On October 7th 2019 Paris members of Extinction Rebellion blocked streets with mass sit-ins as riot police looked on.

In Berlin people blocked the Grosser Stern, a traffic circle in the middle of the German capital's Tiergarten park dominated by the landmark Victory Column, in a protest that started in the early hours.

Members of Extinction Rebellion also set up a camp outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's office ahead of what it called an "international rebellion" starting on October 7th.

Founded in Britain in 2018, the movement, also known as XR, now has chapters in some 50 countries.

***

A wildfire raged out of control along the northern edge of Los Angeles on October 11th, forcing thousands of people from their homes as firefighters battled flames from the air and on the ground.

Police Chief Michel Moore said mandatory evacuations encompassed about 100,000 people in over 20,000 homes.

Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said the fire had grown to more than 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) and at least 25 homes had been damaged.

A middle-aged man who was near where the fire was burning went into cardiac arrest and died, the chief said, but he did not have details.

The blaze erupted around 9 p.m. Thursday along the northern tier of the San Fernando Valley as powerful Santa Ana winds swept through Southern California. Smoke streamed across the city and out to sea.

Terrazas said there were sustained winds of 20-25 mph (32-40 kph) with gusts over 50 mph (80 kph) and relative humidity levels had fallen as low as 3%.

The fire erupted in Sylmar, the northernmost portion of the valley, and spread westward at a rate of 800 acres (324 hectares) an hour into Granada Hills and Porter Ranch, part of a so-called urban-wildland interface where subdivisions crowd against the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains. The cause wasn't immediately known.

Porter Ranch, an upper middle-class suburb that was the backdrop for the 1982 movie "E.T." is no stranger to evacuations. Four years ago, a blowout at an underground natural gas well operated by Southern California Gas Co. in the neighboring Aliso Canyon storage facility drove 8,000 families from their homes.

Helicopters made repeated water drops as crews in Los Angeles attacked flames in and around homes. Water- and retardant-dropping airplanes joined the battle after daybreak. About 1,000 firefighters were on the lines.

Fire danger is high throughout Southern California after the typically dry summer and early fall, and the notorious Santa Ana winds - linked to the spread of many wildfires - bring a dangerous mix of witheringly low humidity levels and powerful gusts.

***

A spokeswoman for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California says the complex has not been damaged by a nearby wildfire that has grown to more than 970 acres (392 hectares).

The fire erupted before dawn as strong winds hit Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles.

Flames are pushing through sparsely developed hills between suburban tracts. Horses are being evacuated from small ranches.

The brush fire broke out just before dawn Wednesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in the Simi Valley area north of Los Angeles.

Red Cross spokesman Tom Horan says people are confused and scared as they arrived at a shelter set up in a community center in the city of Thousand Oaks, some wearing masks.

They registered with shelter staff amid the banging of cots being set up and food and water being carried inside.

Horan says the shelter can accommodate about 380 evacuees during the day and about 180 overnight. Pets must be kept outside in crates.

***

Strong winds fanned new Southern California wildfires on October 31th, burning homes and forcing residents to flee their homes in a repeat of the frightening scenario already faced by tens of thousands across the state.

The latest blazes erupted in the heavily populated inland region east of Los Angeles as strong, seasonal Santa Ana winds continued to blow with gusts of up to 60 mph (96 kph) predicted to last until the evening before they fade away.

A fast-moving fire spread into the northern neighborhoods of the city of San Bernardino, forcing the evacuation of 490 homes - approximately 1,300 people, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

Fire Chief Don Trapp said initial assessment showed that six homes and two outbuildings were destroyed or damaged in the 200-acre (80-hectare) fire.

As winds buffeted the state this week, utilities deliberately cut power to more than a million people to prevent high winds from damaging power lines and sparking wildfires.

Southern California Edison said its safety power cuts still affected about 215,000 people by October 30th and warned that outages were under consideration for about 800,000 people.

Pacific Gas & Electric, which has staged three sweeping blackouts this week, restored power to hundreds of thousands of people Wednesday and expected to have it back for the others sometime October 31th.

The days of windstorms are not unusual for the fall season, which has seen vicious gusts propel a series of deadly and destructive California wildfires in recent years.

***

On October 31th authorities in Ventura County ordered evacuations for about 7,500 people in an area that includes roughly 1,800 buildings as the blaze threatened the small, unincorporated rural community of Somis.

