Day One of the Conference of the Parties 17 (COP 17) – the
annual UN global conference on climate change – saw a report
from the World Meterological Organization, the UN’s weather
agency, stating 2011’s temperatures ranked as the 10th highest
on record. 2011 also saw the Arctic Sea ice volume at its lowest
on record. The report provided provisional figures and final
updates and figures will be reported in March 2012. For more on
the report’s findings, read the WMO’s full press release. Other
news from the first day of the conference, which runs through
Dec. 9, included the announcement of Qatar as the host of COP
18, to be held next year. The Republic of Korea will host the
pre-COP. Much discussion before the conference -- and likely
throughout -- has focused on greenhouse gas limitations and the
future of the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol set binding emission
targets for 37 industrialized countries. One of the major goals
set by COP 17 is to formulate a plan to limit the global
temperature rise to 2 degrees C