Members of the Maldives Cabinet meet underwater on October 17. Photo: 350.org on Flickr

In December, delegates from most of the countries from around the globe gathered in Copenhagen to discuss how to slow the pace of climate change.

While no full-scale agreement was reached, a political accord emerged from the conference, which China and India endorsed just last week.

But rather than discussing the big greenhouse gas emitters, we want to look deeper at the immediate consequences of climate change on small islands — from the Caribbean to the South Pacific.

Joining Martin Savidge are Ronald Jumeau and May Boeve on Thursday, March 18, at 12:00 noon EDT to discuss:

• Copenhagen conference: results, shortcomings and lessons
• Best/worst-case scenarios: small islands, climate change and the future
• U.S./wider world: carbon emissions, regulation and Obama’s policies

GUESTS:

Ronald Jumeau has been the Permanent Representative of the Seychelles to the United Nations since 2007. Previously, he served as Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, and as Minister for Culture and Infomation.

May Boeve is a co-founder of the climate change group 350.org, where she works on international partnerships and political strategy. Previously, she worked on the Step It Up campaign, which helped shape the debate about global warming policy in the U.S.

This shift was reflected in some tough talk this weekend by the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, as the annual meeting of China’s parliament drew to a close.

For more about China’s increasingly assertive tone, Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Michael Kulma, Director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Asia Society.

Our German partner Deutsche Welle reports on Wen’s defiant speech.

All three of the dead were connected to the U.S. Consulate there, underscoring the risks of living and working in that city.

The State Department has authorized the families of its diplomatic personnel across northern Mexico to leave the country.

But, as Tom Ackerman of Al Jazeera English reports, the killings were just a few of dozens in Mexico this weekend.

The latest chapter involves allegations of such abuse against children in a boys’ choir dating back to the time when the Pope’s brother was in charge of that choir.

Church officials say that while the Pope was the Archbishop of Munich in the 1980’s, he approved the transfer from one city to another of a priest convicted of sexually abusing children. That priest has since been suspended.

For more on the sex scandal, Daljit Dhaliwal speaks with Nikolaus Piper, senior correspondent for the German daily newspaper Süeddeutsche Zeitung.

And as Deutsche Welle reports, the latest revelations are fueling a debate on whether the German statute of limitations should be extended so that those who committed sex abuse might still be prosecuted.

Mongolia’s three million people and forty million animals are now being tested by a brutal winter that followed a drought last summer.

Tony Birtley of Al Jazeera English reports how grazing, the backbone of the country’s economy, is under threat.

Mongolia battles severe weather yearly, but this year, the UB Post reports that Mongolia is experiencing a “dzud,” which is a summer drought followed by an even harsher winter”

Before this winter (2009-2010), Mongolia had not experienced a dzud since early 2002. This winter, Mongolia is experiencing unusually cold weather with temperatures dropping well below minus 20 [-4 Fahrenheit] as early as mid-December. It is expected temperatures will fall to minus 48 [-54 Fahrenheit] as northerly weather brings bitter snow storms from Siberia.

Roughly 47% of Mongolia’s 2.7 million people rely heavily on herding livestock. A blog from the World Bank reports:

Around 35 percent of Mongolia’s work force is dependent on herding for a substantial part of their livelihoods and about 63 percent of rural household’s assets are livestock; livestock herding accounts for about a third of employment in Mongolia. Food security is also worsening, poverty levels are likely to rise and these factors may cause an increase in rural-to-urban migration. Compounding the problem is the poor condition of many pastures as a result of last year’s drought and overgrazing. In addition heavy snowfall started earlier than usual in October 2009.

According to AFP:

More than 3.5 million animals — cows, sheep, goats, yaks, horses and camels — have died so far, with 60 percent of the country still buried under deep snow.

Hundreds of thousands of livestock have perished due to lack of nourishment because the winter weather has made the ground infertile. Dead livestock in the region poses a potential threat for disease and has already directly impacted the economic and physical conditions of the Mongolian nomadic peoples.

The United Nations recently launched a campaign to provide funding to clear out dead livestock. In an effort to boost economic livelihood as well as to avoid further disaster, The Guardian reports that many Mongolian nomads are being paid to clear out the dead livestock in the affected regions.

The United Nations has launched a $4 million dollar carcass-clearing appeal for Mongolia as millions of camels, goats, yaks and horses perish across the steppe from a climate double whammy of summer drought and winter snow.

The international body will pay nomads to collect and bury dead livestock to ease the risks of disease, soil contamination and a worsening humanitarian disaster in a nation where one-third of the 2.7m population depends on animal husbandry.

As an initial step, [the United Nations Development Programme] has allocated $300,000 and will raise more fund to pay herders $4 a day to clean and bury carcasses. Eventually, it hopes to reach 60,000 of the worst affected families.

- Stephanie Savage

Some studies predict sea levels could climb six feet by the end of the century due to climate change. For the Maldives, an island chain off the southwest coast of India with a population of about 300,000, such a change would be disastrous.

