So after months of hype, the UN climate talks in Copenhagen are finally underway with thousands of officials and campaigners joining world leaders for two weeks of crucial talks on how to prevent damaging climate change.
The political aim is to sew together a series of commitments from the world’s governments to limit global warming to just 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. In addition, an ambitious financing plan in "climate aid" to help developing countries adapt to the inevitable change to the climate which scientists say will occur anyway as a result of historic emissions.
What is clear is that the chance of a legally-binding deal seems unlikely following the US’s failure to pass its bill through the Senate. The collapse of Australia’s efforts last week means it too will have to come to Copenhagen empty handed. A political deal therefore seems the best that the talks can offer. But even that isn’t a given at this stage – the mood here among delegates varies from wild optimism to extreme cynicism.
In the run up to the talks, we have worked hard to ensure that government’s negotiating team recognise that any deal must establish long-term certainty and place industry on a level playing field - where regardless of what measures are adopted, the cost of carbon is the same for all installations across the world. We have warned government that failure to consider this will see trade flows adjust to avoid heavily regulated regimes in favour of those who regulate greenhouse gas emissions with a light touch or not at all – ultimately undermining the scientific aim of the talks.
Having navigated the rigorous and arduous security and registration procedure here at the Bella Centre, our aim is to ensure that the voice of UK manufacturing is not lost in the scramble for a political deal and bring you the latest developments from inside the talks every step of the way over the next two weeks.