire stretches of this planet become uninhabitable then it will trigger gigantic costs.”
Trump said in an interview Thursday with Fox News that if he had remained in the Paris accord “we would be paying trillions of dollars, trillions of dollars for nothing, and I wouldn’t do that.”
The Paris accord requires countries to reduce their emissions, something scientists say will involve a wholesale shift in their economies. Rich countries have also committed themselves to providing financial support to poor nations to tackle global warming.
Schulze told reporters on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Poland that investing in developing technologies to protect the climate will give Germany “an enormous competitive advantage.”
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9:40 a.m.
Negotiators at the U.N. climate meeting in Poland are gathering to discuss the first comprehensive draft agreement to emerge after almost two weeks of talks.
Ministers and senior officials from almost 200 countries were due to hold further meetings Friday before convening in plenary in the afternoon to address remaining differences.
Among the key pitfalls to emerge overnight was the question of how to establish a functioning international market in carbon credits and whether some countries should get money for damage already caused by climate change.
The meeting is meant to finalize the rulebook for the 2015 Paris climate agreement, provide assurances to poor nations on financial support for tackling global warming, and send a message that countries are committed to stepping up their efforts in the coming years.
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