Nearly 200 delegations have gathered in Qatar to plan for a new international climate pact . The talks are expected to be the first major step toward reaching an agreement on how much of Earth's atmosphere should remain covered by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases after 2020. Earth is seeing crop failures , new weather patterns , record ice melt , acidifying oceans . The European Union has already cut in its emissions by one-fifth , compared with 1990 , and is considering extending that to 30 % by 2020 . There 's doubt that at the global level , emissions-cutting goals will be matched by deeds .
Nearly 200 delegations have gathered in Qatar to plan for a new international climate pact . The talks are expected to be the first major step toward reaching an agreement on how much of Earth's atmosphere should remain covered by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases after 2020. Earth is seeing crop failures , new weather patterns , record ice melt , acidifying oceans . There 's doubt that at the global level , emissions-cutting goals will be matched by deeds .