Climate talks draft agreement expresses ‘alarm and concern’

By SETH BORENSTEIN, ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Governments are poised to express “alarm and concern” about about how much Earth has already warmed and encourage one another to end their use of coal. That’s according to a draft released Wednesday of the final document expected at U.N. climate talks. The early version of the document also impresses on countries the need to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about half by 2030 even though pledges so far from governments don’t add up to that frequently stated goal. In a significant move, countries would urge one another to speed up phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels in the draft. But the document has no explicit reference to ending the use of oil and gas.