For a look at how the Maldives are trying to deal with the problem, Worldfocus producer Megan Thompson traveled there recently as part of an 18-day trip sponsored by the U.N. Environmental Program.

But there were nonetheless more scuffles as Palestinians tried to enter Jerusalem’s Old City to attend Friday prayers.

The recent upswing in violence was sparked by Israel’s decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites.

This week, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the region, meeting with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to push the peace process forward.

To discuss the issues, Daljit Dhaliwal speaks with James Rubin, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration, and Ian Bremmer, the president of Eurasia Group, in our weekly roundtable.

In this extended interview, he talks about why he believes his nation faces grave danger from climate change — and how the Maldives hopes to set a positive example by becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral country.

Watch our signature story, Creeping seas threaten tiny island chain of Maldives.

At least 43 people were killed, including about 10 soldiers, and 100 more were wounded. Insurgent groups are still very much a force in Pakistan, a year after the army claimed it defeated them.

For more, Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Ahmad Kamal, a Pakistani diplomat for 40 years.

Hashem Ahelbarra of Al Jazeera English obtained unusual access in the Swat Valley.

In the Caribbean, she heard from residents of Grenada and Antigua how rising tides are dramatically effecting their livelihoods.

The report was sponsored by the U.N. Environmental Program and the Alliance of Small Island States. Some of the underwater footage was provided by Acqua Films.

Read Megan’s blog from the field: Message in a Bottle: reporting from Antigua and Grenada.

For more on the rising number of super-rich in Asia, Daljit Dhaliwal speaks to Roben Farzad, senior writer for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

And China — whose economic power rests largely on its manufacturing might — now faces labor shortages in its manufacturing heartland.

As Rob McBride of Al Jazeera English reports, young workers want more money and better opportunities.

Schoolgirls outside Cairo’s Alabaster Mosque. Photo: Flickr user Ed Yourdon

The Arab world has over 350 million people and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf. Unified by a common Arabic culture and history, these 25 countries are at varying levels of economic and political development.

But there seems to be a set of demographic issues that apply to many — if not all — of the nations in the Arab world. We take a deeper look at high birth rates and gender inequality and then compare them to other regions of the world.

Martin Savidge hosts Magda Abu-Fadil and Bernard Haykel to discuss these issues:

• Youth bulge: jobs for young people, emigration, political instability
• Gender gap: young women, variation across Arab states, political power
• Big picture: comparisons to other regions, replacement level, demographic transition

GUESTS:

Magda Abu-Fadil is director of the Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and has years of experience as a foreign correspondent and editor with international news organizations such as Agence France-Presse and United Press International.

Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, where his research interests include contemporary politics, Arabian history and Islamic fundamentalism.

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producer: Ben Piven
Associate Producer: Mohammad Al-Kassim

Grand Anse beach, Grenada. Photo: Flickr user tps58

The Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), an advocacy group of 42 states, has been pushing hard for action on climate change, which it argues could render many low-lying islands uninhabitable.

Worldfocus spoke with Dessima Williams, chair of AOSIS and Grenada’s Ambassador to the UN.

Worldfocus: The small island states pushed hard for a legally binding document to come out of Copenhagen, even introducing a different version of the Copenhagen Protocol. But the talks ended up producing a voluntary agreement. What is your reaction to this outcome?

Williams: First of all, the Copenhagen Accord does not represent a legally binding document, nor does it serve as the basis for the continuation of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is exclusively a political document, providing guidance for individual countries to establish their own negotiating positions moving forward.

While we recognize the measurable progress that this Accord represents, we are generally disappointed with this substandard, insular document that does little to guarantee the safety and continued survival of the small island states. The level of ambition necessary to tackle climate change is simply not reflected in the Accord, and in substantive terms, ignores the scientific exigency of this impending climatic catastrophe.

Worldfocus: Industrialized nations did agree to create a fund that will help small, developing countries cope with the effects of climate change. Are you satisfied with the terms of this fund, and are you confident the funds will start to flow soon?

Williams: The special access fund that was created is a first step in staving off the worst effects of climate change, which the small island states will inevitably be the first to suffer. However, as it based more on political needs and compromises than genuine international compromise on legally-binding emissions limitations, it falls woefully short of producing meaningful change.

Undoubtedly, these funds are critical to our ability to adapt to climate change and our efforts to develop cleaner and more efficient economies. But without substantial cuts in emissions, the funds will only be used to delay the inevitable – complete destruction and immeasurable suffering.

Additionally, it remains to be seen whether the industrialized countries are able to follow through with their commitments, especially in the face of continuing global recession and fears of economic relapse.

Moreover, the notion that oil-producing countries should be compensated for significantly reduced demand as a result of binding emissions targets –- one embodied in the Accord -– is illogical and radically inequitable. This will surely draw funds away from those countries that need them the most, and will work to further erode the legitimacy of future negotiations.

Worldfocus: “1.5 to Stay Alive” was your slogan going into Copenhagen was — meaning that your survival depends on global temperatures not rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius [about 3 degrees Farenheit]. But negotiators settled on a target of 2 degrees Celsius. What does this mean for small island states?

