Attendees of Global-Warming Talks to Emit as Much CO2 as 200,000 Passenger Cars

Attendees of Global-Warming Talks to Emit as Much CO2 as 200,000 Passenger Cars

The 17,000 people visiting Denmark for global talks on reducing greenhouse gases will release as much carbon dioxide during the two-week event as about 200,000 U.S. passenger cars do in the period, according to Bloomberg news service.

Environmental activists, government envoys, business leaders and journalists will emit 40,500 tons of the global-warming gas traveling to and within Copenhagen and for electricity and heat in their hotels and meeting rooms, according to an estimate by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which oversees the talks.

"The fact that all these people are flying into Copenhagen is a wonderful irony," Adair Turner, chairman of a committee that advises the U.K. government on climate change, said in an interview with Bloomberg. Turner said he's taking the "more carbon-friendly" approach of appearing at the conference via video conference.

Envoys from more than 190 nations aim to devise an agreement while in Copenhagen to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases that U.N.-sponsored scientists have said are causing "unequivocal" global warming, threatening to increase droughts and raise sea levels, swamping island-nations and coastal towns.

Attendees at the Dec. 7-18 talks include U.S. President Obama, Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser, and Prince Charles, the heir to the U.K. throne.

The emissions equal those of 203,302 typical passenger cars in 14 days, according to Bloomberg calculations using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. The average car travels about 12,500 miles a year, releasing 11,450 pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. agency.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.