Hundreds of firefighters raced to attack the blaze, which initially was fanned by moderate winds and then was fueled by tinder-dry brush in canyons. Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said more than 400 firefighting personnel were on the job. The fire grew in only a few hours to around 7,400 acres - just over 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) - before midnight.

Ventura County Fire Assistant Chief John McNeil estimated that the fire could reach around 12,000 acres before running out of fuel. Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said a small drone that appeared to be "looking at photography of the fire" interfered with aerial firefighting efforts.

***

Tourists and Venetians have donned high boots and taken to raised walkways to slosh through the high water that has hit much of the lagoon city.

Venice's tide forecast office said the water level peaked at 1.27 metres (about 4 feet 3 inches) on Novembre 12th but warned that an even higher tide was forecast for after nightfall.

The high water invaded cafes and stores.

As a precaution, authorities closed nursery schools.

San Marco Square, more usually thronged with tourists, was largely deserted.

Many hotels keep disposable knee-high plastic boots handy for tourists.

Venetians' wardrobes often include over-the-knee rubber boots.

Bad weather has dogged Italy lately, with near-daily downpours drenching much of the country.

Meteorologists predicted more heavy rain coming in late Tuesday, especially in the northeast, which includes Venice, as well as in Sicily and elsewhere in the south.

***

A picture taken from the International Space Station shows smoke stretching from the edge of Eastern Australia over the Pacific Ocean.

About 60 fires were burning around New South Wales on the morning of November 13th, with 27 uncontained while being battled by more than 1,000 firefighters, the Rural Fire Service said.

A body was found late on November 13th in a scorched forest near the town of Kempsey in northeast New South Wales, police said.

He is suspected to be a 58-year-old man who lived in a nearby shed and had not been seen since Friday when ferocious wildfires across New South Wales killed three other people and destroyed at least 150 homes.

***

Students in Berlin, Germany marched in support of the global climate strike on November 29th, joining 3,000 protests across the world.

Seventeen-year-old protester, Robin Ebelt said "the generation before us messed it up" and that he wanted to live "for another 60 years."

Fridays for Future activist, Quang Paasch said protesters needed to continue to "take to the streets" to defend the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Fridays for Future protests were originally started by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg in 2018 who was outraged by the lack of government action on climate change.

The worldwide student climate marches come a few days before the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP 25, begins on December 2nd in Madrid.

***

World leaders were arriving on December 2nd for the start of a two-week international climate conference in Madrid that seeks to step up efforts to stop global warming.

The UN is warning that the efforts so far are insufficient to overcome the “point of no return” in climate change.

The summit, which moved to the Spanish capital after Chile had to pull out amid anti-government protests, aims to put the finishing touches to the rules governing the 2015 Paris accord.

That involves creating a functioning international emissions-trading system and compensating poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.

***

Spain's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera visited an art installation in Madrid on December 4th, which simulates pollution levels of some of the world's biggest cities.

Ribera and the Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organisation, Maria Neira, walked around the "Pollution Pods" created by British artist Michael Pinsky on the sidelines of the COP25 climate change meeting.

Safe perfume blends and fog machines inside the geodesic domes imitate the air quality of some of the world's most polluted cities - London, Beijing, Sao Paulo, New Delhi - as well as one of the most pristine environments on earth, Tautra in Norway.

Ribera said experiencing the simulated environments was "impressive" and helps understand how pollution affects people's health.

***

Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in Madrid on December 6th to join thousands of other young people in a march to demand world leaders take real action against climate change.

Ahead of the march, Thunberg joined a sit-in protest at the conference venue in the Spanish capital.

Madrid is hosting a two-week, United Nations-sponsored talks aimed at streamlining the rules on global carbon markets and agreeing on how poor countries should be compensated for destruction largely caused by emissions from rich nations.

The talks come as scientific evidence mounts about disasters that could ensue from further global warming, including a study commissioned by 14 seafaring nations due to be published Friday that predicts that unchecked climate change could devastate fishery industries and coral reef tourism.

That could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in losses by 2050, says the report, adding that limiting global warming would lessen the economic impact for coastal countries, but that they also need to adapt to ocean changes.

The presence in Madrid of Thunberg was expected to shift the attention to demands for greater action by non-governmental organizations and a whole new generation of environment-minded activists.

Past appearances by the 16-year-old have won her plaudits from some leaders - and criticism from others who’ve taken offence at the angry tone of her speeches.

