TV presenter and national treasure David Attenborough has issued a stark warning to the world about the risks of climate change.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of an international summit on climate change, Sir David warned civilisation collapse and extinction of much of the natural world is 'on the horizon'.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, who also gave a speech, said the world is 'way off course' to prevent catastrophic climate change and that 'we are in trouble, deep trouble'.

The wildlife ambassador called for urgent action against global warming and called it a man-made disaster that poses 'our greatest threat in thousands of years'.

He was speaking in Katowice, Poland, calling for leaders and decision-makers to take charge on driving down greenhouse gas emissions.

Sir David said: 'Greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change'.

'If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.'

And he said: 'The world's people have spoken, their message is clear, time is running out, they want you, the decision-makers, to act now.

Sir David was speaking on behalf of the UN's 'People's Seat' initiative to give ordinary people a voice at the international talks by gathering their thoughts, ideas and concerns through social media and polling in the past two weeks.

'They're supporting you in making tough decisions but they're also willing to make sacrifices in their daily lives.'

The UN has launched an 'ActNow.bot' which helps people discover simple everyday actions they can take to tackle climate change.

Sir David said: 'The people have spoken: leaders of the world, you must lead, the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend are in your hands.'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned negotiators at the meeting that the world was 'in deep trouble' with climate change.

'Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later, before it's too late.

'For many people, regions and even countries, this is already a matter of life and death.'

'A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH': UN-SECRETARY GENERAL WARNS WORLD IS 'WAY OFF COURSE' ON CLIMATE CHANGE Antonio Guterres (pictured) is UN Secretary-General and he said this period of time is 'a matter of life and death' for countries around the world Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said this period of time is 'a matter of life and death' for countries around the world. He was speaking at an international summit on climate change in Katowice, Poland. He said the world is 'way off course' to prevent catastrophic climate change and that 'we are in trouble, deep trouble'. Mr Guterres called climate change 'the single most important issue we face', speaking on Monday at the ceremonial opening of a UN summit in Katowice, Poland. The UN chief chided countries, particularly those most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, for failing to do enough to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord. Mr Guterres urged countries to aim for net zero emissions by 2050 saying we are currently 'way off course'. He said countries should radically reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal, commenting that we are already 'in trouble, deep trouble'.

He also said that 'climate action is not just the right thing to do, it makes social and economic sense', pointing to how action to cut emissions will curb air pollution deaths and generate millions of jobs and trillions of dollars.

The speeches come after four former presidents of the annual UN climate talks warned the 'world is at a crossroads' and decisive action in the next two years would be crucial to tackle the threat of climate change.

In a joint statement, France's Laurent Fabius, Frank Bainimarama, from Fiji, Salaheddine Mezouar, from Morocco, and Peru's Manuel Pulgar Vidal said: 'The challenges are there, as are the solutions.

'We require deep transformations of our economies and societies to build a better world for all. This must be powered by multilateral co-operation.'

They called for ambitious decisions which are sufficiently detailed and comprehensive to enable the effective operation of the Paris Agreement, secured three years ago in the French capital to curb global warming.

A process to enable countries to announce efforts by 2020 to ramp up their domestic ambition on cutting greenhouse gas emissions must be launched, they said, as current efforts are not enough to prevent dangerous temperature rises.

And there needs to be progress on the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars (£78 billion) a year for poorer countries to drive clean growth, they urged.

The World Bank has announced it is doubling investments in climate action with 200 billion US dollars (£157 billion) for 2021-2025, including 50 billion US dollars (£39 billion) towards helping countries adapt to the impacts of global warming.

Negotiators at the talks will hear details of a global review on climate change-tackling efforts, and the pressure is on to work towards increasing commitments from countries by 2020.

The talks in Poland also aim to draw up the rulebook for making the Paris deal operational, and poorer countries will be looking for a boost to the finance being made available to help them develop cleanly.</s>Leaders of the Group of 20 agreed Saturday to fix the world trading system after difficult, all-night talks in the Argentine capital, but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change with the United States the lone holdout.

The official summit statement acknowledges flaws in global commerce and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesn't mention the word "protectionism," however, after negotiators said that had met resistance from the United States.

Applause broke out in the summit hall as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.

The non-binding agreement was reached after talks by diplomats stretched overnight and into daylight on Saturday, amid deep divisions between member nations. European Union officials said the United States was the main holdout on nearly every issue. Trump has criticized the WTO and taken aggressive trade policies targeting China and the EU.

But China also pushed back in talks on steel, South Africa objected to language on trade, Australia didn't want the statement to be too soft on migration and Turkey worried it would push too far on climate change, according to the officials.

