Climate Ignorami in last minute bid to derail world economy at Paris

World leaders must step into the ongoing UN climate change negotiations, to remove roadblocks and ensure their negotiating teams can lay the groundwork for an agreement at landmark talk in December, an influential group of former leaders has urged. The Elders – a group including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, Graca Machel, the Mozambican politician and widow of Nelson Mandela, and Mary Robinson, formerly president of Ireland and a UN high commissioner – made their call on Friday, as the latest round of pre-Paris negotiations ended with many key issues left open. –Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 4 September 2015

A senior Obama administration official will visit India and China next week to “consult” on climate change ahead of the crucial UN climate talks in Paris later this year, the White House has said. “Senior Advisor to the President, Brian Deese, will visit New Delhi on September 7 and Beijing on September 9 and 10. He will meet with senior officials in both countries, including Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in India and Executive Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in China, to consult on key international climate change issues,” a White House statement said. —Press Trust of India, 5 September 2015