EARTH

The United Nations Climate summit (COP15) is likely to reach a final deal as world leaders were beginning to arrive at Copenhagen.

New data released today by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program says that by 2010 ocean levels are expected to rise by 0.5 to 1.5 meters.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, Japan's biggest maker of construction steel, said it would cut the price of H-shaped steel, its mainstay product, to the lowest level in six years due to weak domestic demand.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday the French state would raise 35 billion euros ($51.33 billion) to fund strategic investments in the coming months, with the priority given to higher education and training.

Having an integrated clean technology strategy will be a big part of winning business in the 21st century, a Coca-Cola executive told Reuters.com on Monday, and its investments in refrigeration will likely have the biggest impact on that strategy long-term.

A 20 percent cut in greenhouse gases by rich nations would be a pretty good result for a U.N. climate summit even though it falls short of developing nations' hopes, the head of the U.N. climate panel said on Tuesday.

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu got the world's attention this week in Copenhagen when its proposal for strong, legally binding emissions pacts for all nations held up the work of international climate talks.

Over 1,700 scientists in the U.K. signed a statement on Thursday, stating that they agree with evidence that shows humans are responsible for climate change.

Billionaire financier George Soros outlined a way to unlock $100 billion (61.5 billion pounds) to help slow global warming on Thursday as talks on a new U.N. climate deal slowed over tough demands by the Pacific island state of Tuvalu.

The impacts of climate change have worsened almost every year since 1980, according to a study on Wednesday inspired by the Dow Jones stock index that distils global warming into a single number.

Four nations proposed guiding principles for green funds on Wednesday, hoping to end deadlock at U.N. talks on ways to manage billions of dollars to help the poor cope with global warming.

China remains a top investment destination for U.S. companies in 2010 amid the global economic slowdown as they expect to see continuous growth in sales and profit, an American Chamber of Commerce study showed.

This year is likely to be the fifth warmest on record and the first decade of this century the hottest since records began, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday.

Uncontrolled greenhouse gas emissions could lead to global warming of 4 degrees centigrade or more by the end of the century, Britain's Meteorological Office said on Monday.

About 15,000 delegates from about 190 nations are meeting in Copenhagen from Dec 7-18 and have been tasked with agreeing immediate action to curb greenhouse gases and come up with billions of dollars in climate aid for poorer countries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the end of the U.N. climate summit, joining dozens of leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, in the latest sign of growing momentum toward a new global accord.

President Obama, who had planned to speak at the climate change summit in UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen on Wednesday, will now only arrive on Dec. 18, the White House said Friday.

After two years of work, and 12 years after their last attempt, 190 nations gather in Copenhagen from Monday to try to avert dramatic climate change -- what one minister called the most difficult talks ever embarked upon by humanity.

Kenya could lose up to 3 percent of its $35 billion GDP annually by 2030 due to global warming, a donor-funded study on the impact of climate change on east Africa's biggest economy showed on Friday.

Chilean retailer Hites raised $43 million on Thursday, selling a near 30 percent stake in the company in an initial public offering that the company said would help expand its businesses.

Droughts and floods stoked by global warming threaten to destabilize China's grain production, the nation's top meteorologist has warned, urging bigger grain reserves and strict protection of farmland and water supplies.