A senior White House official said the joint statement meets many U.S. objectives and stressed that it includes language about WTO reform. The official also noted other elements such as language on workforce development and women's economic development and a commitment by China to doing infrastructure financing on "transparent terms."

According to the official, the language on climate was necessary for Washington to sign on, and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Russia had appeared sympathetic to the U.S. position but ultimately stayed with the other countries.

With trade tensions between the U.S and China dominating the summit, the Europeans sought to play mediator. They also scaled back their expectations, cutting out mention of rising protectionism — mainly aimed at Trump.

The final language of the statement says, regarding climate, that 19 nations that are signatories to the Paris accord reiterate their commitment to it while the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw. It also notes a recent U.N. report that warned damage from global warming will be much worse than previously feared, and expresses support for an upcoming U.N. climate meeting in Poland meant to nail down how countries will meet promises made in the Paris accord.

On global commerce, the statement says the 20 countries support multilateral trade but acknowledge that the current system doesn't work and needs fixing, via "the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning."

On migration, European officials said the U.S. negotiator said too much talk about it would have been a "deal-breaker" for Trump. So they came up with "minimalist" language that acknowledges growing migrant flows and the importance of shared efforts to support refugees and solve the problems that drive them to flee.

The statement also shows a commitment to a "rules-based international order," despite Trump's rejection of many of those rules.

"There were moments when we thought all was lost," one European official said, "moments when we spent two hours on one sentence."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

Thomas Bernes of the Canada-based Centre for International Governance Innovation, who has held leading roles with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Canadian government, said the G-20 had "veered all over the road" at the summit and failed to truly fix trade. The U.S. was out of step on migration and climate change and blocked meaningful agreement on those issues, he added.

"Instead, leaders buried their differences in obscure language and dropped language to fight protectionism, which had been included in every G-20 communique since the leaders' first summit," he added. "This is clearly a retrograde step forced by United States intransigence."

"The question is whether we are burying the G-20 in the process," Bernes added. "Certainly this is a big hit to the credibility of the G-20 to provide resolute leadership in addressing global problems."

Perhaps surprisingly, one country that was seen as particularly constructive was Russia, the EU officials said. Despite tensions over its military actions on Ukraine and political interference abroad, Russia supports international efforts on trade and climate.

While a statement isn't legally enforceable, the Europeans see it as proof that the G-20 is still relevant and that multilateralism still works.

"Everyone agrees that the WTO should be reformed," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "This is an important agreement."

"We will send a clear signal — in any case, most of us" — for the success of global climate talks starting in Poland on Sunday, Merkel added.

Merkel's spokesman said that during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she also voiced concern about rising tensions in the Kerch Strait off Crimea and pushed for "freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov."

Last weekend, Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in an incident escalating a tug-of-war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Germany and France have sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel and Putin agreed that the four countries should hold further talks at the "adviser level."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were due to meet later Saturday after the summit's close. Their countries have been embroiled in an escalating trade war with new U.S. tariffs on China goods set to take effect a month from now.

"The trade war between the United States and China does not favor international commerce. ... A fight between two big players does not benefit," said Dante Sica, Argentina's minister of production and labor. "If they are able to begin to agree, it would be a good signal that would reduce the impacts on international commerce."

In closing remarks, summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the countries had overcome "a number of challenges" to reach the agreement.

"We have agreed on a statement that reflects the necessity of revitalizing trade, of revitalizing the WTO. .. "We ratify the concern of everyone over climate change," Macri said.

The next G-20 summit is to be held in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sir David Attenborough addressing the climate change conference in Poland.

The naturalist Sir David Attenborough has said climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years.

The broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilisations and the extinction of "much of the natural world".

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of United Nations-sponsored climate talks in Katowice, Poland.

The meeting is the most critical on climate change since the 2015 Paris agreement.

Sir David said: "Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change.

"If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon."

The naturalist is taking up the "People's Seat" at the conference, called COP24. He is supposed to act as a link between the public and policy-makers at the meeting.

"The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear. Time is running out. They want you, the decision-makers, to act now," he said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said climate change was already "a matter of life and death" for many countries.

He explained that the world is "nowhere near where it needs to be" on the transition to a low-carbon economy.

But the UN Secretary-General said the conference was an effort to "right the ship" and he would convene a climate summit next year to discuss next steps.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has announced $200bn in funding over five years to support countries taking action against climate change.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Climate activist: 'It's high time that Poland phased out coal'

What's so different about this meeting?

This Conference of the Parties (COP) is the first to be held since the landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C came out in October.

The IPCC stated that to keep to the 1.5C goal, governments would have to slash emissions of greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030.

But a recent study showed that CO2 emissions are on the rise again after stalling for four years.

