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Climate Talks Open in Madrid Amid Dire Warnings

Lisa Bryant

   MADRID - Representatives of nearly 200 countries begin annual climate
   talks in Madrid Monday, shadowed by alarming evidence of a deepening
   climate crisis and the looming exit of the United States from a global
   pact to fight it.

   A pair of grim United Nations reports published in recent days
   underscore the scope and real-life impact of insufficient climate
   action -- underscored by global protests Friday in the latest show of
   people power.

   "Climate change is becoming real in ways people hadn't imagined
   earlier," said Simon Buckle, climate change head at the Paris-based
   Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "Maybe
   they were thinking the impacts would be a long way in the future.
   They're not; they're here."

   Presided over by Chile, which bowed out of hosting the meeting after
   social unrest at home, this latest meeting -- known by its acronym COP
   25 -- aims to finalize rules for implementing the 2015 Paris climate
   pact.

   Environmentalists hope it will also set the stage for countries to beef
   up their greenhouse gas-cutting commitments at next year's conference
   in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

   WATCH: 195 Nations Meet in Madrid for Climate Talks