More people accept animal research

conservation technologies… we could meet and surpass the Kyoto targets easily in a way that would strengthen, not weaken, our economies'. Global warming and melting ice, he suggested, could lead to a future climate conference in Canada being held on 'a raft somewhere'. Clinton pointed out that there was a growing demand for action within the US, highlighting efforts by 10 states and 192 cities to cut their emissions. Negotiators finally agreed the revised statement as the talks dragged on into the small hours. They also agreed an action plan among Kyoto members to extend the protocol when its first phase expires in 2012. The next Kyoto phase will demand harsher cuts in greenhouse gas pollution from developed countries, but the scope and timing of these have not yet been agreed. Rees reiterated the call first made by the science academies of the G8 nations, along with Brazil, China and India, in a joint statement last June directed at the G8 leaders meeting in Gleneagles in Scotland. " Such a study should help bring the international community closer together in the battle against climate change, " he said. Some researchers have said global reductions of between 60 and 80 per cent will probably be needed by 2050 to stabilise the climate. They believe that should keep the global average temperature to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The world is already 0.7°C towards that, with another 0.6°C expected to come over the next few decades. The role of developing nations in the new phase of Kyoto remains unclear, though they will probably not be asked to take on binding emission targets. One idea is voluntary targets, with no penalties for missing them but incentives for exceeding them. China and India have been a focus for the talks. Both have huge reserves of coal, whose burning would swamp any emission cuts by the developed world, further supporting the major study Rees and others believe is urgent. Britain has seen a recent upsurge in the activities of animal rights activists, whose targets have included Oxford University's plans for its new biomedical sciences building and the Huntingdon Life Sciences research facility. The impact of such activities on the public is unclear but a new survey suggests that support for the use of animal tests in medical research is not faltering, and may be slightly gaining ground. And research support bodies have had some recent …