In an unprecedented move, four former UN climate talks presidents issued a statement on Sunday, calling for urgent action.

They say "decisive action in the next two years will be crucial".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Climate change: How 1.5C could change the world

Meanwhile, the gap between what countries say they are doing and what needs to be done has never been wider.

So urgent is the task that some negotiators began their meetings on Sunday, a day before the official start.

Will global leaders be attending?

Yes, some 29 heads of state and government are due to give statements at the opening of the meeting.

The number is way down on the stellar cast that turned up in Paris in 2015, which perhaps indicates that many are seeing this as more a technical stage on the road to tackling climate change than a big bang moment.

But for the likes of China and the EU, the meeting is critical. They will want to show that international co-operation can still work even in the age of President Trump.

How years compare with the 20th Century average 2019 is on course to be in the top three warmest years 10 warmest years 10 coldest years 20th Century average Hotter Colder Months J F M A M J J A S O N D Source: NOAA Replay

So will cutting carbon be the main focus of the meeting?

Rather than spending all their time working on how to increase ambitions to cut carbon, conference delegates are likely to focus on trying to finalise the technical rules of how the Paris agreement will work.

Image copyright FABRICE COFFRINI Image caption A collage of children's drawing about climate change laid out on a glacier in Switzerland

While the agreement was ratified in record time by more than 180 countries in 2016, it doesn't become operational until 2020.

Before then, delegates must sort out common rules on measuring, reporting and verifying (checking to avoid the misreporting of) greenhouse gas emissions, and on how climate finance is going to be provided.

"The rulebook is the thing that will absorb most of the negotiators' capacity at this year's COP," said Camilla Born, from the climate change think tank, E3G.

"It's no surprise, as agreeing the Paris rules is both technically and politically a complicated task - but it is worth it!"

Right now, that rule book runs to several hundred pages with thousands of brackets, indicating areas of dispute.

But what about limiting emissions?

Under the Paris agreement, each country decides for itself the actions it will take when it comes to cutting carbon. Some observers believe that the changed mood and the urgency of the science will prompt action.

"We are hoping that at COP24, countries will make declarations of how they will raise their ambitions by 2020. This is a very important moment," said Fernanda Carvalho with campaign group WWF.

"Two years is a short time span for that to happen. Countries need to act fast."

Why is the UN process slow-moving?

There is much frustration with the snail-like pace, especially among some campaigners who feel that the scale of the threat posed by rising temperatures hasn't been fully grasped by politicians.

Image copyright HANNA FRANZEN Image caption Greta Thunberg, who has refused to go to school in Sweden in protest over climate change, will be attending COP24

"Governments across the world have completely failed to protect their citizens," said a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, the social movement that pushes for radical change on climate issues.

"Instead, they have pursued quick profit and big business. We need this to change. At COP24, we want to ensure that the focus is not just on getting the technical Paris rulebook as robust as possible, but also that governments do not lose sight of the bigger picture."

Others involved in the UN process say that real progress is being made in tackling one of the most complex problems ever faced by the world.

"We have a $300bn renewable energy economy at work today - it's not peanuts; it's an energy revolution that has unfolded on the back of, yes, a sometimes sticky climate negotiation process," said Achim Steiner, who heads the United Nations Development Programme.

How much of a role will money play in making progress in Poland?

Many developing countries see progress on issues around finance to be critical to moving forward. They have been promised $100bn every year from 2020 as part of the Paris agreement.

Some are sceptical about what they see as foot-dragging and obfuscation by richer countries when it comes to handing over the cash. Negotiators say that moving forward on finance is the lynchpin of progress in this meeting.

"A key finding of the recent IPCC report, and one that has often been overlooked, is that without a dramatic increase in the provision of climate finance, the possibility of limiting warming to 2C (to say nothing of the safer 1.5C goal) will irretrievably slip away," said Amjad Abdulla, chief negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States.

Are there concerns the meeting is in a country reliant on coal?

Yes - among government negotiators and observers alike. The fact that the conference is taking place in a strong coal region, in a city that is home to the biggest coal company in the EU, is troubling to many.

The Polish government says that it is sticking with the fuel, and has announced that it is planning to invest next year in the construction of a new coal mine in Silesia.

This bullish approach has drawn condemnation from some.

"Unfortunately, this week's announcement by the [meeting's] Polish presidency that it will include coal companies as sponsors of the COP sends a very worrisome signal before the conference even begins," said Sébastien Duyck, a senior attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law.

Will President Trump and the US feature at all?

Although the US has withdrawn from the Paris agreement, it cannot leave until 2020, so its negotiators have been taking part in meetings and have not obstructed the process. America is expected to participate in COP24.

