?But Guyana optimisticBy Leonard GildarieDiplomats and others at the residence of the British High Commissioner, Bel Air,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysshare.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys Supply[/url], on Monday where a climate change documentary, ?The Burning Agenda-The Climate Change Crisis in the Caribbean?, was launched.Just weeks before a key international conference on climate change,[url=http://www.salecheapjerseys.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys Cheap[/url], the United Nations has admitted that a new treaty to slow global warming may not happen in December.But the Guyana Government says that it remains optimistic and will be monitoring the situation closely.The news will come at a time when Guyana is banking heavily on the Copenhagen, Denmark, meeting in December to strike a deal where Guyana can get financial incentives to keep its forests alive to help mitigate the ravages of climate change.According to Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General?s Climate Change Support Team, ?it?s hard to say how far the conference will be able to go? because the U.S. Congress has not agreed on a climate bill, and industrialized nations have not agreed on targets to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions or funding to help developing countries limit their discharges.News reports also said yesterday that the United Nations? (UN) Secretary-General,[url=http://www.nfljerseyschinaauthentic.us/]Wholesale Jerseys From China[/url], Ban Ki-moon, has made a new climate treaty his top priority, hosting a September 22 summit on climate change to spur political support and traveling extensively to build political momentum for a global agreement to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which only requires 37 industrialized nations to cut emissions.Pasztor told a news conference, ?There is tremendous activity by governments in capitals and internationally to shape the outcome? of the climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in early December, which ?is a good development? because political leadership is essential to make a deal.But he indicated that Copenhagen most likely won?t produce a treaty,[url=http://www.nfljerseyscheaponline.us@#$%&/]Wholesale Jerseys Online[/url], but instead will push governments as far as they can go on the content of an agreement.Obama fight?The Secretary-General believes that we must maintain the political momentum established by the 101 heads of state and government who attended the climate change summit and continue to aim for an ambitious, politically binding agreement in Copenhagen that would chart the way for future post-Copenhagen negotiations that lead to a legally binding global agreement,? Pasztor said.Ban was visiting Seattle on Monday to promote action on climate change. The U.N. chief told a news conference that he still thinks the U.S. can come up with an ambitious measure that will encourage other nations to act on carbon emissions.?I?m very encouraged by the strong commitment by the Obama administration,? Ban said.Pasztor stressed that there is still a final negotiating session in Barcelona,[url=http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssale.us@#$%&/]Cheap NFL Jerseys[/url], Spain, from November 2 to November 6, that will be followed by two more weeks of work in Copenhagen.Guyana will be attending this forum.Obama attended the U.N. climate summit, and this week the Senate environment committee will take up its version of a global warming bill which would cut greenhouse gases by about 80 percent by 2050 and require more domestic energy to come from renewable sources.But with work still to be done on health care and deep divisions in Congress over how to deal with climate change, chances the Senate will pass a climate bill by the end of the year are slim.Ban said he plans to meet with Senate leaders to encourage passage of the climate bill.OptimismMeanwhile, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, during the launching of a climate change documentary film, ?The Burning Agenda-The Climate Change Crisis in the Caribbean?, on Monday at the residence of the British High Commission, stressed the need for an urgent agreement on climate change by world leaders.Alluding to a recent US poll which saw American belief in the effects of climate change dropping alarmingly from 76 per cent to 56 per cent, the government official was critical and pointed out that all the evidence is there to prove that climate change exists and its effects were devastating.Noting that talks like these can only serve to derail the climate talks, Persaud was happy that US President Barack Obama was leading the fight.The seriousness of the situation could be measured by the damage caused by climate change. Over the past 10 years, almost US$3.3B was spent because of damage due to weather systems in the region.With Guyana being below sea level and 90 per cent persons on coastlands where the bulk of the economic activity takes place, the situation is serious.On top of this, experts believe that by the end of this century,[url=http://www.chinanfljerseysauthentic.us@#$%&/]Cheap NFL Jerseys China[/url], there will be a 20cm sea level rise.These factors all threaten the agricultural sector of the region, he said.With this sector contributing close to 35 per cent of the GDP of Guyana, the Minister made reference to the massive 2004-2005 flooding which caused the country to lose 605 of its GDP.With a mere US$5M ($1B) spent on drainage in Guyana annually, Persaud said that it will cost Guyana almost US$1B to fight climate change.So far, Guyana has made progress in its campaign. In addition to a climate change office, the recently commissioned Doppler radar system at Timehri will serve as an early warning system for possible unusual weather patterns.Addressing a gathering of high level diplomat and local and regional climate experts, the Minister pointed out that Guyana agricultural diversification US$26 programme with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is one of the ways that the government is attempting to deal with the situation.He also mentioned the work to build a hydro power station and the initiative of GuySuCo to install a co-generation plant that is using bio-diesel.However, the Minister noted that while earlier this year,[url=http://www.cheapjerseysshare.us@#$%&/]NFL Jerseys Authentic[/url], the expectations were high for the Copenhagen talks, these were tempered down.But Guyana is confident and optimistic and the country is staying on course, he said.