Clegg's Rio+20 water pledge
The government says households struggling to pay their water bills will get help through new 'social tariffs'. The announcement will be made by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Rio+20 Conference in Brazil today.
The government says households struggling to pay their water bills will get help through new 'social tariffs'. The announcement will be made by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Rio+20 Conference in Brazil today.
The text of the agreement that is likely to define the Rio+20 summit has been described as "weak" by many of those in attendance. The EU's climate change chief Connie Hedegaard tweeted that "nobody ... was happy" about the text:
#rioplus20 telling that nobody in that room adopting the text was happy. That's how weak it is. And they all knew. Disappointing #Rio20
The charity Oxfam likened the outcomes of the summit to "re-arranging the deck chairs" while the Titanic sinks, echoing the verdict of many NGOs.
Govts at #Rioplus20 re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while 1.4bn ppl struggle daily 4 food, water, energy http://t.co/xEMN9ZEF
The head of the UNFCCC - the UN convention that was agreed at the last Earth Summit in Rio 20 years ago - was disappointed that the text did not mention ending subsidies on fossil fuels.
All major economies have agreed to #EndFossilFuelSubsidies - this pledge now needs to be translated into action to fight #climatechange
The government says households struggling to pay their water bills will get help through new 'social tariffs'.
Food prices are rising due to environmental factors, increased populations and, experts argue, increased financial speculation.
Paul McCartney has joined a host of stars calling for Rio+20 to protect the Arctic from overfishing and oil exploration.