However, given the President's well known love of coal, it has been reported that the White House will once again organise a side event promoting fossil fuels. A similar event at the last COP provoked outrage from many delegates.

UN climate conference 03 Dec- 14 Dec 2018

The summit comes three years after the 2015 Paris accord on climate change, at which all countries agreed a plan to limit carbon emissions. Now is the moment governments must start deciding what to do to make sure that plan is put into effect.</s>Leaders of the Group of 20 agreed Saturday to fix the world trading system after difficult, all-night talks in the Argentine capital, but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change with the United States the lone holdout.

The official summit statement acknowledges flaws in global commerce and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesn't mention the word "protectionism," however, after negotiators said that had met resistance from the United States.

Applause broke out in the summit hall as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.

The non-binding agreement was reached after talks by diplomats stretched overnight and into daylight on Saturday, amid deep divisions between member nations. European Union officials said the United States was the main holdout on nearly every issue. Trump has criticized the WTO and taken aggressive trade policies targeting China and the EU.

But China also pushed back in talks on steel, South Africa objected to language on trade, Australia didn't want the statement to be too soft on migration and Turkey worried it would push too far on climate change, according to the officials.

A senior White House official said the joint statement meets many U.S. objectives and stressed that it includes language about WTO reform. The official also noted other elements such as language on workforce development and women's economic development and a commitment by China to doing infrastructure financing on "transparent terms."

According to the official, the language on climate was necessary for Washington to sign on, and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Russia had appeared sympathetic to the U.S. position but ultimately stayed with the other countries.

With trade tensions between the U.S and China dominating the summit, the Europeans sought to play mediator. They also scaled back their expectations, cutting out mention of rising protectionism — mainly aimed at Trump.

The final language of the statement says, regarding climate, that 19 nations that are signatories to the Paris accord reiterate their commitment to it while the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw. It also notes a recent U.N. report that warned damage from global warming will be much worse than previously feared, and expresses support for an upcoming U.N. climate meeting in Poland meant to nail down how countries will meet promises made in the Paris accord.

On global commerce, the statement says the 20 countries support multilateral trade but acknowledge that the current system doesn't work and needs fixing, via "the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning."

On migration, European officials said the U.S. negotiator said too much talk about it would have been a "deal-breaker" for Trump. So they came up with "minimalist" language that acknowledges growing migrant flows and the importance of shared efforts to support refugees and solve the problems that drive them to flee.

The statement also shows a commitment to a "rules-based international order," despite Trump's rejection of many of those rules.

"There were moments when we thought all was lost," one European official said, "moments when we spent two hours on one sentence."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

Thomas Bernes of the Canada-based Centre for International Governance Innovation, who has held leading roles with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Canadian government, said the G-20 had "veered all over the road" at the summit and failed to truly fix trade. The U.S. was out of step on migration and climate change and blocked meaningful agreement on those issues, he added.

"Instead, leaders buried their differences in obscure language and dropped language to fight protectionism, which had been included in every G-20 communique since the leaders' first summit," he added. "This is clearly a retrograde step forced by United States intransigence."

"The question is whether we are burying the G-20 in the process," Bernes added. "Certainly this is a big hit to the credibility of the G-20 to provide resolute leadership in addressing global problems."

Perhaps surprisingly, one country that was seen as particularly constructive was Russia, the EU officials said. Despite tensions over its military actions on Ukraine and political interference abroad, Russia supports international efforts on trade and climate.

While a statement isn't legally enforceable, the Europeans see it as proof that the G-20 is still relevant and that multilateralism still works.

"Everyone agrees that the WTO should be reformed," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "This is an important agreement."

"We will send a clear signal — in any case, most of us" — for the success of global climate talks starting in Poland on Sunday, Merkel added.

Merkel's spokesman said that during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she also voiced concern about rising tensions in the Kerch Strait off Crimea and pushed for "freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov."

Last weekend, Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in an incident escalating a tug-of-war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Germany and France have sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel and Putin agreed that the four countries should hold further talks at the "adviser level."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were due to meet later Saturday after the summit's close. Their countries have been embroiled in an escalating trade war with new U.S. tariffs on China goods set to take effect a month from now.

"The trade war between the United States and China does not favor international commerce. ... A fight between two big players does not benefit," said Dante Sica, Argentina's minister of production and labor. "If they are able to begin to agree, it would be a good signal that would reduce the impacts on international commerce."

In closing remarks, summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the countries had overcome "a number of challenges" to reach the agreement.

"We have agreed on a statement that reflects the necessity of revitalizing trade, of revitalizing the WTO. .. "We ratify the concern of everyone over climate change," Macri said.