An advocate for carbon-free transportation, Thunberg travelled by train overnight from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, where she arrived earlier this week after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States by catamaran.

That became necessary after a sudden change of venue for the COP25 summit following a wave of anti-government protests that hit Chile, the original host.

***

Climate activist Greta Thunberg said on December 6th that calls for real action against climate change were still being ignored by political leaders, despite their continuous praise of the global environmental youth movement she helped create.

The Swedish teenager was in Madrid, where United Nations-sponsored talks on climate change are underway, to join fellow young climate activists, representatives of Latin America's indigenous peoples and thousands of other protesters.

Before marching, Thunberg said at a press conference that she hoped the COP25 summit would lead to "something concrete" and "increasing awareness among people in general".

Surrounded by three other activists from Spain and Uganda, she added: "The climate crisis is still being ignored by those in power."

The 16-year-old was followed by a swarm of cameras and reporters from the very first step she took out of an overnight train from Lisbon.

The advocate of carbon-free transportation arrived in the Portuguese capital earlier this week after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States by catamaran.

During the December 2-13 talks, nearly 200 countries are meant to streamline the rules on global carbon markets and agree on how poor countries should be compensated for destruction largely caused by emissions from rich nations.

"We are tired of the praises that you keep giving the activists," she said. "We want you to act."

***

Swedish teen Greta Thunberg joined fellow young climate activists, representatives of Latin America's indigenous peoples, and thousands of other protesters in a climate march on the streets of Madrid on December 6th.

Thunberg was in Madrid, where United Nations-sponsored talks on climate change are underway.

She said that calls for real action against climate change are still being “ignored" by political leaders despite their continuous praise of the global environmental youth movement she helped create.

Amid an overwhelming level of attention from cameras and other protesters she left the march shortly after it began, getting in a red car that she's been using to move around the city.

During the Dec. 2-13 talks, nearly 200 countries are meant to streamline the rules on global carbon markets and agree on how poor countries should be compensated for destruction largely caused by emissions from rich nations.

An official directly involved in the negotiations said that despite a few setbacks, the technical negotiations were progressing, although many issues were being left for ministerial-level meetings in the summit's second and final week.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous given the sensitivity of the discussions, added that a political declaration on greater “ambition" - a buzzword at the summit - was shaping to be “difficult to achieve.”

***

Sweish climate activist Greta Thunberg says she was "very surprised" to be named Time's “person of the year”, despite becoming the figurehead of a global youth movement pressing for faster action climate change.

Leaving a UN climate conference in Madrid, Thunberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she wanted to dedicate the award to all young activists.

"I should not be the one to be person of the year, it should be everyone in the Fridays for Future movement because what we have done, we have done together," she told the AP by phone interview.

She is now planning to head home to Sweden for some rest during the holidays.

Thunberg said she was hopeful that the message being pushed by her and other activists - that governments need to drastically increase their efforts to combat climate change - is finally getting through.

***

Marathon international climate talks ended on December 15th with negotiators postponing until next year a key decision on how to regulate global carbon markets.

After two weeks of negotiations in Madrid on tackling global warming, delegates from almost 200 nations passed declarations calling for greater ambition in cutting planet-heating greenhouse gases and in helping poor countries that are suffering the effects of climate change.

But despite holding the longest climate talks ever in 25 nearly annual editions they left one of the thorniest issues for the next summit in Glasgow, in a year's time.

Martin Kaiser of Greenpeace Germany said in the meantime he hoped the European Union's 'Green Deal,' which proposes a net-zero emmisions target by 2050, would be implemented to "set a precedence for other economic regions" of the world.

02:57:20

00:00:00

Climate protests, arrests, in NLands, France, Germany

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 7 October 2019

1. Members of Extinction Rebellion with flags walking on bridge

2. Pan from riot police to demonstrators, UPSOUND (French) "We are Extinction Rebellion"

00:11:22

Firefighters battle southern California blaze

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Porter Ranch, California - 11 October 2019

3. Various of firefighters spraying water on flames near homes and helicopter dropping water near homes

00:23:22

New wildfire scorches area north of Los Angeles

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Simi Valley, California - 30 October 2019

4. Medium view of smoke blowing across roadway

5. Fire burning along hillside near buildings

6. Fire burning trees and brush

00:35:22

Wildfire east of Los Angeles destroys homes

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

San Bernardino, California - 31 October 2019

7. Various night views of homes burning

8. Dayside views of smoldering remains of a house

00:47:22

Hundreds battle new Southern California wildfire

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Somis, California - 31 October 2019

