December 10, 2010

We talk to Robert Watson, the former head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, about the level of inertia at the climate change talks in Cancun. 

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PART TWO

Climate Inertia - Robert Watson

Representatives from nearly 200 countries have been meeting in Cancun, Mexico this week. Officially, the goal is to come up with a successor to the Kyoto Protocol before it expires in 2012.

But in reality, most people's sights are set much lower. 2010 has been the warmest year on record in Canada. And it's on track to be the warmest year on record globally. But despite the rising mercury, the rising sea levels and the rising tide of warnings from climate scientists, the global effort to combat climate chance seems stuck in neutral.

Robert Watson knows all to well how that can happen. And he has some ideas about how to kick-start the process too. He's a climate scientist and the former head of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He's now the Chief Scientist and Senior Adviser for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, as well as the Chief Scientific Adviser with the British Government's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He was in Rome.

We also requested an interview with Canada's interim environment minister John Baird, but he was unavailable.

Related Links:

• How to improve the IPCC
• UN's Ban tells negotiators at climate talks: 'We need results
  now'

Other Segments from today's show:

• Singing Politicians
• The Cost of Incivility