The next G-20 summit is to be held in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>By ANGELA CHARLTON, LUIS ANDRES HENAO and PETER ORSI, Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Leaders of the Group of 20 agreed Saturday to fix the world trading system after difficult, all-night talks in the Argentine capital, but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change with the United States the lone holdout.

The official summit statement acknowledges flaws in global commerce and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesn’t mention the word “protectionism,” however, after negotiators said that had met resistance from the United States.

Applause broke out in the summit hall as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.

The non-binding agreement was reached after talks by diplomats stretched overnight and into daylight on Saturday, amid deep divisions between member nations. European Union officials said the United States was the main holdout on nearly every issue. Trump has criticized the WTO and taken aggressive trade policies targeting China and the EU.

But China also pushed back in talks on steel, South Africa objected to language on trade, Australia didn’t want the statement to be too soft on migration and Turkey worried it would push too far on climate change, according to the officials.

A senior White House official said the joint statement meets many U.S. objectives and stressed that it includes language about WTO reform.

The official also noted other elements such as language on workforce development and women’s economic development and a commitment by China to doing infrastructure financing on “transparent terms.”

According to the official, the language on climate was necessary for Washington to sign on, and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Russia had appeared sympathetic to the U.S. position but ultimately stayed with the other countries.

With trade tensions between the U.S and China dominating the summit, the Europeans sought to play mediator. They also scaled back their expectations, cutting out mention of rising protectionism — mainly aimed at Trump.

The final language of the statement says, regarding climate, that 19 nations that are signatories to the Paris accord reiterate their commitment to it while the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw. It also notes a recent U.N. report that warned damage from global warming will be much worse than previously feared, and expresses support for an upcoming U.N. climate meeting in Poland meant to nail down how countries will meet promises made in the Paris accord.

On global commerce, the statement says the 20 countries support multilateral trade but acknowledge that the current system doesn’t work and needs fixing, via “the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning.”

On migration, European officials said the U.S. negotiator said too much talk about it would have been a “deal-breaker” for Trump. So they came up with “minimalist” language that acknowledges growing migrant flows and the importance of shared efforts to support refugees and solve the problems that drive them to flee.

The statement also shows a commitment to a “rules-based international order,” despite Trump’s rejection of many of those rules.

“There were moments when we thought all was lost,” one European official said, “moments when we spent two hours on one sentence.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

Thomas Bernes of the Canada-based Centre for International Governance Innovation, who has held leading roles with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Canadian government, said the G-20 had “veered all over the road” at the summit and failed to truly fix trade. The U.S. was out of step on migration and climate change and blocked meaningful agreement on those issues, he added.

“Instead, leaders buried their differences in obscure language and dropped language to fight protectionism, which had been included in every G-20 communique since the leaders’ first summit,” he said. “This is clearly a retrograde step forced by United States intransigence.”

“The question is whether we are burying the G-20 in the process,” Bernes added. “Certainly this is a big hit to the credibility of the G-20 to provide resolute leadership in addressing global problems.”

Perhaps surprisingly, one country that was seen as particularly constructive was Russia, the EU officials said. Despite tensions over its military actions on Ukraine and political interference abroad, Russia supports international efforts on trade and climate.

While a statement isn’t legally enforceable, the Europeans see it as proof that the G-20 is still relevant and that multilateralism still works.

“Everyone agrees that the WTO should be reformed,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. “This is an important agreement.”

“We will send a clear signal — in any case, most of us” — for the success of global climate talks starting in Poland on Sunday, Merkel added.

Merkel’s spokesman said that during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she also voiced concern about rising tensions in the Kerch Strait off Crimea and pushed for “freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov.”

Last weekend, Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in an incident escalating a tug-of-war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Germany and France have sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said she and Putin agreed that the four countries should hold further talks at the “adviser level.”

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were due to meet later Saturday after the summit’s close. Their countries have been embroiled in an escalating trade war with new U.S. tariffs on China goods set to take effect a month from now.

“The trade war between the United States and China does not favor international commerce. … A fight between two big players does not benefit,” said Dante Sica, Argentina’s minister of production and labor. “If they are able to begin to agree, it would be a good signal that would reduce the impacts on international commerce.”

In closing remarks, summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the countries had overcome “a number of challenges.”

“We have agreed on a statement that reflects the necessity of revitalizing trade, of revitalizing the WTO. … “We ratify the concern of everyone over climate change,” Macri said.

The next G-20 summit is to be held in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.