Williams: Our slogan will always, unequivocally remain “1.5 to Stay Alive,” regardless of the outcome of Copenhagen. This number is absolutely essential to our collective survival, in addition to the continued vitality of the Earth’s wide-ranging ecosystems and biodiversity.

While we consider it encouraging that this political accord agrees to an increase in global temperature of less than 2 degrees Celsius, we will continue to fight for less than 1.5 degrees C benchmark in all of our future negotiating sessions.

The science has explicitly demonstrated time and time again that a level of ambition which stabilizes global temperatures below 1.5 degrees C is required for the survival of our island states. Moreover, this number is both technologically and economically feasible –- per usual, only the politics lags behind this reality.

If this level is not reached, the international community is signaling its indifference to the certain doom of the small island nations, which in our mind is entirely deplorable.

Worldfocus: Is the United States doing enough on the issue of climate change? What would you like to see from the U.S. this year?

Williams: The United States is not doing anywhere near what it should be doing on the issue of climate change. Their legislative system is exasperatingly paralyzed by partisan politics, their environmental agencies are stymied by sharp budget cuts and leadership voids and their chief executive seems to be flustered –- or worse, unaware –- of the sheer magnitude of this global problem.

While the rhetoric is always stimulating and focused, federal actions do little to validate such promise. We are sincerely appreciative of the effort put forth by President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton at Copenhagen, and welcome the continued support of the administration in terms of both financing and resources.

However, their willingness to bypass the traditional fora for negotiation in favor of bilateral and multilateral side agreements with the largest emitters undermined the UN system and actively frustrated progress. Moreover, the political endgame waged constantly against China and the developing countries grew tiresome.

As for this coming year, it is critical that the U.S. pass some form of climate legislation to expedite the process of developing an international, legally-binding agreement at the COP16 [the next climate summit] in Mexico next November. This will give U.S. negotiators the leverage and legitimacy they need to play their role in facilitating this agreement crucial to our survival. Also, continued contribution to the “green fund” for adaptation is very important.

- Megan Thompson

Zhou Yang. Photo: CCTV

Hsin-Yin Lee, a former associate producer at Worldfocus, is a news editor at the “China Times” in Taipei.

China’s 18-year-old Olympic champion has recently learned something — it’s OK to thank your parents for your success, but always remember to first thank your country.

Zhou Yang, who won a gold medal in the women’s 1,500 meters short-track speed skating during the Vancouver Winter Olympic, has come under fire — and been complimented — for mentioning her parents but failing to thank the country after the award ceremony.

When asked “What does this prize mean to you?” by the Chinese media, Zhou said, “The gold medal might bring a lot of changes. I will be more confident, and Dad and Mom’s life will be improved.”

Sports officials, however, have found Zhou’s candid words lacking. During a group discussion of the annual meeting of China’s legislature last Sunday, Yu Zaiqing, deputy director of the National Sports Bureau, expressed doubt about Zhou’s patriotism.

“It’s fine to thank your mom and dad, but you should still thank your country first and foremost,” he said. Yu also said the authorities should enhance the “moral education” for China’s athletes.

“While the Western way of expression is very good, there were things in (Zhou’s) heart that the kid didn’t fully express,” Yu said. “Don’t just talk about your parents.”

To fix her previous remarks, Zhou said in another interview on Monday that she is of course grateful for her country. “I thank the country for making us good enough to compete in the Olympic. I thank our supporters, thank my coach, thank the staff, and thank my parents.”

Chinese netizens have weighed in on the controversy.  “Zhou should say ‘I thank my country — I thank my country because it allows me to thank my parents after thanking it,’” wrote one commentator,

China’s athlete training programs have long been criticized as both inhumane and ineffective. Zhou’s story reminds me of the Australian Open earlier this year, when two Chinese players, Zheng Jie and Li Na, marched to the women’s semifinals. It was the first time the world’s most populous nation had advanced so far in a Grand Slam.

While the head of the Women’s Tennis Association lauded this as an example of  Chinese tennis coming of age, critics said a more flexible national athlete training system, in place since 2008,  played a key factor. Zheng and Li were among the four top tennis players in China who were granted unprecedented freedom in managing their careers. In other words, they are free to select their own schedules, coaches and teams. With less obligation to China’s national athletic development system, they are also able to pocket more prize money and give less to the Chinese Tennis Association — which surely raises the motivation to compete.

An article in Tennis magazine may have summed up many people’s feelings. Since the reform, it noted,  “(China’s tennis players) are no longer just Chinese players; they are professional tennis players from China.”

Should the current athletic system in China be further modified so that people like Zhou Yang can be both a happy player and a happy person? I think so. After all, sport is all about humanity, and only when a person’s mind is set free can he or she pursue greater physical strength.

- Hsin-Yin Lee

These two rapidly growing economies have formally agreed this week to be part of the climate change accord that was worked at last December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The nonbinding document calls for limiting the rise in global temperatures.

Andrew Potter of Al Jazeera English reports on the significance of the news.