Bolivian President Evo Morales: "Shameful" For West to Spend Trillions On War and Only $10 Billion For Climate Change

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 :As heads of state begin to arrive to the COP 15 summit here in Copenhagen, the rift between rich and poor countries continues to widen. With less than three days to go there is no final agreement or breakthrough on the future of the Kyoto Protocol which industrialized nations led by the United States are seeking to dismantle. We speak with leading environmentalist and political activist from India, Sunita Narain.

As heads of state begin to arrive to the COP 15 summit here in Copenhagen, the rift between rich and poor countries continues to widen.

On Tuesday, officials from China, India, Brazil and South Africa spoke out angrily about being pressured to sign a deal dictated by rich countries. With less than three days to go there is no final agreement or breakthrough on the future of the Kyoto Protocol which industrialized nations led by the United States are seeking to dismantle.

I’m joined now by a leading environmentalist and political activist from India. She is the director of the New Delhi, India-based Center for Science and Environment and the editor of the magazine “Down to Earth.” In 1991 she co-authored the publication “Global Warming in an Unequal World: A case of environmental colonialism.”

In a recent article she writes, “The inconvenient truth is not that climate change is real, but that confronting climate change is about sharing that growth between nations and people. The rich must reduce so that the poor can grow.”

Sunita Narain, leading Indian environmentalist and political activist. She is the director of the New-Delhi, India-based Center for Science and Environment and editor of the magazine “Down to Earth.”

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 :World leaders are arriving in Copenhagen as the climate summit formally enters high-level talks. On Tuesday, US climate negotiator Todd Stern said he foresees no change in President Obama’s offer to cut emissions by 17 percent percent of 2005 levels. We speak to Andrew Revkin, environmental reporter at The New York Times.

He also writes for the NYT’s Dot Earth blog.

Related stories

• Amidst Uncertainty on US Role in Upcoming Climate Talks, 350.org Holds International Climate Action Day in 170 Nations
• Climate Countdown: Largest Climate Summit in World History Opens in Copenhagen
• Climate Change and the Global South: A Roundtable Discussion
• “Would You Commit Murder?”–15-Year-Old Maldives Climate Ambassador Asks World Leaders to Take on Climate Change
• As EPA Rules Greenhouse Gases Endanger Public Health, a Discussion on Obama’s Climate Change Policies

LISTEN ONLINE