 ___

 Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey and Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.</s>Leaders of the Group of 20 agreed Saturday to fix the world trading system after difficult, all-night talks in the Argentine capital, but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change with the United States the lone holdout.The official summit statement acknowledges flaws in global commerce and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesn't mention the word "protectionism," however, after negotiators said that had met resistance from the United Unite States.Applause broke out in the summit hall as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump , signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.The non-binding agreement was reached after talks by diplomats stretched overnight and into daylight on Saturday, amid deep divisions between member nations. European Union officials said the United States was the main holdout on nearly every issue. Trump has criticized the WTO and taken aggressive trade policies targeting China and the EU.But China also pushed back in talks on steel, South Africa objected to language on trade, Australia didn't want the statement to be too soft on migration and Turkey worried it would push too far on climate change, according to the officials.With trade tensions between the U.S and China dominating the summit, the Europeans sought to play mediator.They also scaled back their expectations, cutting out mention of rising protectionism - mainly aimed at Trump.The final language of the statement says, regarding climate, that 19 nations that are signatories to the Paris accord reiterate their commitment to it while the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw. It also notes a recent U.N. report that warned damage from global warming will be much worse than previously feared, and expresses support for an upcoming U.N. climate meeting in Poland meant to nail down how countries will meet promises made in the Paris accord.On global commerce, the statement says the 20 countries support multilateral trade, but acknowledge that the current system doesn't work and needs fixing, via "the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning."On migration, the U.S. negotiator said too much talk about migration would have been a "deal-breaker" for Trump, the European officials said. So they came up with "minimalist" language that acknowledges growing migrant flows and the importance of shared efforts to support refugees and solve the problems that drive them to flee.The statement also shows a commitment to a "rules-based international order," despite Trump's rejection of many of those rules."There were moments when we thought all was lost," one European official said, "moments when we spent two hours on one sentence."The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door discussions.Perhaps surprisingly, one country that was seen as particularly constructive was Russia, the officials said. Despite tensions over its military actions on Ukraine and political interference abroad, Russia supports international efforts on trade and climate.While a statement isn't legally enforceable, the Europeans see it as proof that the G-20 is still relevant and that multilateralism still works."Everyone agrees that the WTO should be reformed," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "This is an important agreement.""We will send a clear signal - in any case, most of us" - for the success of global climate talks starting in Poland on Sunday, Merkel added.Merkel's spokesman said that during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin , she also voiced concern about rising tensions in the Kerch Strait off Crimea and pushed for "freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov."Last weekend, Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in an incident escalating a tug-of-war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.Germany and France have sought to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel and Putin agreed that the four countries should hold further talks at the "adviser level."Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were due to meet later Saturday after the summit's close. Their countries have been embroiled in an escalating trade war with new U.S. tariffs on China goods set to take effect a month from now."The trade war between the United States and China does not favor international commerce. ... A fight between two big players does not benefit," said Dante Sica, Argentina's minister of production and labor. "If they are able to begin to agree, it would be a good signal that would reduce the impacts on international commerce."The divisions among the world's leading economies were evident from the moment Argentina's president opened the summit Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planet's problems.In closing remarks, summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the countries had overcome "a number of challenges" to reach the agreement."We have agreed on a statement that reflects the necessity of revitalizing trade, of revitalizing the WTO. .. "We ratify the concern of everyone over climate change," Macri said.The next G-20 summit is to be held in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.</s>Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning that the collapse of civilisations and extinction of much of the natural world is “on the horizon” without action to tackle climate change.

The naturalist and TV presenter delivered a message from people around the world to United Nations climate talks in Katowice, Poland, calling for leaders and decision-makers to take charge on driving down greenhouse gas emissions.

Sir David was speaking on behalf of the UN’s “People’s Seat” initiative to give ordinary people a voice at the international talks by gathering their thoughts, ideas and concerns through social media and polling in the past two weeks.

He said the world is facing its “greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change”.

“If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.”

And he said: “The world’s people have spoken, their message is clear, time is running out, they want you, the decision-makers, to act now.

“They’re supporting you in making tough decisions but they’re also willing to make sacrifices in their daily lives.”

The UN has launched an “ActNow.bot” which helps people discover simple everyday actions they can take to tackle climate change.

Sir David said: “The people have spoken: leaders of the world, you must lead, the continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend are in your hands.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned negotiators at the meeting that the world was “in deep trouble” with climate change.

“Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later, before it’s too late.

“For many people, regions and even countries, this is already a matter of life and death.”

He also said that “climate action is not just the right thing to do, it makes social and economic sense”, pointing to how action to cut emissions will curb air pollution deaths and generate millions of jobs and trillions of dollars.

The speeches come after four former presidents of the annual UN climate talks warned the “world is at a crossroads” and decisive action in the next two years would be crucial to tackle the threat of climate change.

In a joint statement, France’s Laurent Fabius, Frank Bainimarama, from Fiji, Salaheddine Mezouar, from Morocco, and Peru’s Manuel Pulgar Vidal said: “The challenges are there, as are the solutions.

