Gordon Brown Says 50 days to Save the World from Environmental Catastrophe

October 20, 2009

(October 27, 2008 - Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe)

You have to hand it to European leaders, they sure know how to deliver a powerful speech. Ignore the charming accents and funny expressions and you have some really great headlines on a daily basis. I mean this is stuff that movie previews are made of. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered one of these delightfully frightening headline-filled speeches yesterday in London on the topic of global climate change.

Expect the American version of this speech to be eloquently repeated in triplicate at some point today and countless times in the weeks to follow. As we move closer to this world-saving summit in Copenhagen I have no doubt that movie headlines will begin to pale in comparison to the rhetoric that gets tossed around. As Americans brace for what many predict will be (and already feels like) the coldest winter in recent memory, I have no doubt that some may become skeptical of “global warming” and need an extra nudge to buy into “climate change.”

BBC News posted this story last evening.

He told the Major Economies Forum in London, which brings together 17 of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas-emitting countries, there was “no plan B”.

World delegations meet in Copenhagen in December for talks on a new treaty.

‘Rising wave’

The United Nations (UN) summit will aim to establish a deal to replace the 1997 Kyoto treaty as its targets for reducing emissions only apply to a small number of countries and expire in 2012.

Mr Brown warned that negotiators were not reaching agreement quickly enough and said it was a “profound moment” for the world involving “momentous choice”.

Gordon Brown said negotiators had 50 days to save the world from global warming and break the “impasse”.

He told the Major Economies Forum in London, which brings together 17 of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas-emitting countries, there was “no plan B”.

World delegations meet in Copenhagen in December for talks on a new treaty.

The United Nations (UN) summit will aim to establish a deal to replace the 1997 Kyoto treaty as its targets for reducing emissions only apply to a small number of countries and expire in 2012.

Mr Brown warned that negotiators were not reaching agreement quickly enough and said it was a “profound moment” for the world involving “momentous choice”.

“In Britain we face the prospect of more frequent droughts and a rising wave of floods,” he told delegates.

“The extraordinary summer heatwave of 2003 in Europe resulted in over 35,000 extra deaths.

“On current trends, such an event could become quite routine in Britain in just a few decades’ time. And within the lifetime of our children and grandchildren the intense temperatures of 2003 could become the average temperature experienced throughout much of Europe.”

You can read the full story here.

Click here for video

On a related note, I posted this video yesterday as well. It features a gentleman with a slightly different view on the proposed Treaty. He too has a rather impressive English accent.

Tags: climate change, England, global warming, Gordon Brown, Great Britain, Kyoto, prime minister, summit

This entry was posted on October 20, 2009 at 2:31 am and is filed under FOREIGN AFFAIRS, LIBERAL-DEMS, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

8 Responses to Gordon Brown Says 50 days to Save the World from Environmental Catastrophe

John Q on October 20, 2009 at 1:06 pm

I am not at all surprised with the level of fear-mongering that is taking place in the EU at the present moment. They find themselves forced to escalate the alarm as the only hope of bringing the US Senate on board for this. With healthcare looming as a potential bargaining chip, I dare to say that it would be difficult to get votes to sign off on this.
- T. CHRISTOPHER on October 20, 2009 at 2:07 pm
  
  I am confident that it will not pass the Senate, but stranger things have certainly happened in Washington. I would feel a great deal more comfortable if healthcare was not involved as a bargaining chip
Mark Lofton on October 20, 2009 at 1:38 pm

Fearmongering is but the first step to a greater order. You were unforutnately incorrect that the President would speak to this issue today but you were precisely on target with the idea that it would be on his mind. I believe he spent his morning meeting with Congressional democrats on this issue alone. They will have to have full support and a potential compromise to bring this to the table.
- T. CHRISTOPHER on October 20, 2009 at 2:12 pm
  
  I didnt hear that but I don’t mind be wrong, but the day is young
marinemanny on October 20, 2009 at 3:07 pm

50 days? Does that mean I dont have to pay bills or go to work? 50 day vacation debt free. Sweet
anonymous on October 20, 2009 at 10:22 pm

How can this really bewilder any of you? The Euros are in love with climate regulation and will stop at nothing to make sure that we move in their Greenloving way
President Obama Talks the other GW with Al Gore | REPUBLICAN REDEFINED on December 9, 2009 at 2:03 pm

[...] he heads to Oslo to pick up his “much deserved” Nobel Prize and will then head to Copenhagen at the end of next week. Obama has little to take with him to Denmark as the Senate failed to [...]
Cherrie Jahosky on January 21, 2010 at 3:30 pm

QJ: “Even K-1 is sounding good to me”