Lyon: Climate change one summit at a time

Talks on climate change are moving at a snail’s pace. That was the criticism levelled by UN chief Ban Ki-moon this week. Climate negotiators fear that November’s climate summit in Paris will be the graveyard for a deal to stop temperatures rising above 2 degrees celsius.

It’s a view shared by Samantha Smith, Leader WWF Global Climate & Energy Initiative attending the Lyon climate conference.

“This is probably going to be the hottest year ever. And thousands of people have already died in India, in Pakistan, as a result of extreme heatwaves this year. So in that context I would not want to say that I am optimistic.”

After two days of talks and workshops looking at how cities can contribute to combatting climate change, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo was more positive:

“What we need is a peaceful revolution which brings about an environmental transition, whether as a rich country or a developing country, we must use our resources sustainably and of course use renewables.”

Wi