“We require deep transformations of our economies and societies to build a better world for all. This must be powered by multilateral co-operation.”

They called for ambitious decisions which are sufficiently detailed and comprehensive to enable the effective operation of the Paris Agreement, secured three years ago in the French capital to curb global warming.

A process to enable countries to announce efforts by 2020 to ramp up their domestic ambition on cutting greenhouse gas emissions must be launched, they said, as current efforts are not enough to prevent dangerous temperature rises.

And there needs to be progress on the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars (£78 billion) a year for poorer countries to drive clean growth, they urged.

The World Bank has announced it is doubling investments in climate action with 200 billion US dollars (£157 billion) for 2021-2025, including 50 billion US dollars (£39 billion) towards helping countries adapt to the impacts of global warming.

Negotiators at the talks will hear details of a global review on climate change-tackling efforts, and the pressure is on to work towards increasing commitments from countries by 2020.

The talks in Poland also aim to draw up the rulebook for making the Paris deal operational, and poorer countries will be looking for a boost to the finance being made available to help them develop cleanly.</s>In a bid to lay out a road map for solving climate change, international leaders from around the world - and public figures including Sir David Attenborough - convened in Katowice, Poland, today to begin the UN's COP24 summit

This week, national leaders, delegates and business representatives are convening in Poland’s Katowice for COP24 – the 24th Conference of the Parties summit.

In the most seminal international gathering of its kind since 2015’s Paris Agreement, the talks set to take place over the coming days at the conference aim to catalogue the last three years’ progress, facilitate new climate actions and lay out a road map for a sustainable future.

Poland’s president Andrzej Duda, speaking at the opening ceremony, said: “Dynamic climate changes are affecting all corners of the globe, from the island states in the Pacific Ocean to those located all across Europe.

“It constitutes one of the gravest threats of our time. We are witnessing dynamic or extreme weather conditions that include more frequent rainfall and heavy heatwaves and droughts.

“For example, here in Poland during the summer, a drought caused losses estimated at about 830m euros (£740m), affecting 130,000 farms while destroying 3.5 million hectares of crops.

“Therefore, it’s crucially important that in the face of the challenges presented by climate change, we must work together in the best possible coalition of governments, international organisations, civil society and businesses.”

Also known as the Katowice Climate Change Conference, COP24 is an international convention aimed at finalising the practical implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, lasting from 2nd December to 14th December 2018.

It is an integral part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is the 24th summit in a series dating back to 2005.

In attendance today at the opening ceremony was the World Bank – a global partnership seeking to mitigate global poverty using sustainable solutions.

CEO Kristalina Georgieva said: “By the time my eight-year-old granddaughter is 20, climate change will push 100 million people into poverty.

“By the time she’s 40, as many as 143 million people could become climate migrants, just in three regions of the world.

“And if she lives to be 90, the planet will be hot and barely liveable, unless we act.”

Ms Georgieva told the audience that World Bank has doubled its climate finance since 2015 from $10bn (£7.9bn) to $20bn (£15.7bn), and plans to do so again by 2020.

It has also set a target to finance $200bn (£157bn) for helping countries implement various climate actions agendas.

What is Just Transition? Preserving jobs in fossil fuel industries

During his address, Poland’s president Andrzej Duda explained the Just Transition declaration, which will be implemented into the Paris Agreement.

It is aimed at ensuring job safety for those in the fossil fuel industry as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy.

He said: “Just Transition should be understood as a tool to support climate policy, not as an alternative to it.

“The declaration complements the Paris Agreement by adding an important social aspect to it.

“The transition towards low carbon offers a number of economic, social and health benefits, but regions that are traditionally reliant of fossil fuels are set to incur costs.

“For example, places where coal mining is vital, providing fuel to the surrounding region and offering stable jobs.

“So our process of transition needs to be a benefit to these places as well, providing stable energy careers, meaning countries need to strike the right balance so as not to pose threats to their economies and societies.

“Public policies aimed at reducing emissions often face social resistance, especially if they’re not accompanied by safety programmes for the workers whose jobs will be transformed.

“Just Transition is supposed to ensure life in a healthy and clean environment while also guaranteeing job safety and economic stability.”

What did Sir David Attenborough say?

Sir David Attenborough also attended the summit, arguing climate change is the biggest threat to face the planet in thousands of years.

The acclaimed natural historian and broadcaster, closing the summit’s opening ceremony, said: “Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years – climate change.

“If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.

“The UN provides a unique platform that can unite the whole world, and, as the Paris Agreement proved, together, we can make real change happen.”

