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lonestar2004
Live to party,work to affordit.


Registered: 10/03/04
Posts: 8,978
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Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit
#7766692 - 12/16/07 06:25 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Dutch diplomat in charge of the talks burst into tears
He is known as the "hard man" of climate-change negotiation.
But after 12 exhausting days of trying to reach a worldwide agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it was suddenly all too much for Yvo de Boer.
As the 200-nation Bali conference wrangled over a minor procedural matter, the Dutch diplomat in charge of the talks burst into tears and had to be led away by colleagues.
Moments earlier, Mr de Boer had been warning delegates that failure to reach an agreement on global warming could "plunge the world into conflict".
Officials from China, which feels Western countries should do more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, accused UN negotiators of ignoring conference protocol.
Mr de Boer, distinctively dressed in a floral shirt, stepped up to the microphone to defend his staff - only to find that the words would no longer come.
As his unfinished sentences trailed away, he broke down and walked off the platform to supportive applause.
"He wasn't just wiping his eyes, he was in floods of tears," said one observer.
"Three colleagues - one of them a woman - formed a protective group around him and escorted him out of the hall. It was all very dramatic."
Mr de Boer's breakdown came after nearly a fortnight of squabbling over proposals to cut carbon emissions.
The European Union went to the conference demanding that industrialised nations commit to cuts in CO2 emissions of 25-40 per cent by 2020, a stance which was strongly opposed by the US, Canada and Japan.
America's representatives had also been jeered for insisting on firmer commitments from developing countries --despite President Bush's refusal to sign up to the previous targets laid down in the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.
In the end, a compromise was reached with a text that did not mention specific targets but acknowledged that "deep cuts in global emissions will be required".
A wave of relief swept the hall as US delegation chief Paula Dobriansky finally declared: "The United States is very committed to this effort and just wants to really ensure we all act together.
"With that, Mr Chairman, let me say to you we will go forward and join consensus."
The resulting treaty, known as the "Bali road map", sets in motion a two-year process of negotiations designed to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Under the deal, a new pact will be agreed at a meeting in Copenhagen in 2009.
By then, members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - the organisation of which de Boer is executive secretary - should have agreed on a comprehensive plan involving wealthy and developing nations.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn hailed the Bali deal as "an historic breakthrough" and a "huge step forward" in tackling climate change.
But Prime Minister Gordon Brown sounded a note of caution. "The Bali road map agreed today is just the first step," he said. "Now begins the hardest work."
The deal will come as a relief to Mr de Boer, who is known in the Netherlands for his passionate advocacy on the subject.
His reputation as an incisive --and tireless - negotiator has earned him the "hard man" tag.
However, former colleagues said his behaviour in Bali was not entirely out of character.
Political adviser Matthijs Spits said: "We Dutch can become quite emotional --surprisingly so for other nations who think we are cold."
 "Three colleagues - one of them a woman - formed a protective group around him and escorted him out of the hall. It was all very dramatic."
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. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=502563&in_page_id=1811
The poor man is a victim of his own propaganda.
-------------------- America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure" We have "reckless fiscal policies" America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better Barack Obama
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Minstrel
Man of Science


Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 1,974
Loc: Hogtown
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: lonestar2004]
#7766966 - 12/16/07 07:22 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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I cried when I didn't get my way too. I was about 6, maybe 5.
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WScott
´ ɑ `▽ ᑲᓇᑕ



Registered: 07/31/05
Posts: 5,713
Loc: Nacada
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: Minstrel]
#7769660 - 12/17/07 01:30 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Make fun of him, sure, but I think people should be thankful that someone actually cares that much.
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lonestar2004
Live to party,work to affordit.


Registered: 10/03/04
Posts: 8,978
Loc: South Texas
Last seen: 12 years, 9 months
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: WScott]
#7769836 - 12/17/07 02:07 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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The Crying Dutchman!

He cries for the power and your money.....
-------------------- America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure" We have "reckless fiscal policies" America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better Barack Obama
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Visionary Tools



Registered: 06/23/07
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Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: lonestar2004]
#7769886 - 12/17/07 02:18 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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If this sinister bill goes through, you realise that's a global tax on breathing?
They (no one elects the people in the UN) are taxing the air you breathe, or more accuratly, the carbon dioxide "polluting" it.
Just how fucking stupid do they think we are?
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole


Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: Visionary Tools]
#7770733 - 12/17/07 06:03 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Visionary Tools said: If this sinister bill goes through, you realise that's a global tax on breathing?
They (no one elects the people in the UN) are taxing the air you breathe, or more accuratly, the carbon dioxide "polluting" it.
Just how fucking stupid do they think we are?
Given the general gist of the Steven Harper thread, pretty fucking stupid. And rightfully so.
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bodynotdead
TrichodermaCultivator



Registered: 05/10/07
Posts: 271
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Last seen: 15 years, 6 months
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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: zappaisgod]
#7771052 - 12/17/07 07:17 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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This is simply a ploy to pull the US into a lose/win scenario, where we lose and the third worlders and non-producing countries sit back and watch us scramble, oh yeah, and laugh as we will owe the UN idiots 50 gazzillion dollars in carbon penalties, blah blah blah. But, luckily, it looks as though we came away with a "commitment" to reduce our emissions. A non binding "commitment". heh heh heh.
 All is revealed in that smarmy logo: note that the hands aren't shown shaking in any sort of agreement -- they're just holding on to each other while "We Are the World" is being sung.
-------------------- "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Lord Acton,
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The_Red_Crayon
Exposer of Truth


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Re: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit [Re: lonestar2004]
#7772093 - 12/17/07 10:49 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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I like how the blame for global warm has been immediately switched from uncontrolled industrial pollution to carbon pollution from the common man. Global Warming is still a theory yet I can see politicians eager to start levying carbon taxism, and im sure many of these people have interests in environmental lobbies. To me it wreaks of crookedry.
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