42 days to go to COP15

 In just 42 days time 20,000 delegates from 192 countries will converge on Copenhagen for the "15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". The Conference, which runs from December 7th to 18th has been described as the 'last chance' for world leaders to seal a deal prevent catastrophic climate change - aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a rise in global temperatures of more than two degrees - which is seen as the 'tipping point' above which irreversible damage including rising sea levels, floods, droughts and storms would be the norm. The pre-Conference talks have currently hit an impasse as the world's biggest emitter, the USA,  and the worlds massive new developing nations, in particular India and China. The USA has put climate change on the 'back burner' as it deals with the recession and President Obama's healthcare reforms whilst China and India are pressing for recognition of their need to develop their economies. The USA has not agreed carbon reduction targets for 2020 as yet and India and China do not want to start reducing emissions until 202. Meanwhile scientists warn that urgent action and massive reductions are needed now. A successful Cop15 could define the global industrial, commercial and environmental future of the planet. But it is a last chance saloon and a failure to make sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas emissions could result in a very different world to the one we know today.