“The people have spoken. Leaders of the world – you must lead.

“The continuation of our civilisations and the natural world upon which we depend is in your hands.”</s>President Muhammadu Buhari left Abuja on Saturday for Poland to attend the 24th session of the Climate Change Conference known as the Parties (COP24).

Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), said in a statement on Friday that COP24, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), would hold from December 2-4, 2018 in the Polish city of Katowice..

The COP24 Summit, taking place at the International Conference Centre (MCK) and the adjacent Spodek Arena in Katowice, is being convened under the Presidency of Poland.

According to the organisers, the conference is expected to finalise the rules for implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) – the rule book for implementation.

During the Leaders’ Summit at COP24, President Buhari will deliver a national statement highlighting Nigeria’s commitment to addressing climate change by implementing the goals set out in its National Determined Contributions, Adesina said.

The president would also use the occasion to accentuate Nigeria’s willingness to work with international partners to reverse the negative effects of climate change in Africa and the world over.

He said President Buhari would be expecting that developed nations scale up their emission reduction activities in order to limit the increase in average global temperatures to well below 2 degrees centigrade between now and 2020.

The Leaders’ Summit is expected to adopt a ‘‘Declaration on Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia,’’ – named after the region of Poland where this year’s climate conference is taking place, he said.

As a member of the Committee of the African Heads of State on Climate Change – a group of 10 African countries that meets and takes positions concerning issues of climate change on behalf of the continent – Nigeria has been at the forefront of advancing policies and initiatives.

It is aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change such as reviving the Lake Chad, halting and reversing desertification, flooding, ocean surge and oil spillage.

President Buhari will continue to champion these pressing issues at COP24 in Katowice, among others, as well as reiterate Nigeria’s position on the need for African countries to access financial resources, especially the Green Climate Fund to draw up climate change adaptation policies and actions for implementation.

The Nigerian delegation will also showcase the policy measures and actions of the Federal Government at ensuring environmental sustainability and effectively combating climate change through several side events within the Nigerian pavilion.

While in Poland, President Buhari will hold an interactive session with the Nigerian community in that country.

The Nigerian leader is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the President of Poland Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The President was accompanied by Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger.

Others on his entourage were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.</s>Global warming may be off the agenda at the G20 summit. If it is, we know exactly whom to thank.

According to the green publication Clean Technica, in an article headlined “G20 Nations Reportedly Set to Kowtow to Trump on Climate Change”:

A reported draft version of a communique being formulated by leaders of the G20 in advance of the 13th meeting of Group of Twenty to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, starting Friday, fails to back the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and makes no mention of the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C which warned that “Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” Further, the draft nods in the direction of those countries intent on defending their continued use of coal, saying that there are “varied” energy choices and “different possible national pathways.” Further highlighting the weakening stance of G20 nations’ willingness to stand up to climate obstructionists like the United States and Australia, there is no mention of the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C which was published earlier this year and which warned that “Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” There is also no mention of the upcoming COP24 climate talks to be held in Katowice, Poland, starting a day after the G20 meeting ends on Saturday. There was some hint of the possibility of a weakening of the G20’s stance on climate change earlier this month, when Argentina’s G20 sherpa (emissary) Pedro Villagra Delgado spoke to the media, saying that the drafting of this communique, and the section referencing the Paris Climate Agreement, was proving to be the “most complicated” aspect. “Of course, we want the Paris Agreement to be mentioned, but we want it to be mentioned, encompassing everyone, albeit in an ambiguous way,” he said. “The United States does not say that nothing should be done [about climate change], but that they do not want to have neither the obligations nor the goals imposed by the Paris Agreement.” “The more assertive mentions are made, the more likely it is that the United States will stay away from it,” he concluded.

It helps, of course, that President Donald Trump now has a major ally in the G20. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is not attending the summit, but the very fact of his election means that, for the first time, there are two avowedly climate-skeptical nations in the G20. Bolsonaro, who sees himself as South America’s answer to Trump, recently appointed a foreign minister — Ernesto Araújo — who believes that “climate change” is a plot by “cultural Marxists” to stifle the economies of the West and promote the growth of China.

Brazil was supposed to be hosting the COP25 climate talks next year, but since Bolsonaro’s election, it has announced that it is no longer interested “due to the transition in government and budget restrictions.”

This marks a highly significant and symbolic turnaround in global warming geopolitics. It was nearly thirty years ago in Brazil — at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 — that the great global warming scare really began to take off when the leaders of over 100 nations flew to Rio de Janeiro and established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This, in turn, led to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement and all those annual COP meetings like the one that Brazil has just decided it no longer wants to host.

Sure, this is not the end of the global climate change scam. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
The 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change convenes in Katowice, Poland.