Copenhague

World leaders are set to fail their first test on climate change since Copenhagen and put the world on track for almost four degrees of warming, as the 31 January deadline for countries to submit emission reduction targets under the Copenhagen Accord nears.

Copenhagen was a unique opportunity to turn the world’s course away from climate disaster, towards a safe future for all of us on this small planet.

The ‘climate deal’ on the table in Copenhagen today is a triumph of spin over substance says Oxfam International. The deal – which has been announced by the US, India, China and South Africa - has not been endorsed by the EU and many other countries.

Celebrity Oxfam campaigners will be joining tens of thousands of demonstrators at a mass rally and candlelight vigil in Copenhagen on Saturday 12 December in support of a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal.

The European Union is rumored to be preparing just a token handout for climate action in poor countries for the next three years, with no guarantee that this money is going to come on top of existing aid commitments.

Proposals from Denmark, which is chairing the climate negotiations, and the emerging developing economies the content of a final deal in Copenhangen have emerged today

$200bn could mean the difference between success and failure in Copenhagen, as the UN climate summit begins in the city today. The Summit marks the culmination of two years of international negotiations on a deal to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Oxfam today warned that EU countries must cut themselves loose from the US or risk losing a groundbreaking climate deal that has been two years in the making. A fair and safe deal can be struck in Copenhagen this year, but world leaders cannot wait for the US to play catch-up.

Two years ago, rich nations promised to deliver a legally binding climate deal in Copenhagen. Now rich countries have admitted to back peddling in order to accommodate the US.

A new Oxfam report has today warned that at least 4.5 million children could die unless world leaders deliver additional funds to help poor countries fight the growing impact of climate change, rather than diverting it from existing aid promises.