9. Firefighters spraying fire on mountainside

10. Fire truck next to burning mountainside

11. Fire amid trees, grass

00:59:22

St Mark's Square in Venice flooded

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Restrictions: Part must credit Gaetano Guzzardi; Part must not obscure logo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Central Venice, Italy - 12 November 2019

12. Wide of San Marco Square flooded

13. Tourists carrying luggage through flood waters

14. Tourist wading through flood waters

15. Various of tourists walking through flooded area

01:15:22

Smoke from Australia fires visible from Space

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NASA

International Space Station - 13 November 2019

16. STILL: smoke from edge of Australia stretches over Pacific Ocean, red dots on picture indicate actively burning fires.

01:20:22

German climate activists rally at Brandenburg Gate

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Berlin - 29 November 2019

17. Various of protesters in front of Brandenburg Gate

01:31:22

Leaders arrive in Madrid as climate summit begins

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 2 December 2019

18. New European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arriving

01:37:21

Spanish art installation recreates air pollution

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 4 December 2019

19. Spanish Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera (black coat) and Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the World Health Organization, Maria Neira (with a scarf) entering cell recreating the air pollution in Beijing

20. Ribera and Neira entering cell recreating the air pollution in New Delhi

21. Banner with COP25 logo and slogan (Spanish) "#TiempoDeActuar" ("Time to act")

01:50:03

Thunberg joins sit-in protest at COP25 summit

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 6 December 2019

22. Various of Thunberg joining sit-in protest against the lack of government action to tackle climate change

01:57:24

Thunberg calls for 'real action' on climate change

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 6 December 2019

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist

" The world leaders, the people in power, grasp the urgency of the climate crisis because right now it doesn't seem like they are."

02:10:07

Thousands join Thunberg in Madrid climate march

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 6 December 2019

++NIGHT SHOTS++

24. Various top shots of thousands of protesters marching in Madrid near Cibeles Fountain

02:18:07

Thungberg 'very surprised' about Time award

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Location unknown - 11 December 2019

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist

" I should not be the one to be person of the year, it should be everyone in the Fridays for Future movement because what we have done, we have done together."

02:31:16

Frustration as COP25 ends without carbon deal

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid - 15 December 2019

26. COP25 venue, sign

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Kaiser, Greenpeace Germany:

"US President (Donald) Trump and President (Jair) Bolsonaro from Brazil have undermined these negotiations here and if they are going to continue so next year, we need a different answer from strong economies like the European Union, together with China, together with India, to come up with a new narrative of hope for the young people out there."

Environmentalists and city leaders in San Francisco said that they will push ahead with aggressive climate change policies despite President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to boost the coal industry.

Trump, who has called global warming a "hoax" invented by the Chinese, said during his campaign that he would kill Obama's climate plans and bring back coal jobs.

But the senior environment advisor to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said clean energy creates thousands of new jobs...and the idea that environmentalism is bad for business is false.

The director of the clean energy advocacy group "SF Environment" said the agency is also prepared to go to court if necessary to fight the order that eliminates many restrictions on fossil fuel production.

Meanwhile California Governor Jerry Brown said the state will help fill the void left by Trump's decision to unravel former President Barack Obama's plan to curb global warming.

Brown also signed a statement released by West Coast political leaders calling climate change one of the region's greatest threats due to wildfires, ocean acidification and drought.

California, along with New York, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

They also have mandated that half of each state's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

San Francisco, California - March 29, 2017

1. wide shot of San Francisco City Hall

2. close up of solar panels on City Hall roof shot from ground

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment

"We're on the rooftop of San Francisco City Hall which just celebrated its centennial anniversary. This is a classic example of the direction we're heading in our city. We can take an historic building like this, add solar panels to help power the building and also do a bunch of energy efficiency and water conservation projects in order to improve the output from here."

4. pan down from City Hall dome to solar panels on rooftop

5. electric vehicle charging station outside City Hall

6. green vehicle parking spot outside City Hall

7. wide shot of SF Environment agency electric vehicle

8. close up of SF Environment logo on electric car

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Raphael, Director - SF Environment

"It was a really tough day to be an American for me and for those of us here in San Francisco. We are so committed and so convinced of the importance of this work, to heal the planet, to get CO2 out of the air, to stop polluting our environment. When we hear from our top leader that this work is not only not valued but that they also want to go backwards in time, it's very demoralizing."

