There are high hopes that the upcoming Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change (December 7 to 18) may yield a new global agreement on reducing carbon emissions to follow the Kyoto Protocol.

Despite widely publicised differences between developing and developed countries in the run-up to the conference, leaders of world’s most advanced economies have declared their commitment to “an ambitious outcome” for Copenhagen.

Not the least the European Union. Its 27 members have already set high targets to reduce CO2 emissions (by 20 percent by 2020, and by 30 percent if other countries follow). The EU hopes its Emission Trading System (ETS) will be a model for a globalised trading system, allowing for more effective reporting, capping and offset-trading between industrialised and emerging economies. The ETS has been operating since 2005 and is the largest such trading system in the world.

If there is agreement at Copenhagen, it will incorporate complex financial tools to make sure that environmental efficiency doesn’t stifle economic growth. This is one of the key issues for emerging countries such as India, China, Brazil and South Africa. They accept some responsibility to contribute to global CO2 reductions, but are nervous of measures which jeopardise powerful economic growth.

For the EU, this too is the key issue…that the attempt to lower global temperatures should go hand in hand with business efficiency. Along with partners in government and industry in India, the EU has been proving how this can be brought to work on the ground.

For journalists interested in this angle on one of the most important issues Copenhagen will address, Mostra is making available new video material shot in two states in India (Rajastan and Madhya Pradesh).

The video illustrates the scale of the challenge in India, the views of ordinary Indians towards global warming, an explanation of the proposed sectoral crediting mechanism, and solutions that the business community is putting in place.

The material includes

- a long and short version of the film.

- an extended B-Roll which includes multiple interview clips and colourful atmospheric shots of India, suitable for illustrating environmental issues as they are experienced in the field.

- a full script and shotlist accompanying the B-Roll.