10. Composting Means Jobs sign in Raphael's office

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Raphael, Director - SF Environment

"Every one of us is asking the question: is it legally defensible, what they're doing? We are reading those same documents. We are looking at the Constitution. We are looking at the laws of our land. We are prepared to fight and prepared to demand that the law of the land remain in tact."

12. side profile shot of rows of solar panels on City Hall roof

13. close up of one solar panel

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment

"We've definitely been keeping a close eye on where those funds are coming into our city and how they may impact our programs. But, to be clear, the Mayor has made a very firm commitment that we're going to move forward our climate action plan in the city. This is something that we've embraced for over a decade now because it's the right thing to do. It's also the right thing to do both economically and from a public health perspective. If you look at San Francisco's thriving economy, we've managed to reduce our emissions by 24 percent while our economy has grown by over 50 percent. To say that going to a clean energy economy is somehow bad for business, that's just not the case in San Francisco, the Bay Area and many of the major cities throughout the United States are clear examples of that being the case."

15. medium static shot of City Hall dome above solar panels

Environmentalists and city leaders in San Francisco said that they will push ahead with aggressive climate change policies despite President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to boost the coal industry.

Trump, who has called global warming a "hoax" invented by the Chinese, said during his campaign that he would kill Obama's climate plans and bring back coal jobs.

But the senior environment advisor to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said clean energy creates thousands of new jobs...and the idea that environmentalism is bad for business is false.

The director of the clean energy advocacy group "SF Environment" said the agency is also prepared to go to court if necessary to fight the order that eliminates many restrictions on fossil fuel production.

Meanwhile California Governor Jerry Brown said the state will help fill the void left by Trump's decision to unravel former President Barack Obama's plan to curb global warming.

Brown also signed a statement released by West Coast political leaders calling climate change one of the region's greatest threats due to wildfires, ocean acidification and drought.

California, along with New York, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

They also have mandated that half of each state's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus074523

San Francisco, California - March 29, 2017

1. wide shot of San Francisco City Hall

2. close up of solar panels on City Hall roof shot from ground

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment (partially covered by shots 1-2 & 4-5)

"We're on the rooftop of San Francisco City Hall which just celebrated its centennial anniversary. This is a classic example of the direction we're heading in our city. We can take an historic building like this, add solar panels to help power the building and also do a bunch of energy efficiency and water conservation projects in order to improve the output from here."

4. pan down from City Hall dome to solar panels on rooftop

5. electric vehicle charging station outside City Hall

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Raphael, Director - SF Environment (partially covered by shots 7-9)

"It was a really tough day to be an American for me and for those of us here in San Francisco. We are so committed and so convinced of the importance of this work, to heal the planet, to get CO2 out of the air, to stop polluting our environment. When we hear from our top leader that this work is not only not valued but that they also want to go backwards in time, it's very demoralizing. Every one of us is asking the question: is it legally defensible, what they're doing? We are reading those same documents. We are looking at the Constitution. We are looking at the laws of our land. We are prepared to fight and prepared to demand that the law of the land remain in tact."

7. green vehicle parking spot outside City Hall

8. wide shot of SF Environment agency electric vehicle

9. close up of SF Environment logo on electric car

10. Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment (partially covered by shots 11-12)

"We've definitely been keeping a close eye on where those funds are coming into our city and how they may impact our programs. But, to be clear, the Mayor has made a very firm commitment that we're going to move forward our climate action plan in the city. This is something that we've embraced for over a decade now because it's the right thing to do. It's also the right thing to do both economically and from a public health perspective. If you look at San Francisco's thriving economy, we've managed to reduce our emissions by 24 percent while our economy has grown by over 50 percent. To say that going to a clean energy economy is somehow bad for business, that's just not the case in San Francisco, the Bay Area and many of the major cities throughout the United States are clear examples of that being the case."

11. composting Means Jobs sign in Raphael's office

12. medium static shot of City Hall dome above solar panels

Environmentalists and city leaders in San Francisco said that they will push ahead with aggressive climate change policies despite President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to boost the coal industry.

Trump, who has called global warming a "hoax" invented by the Chinese, said during his campaign that he would kill Obama's climate plans and bring back coal jobs.

But the senior environment advisor to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said clean energy creates thousands of new jobs...and the idea that environmentalism is bad for business is false.

The director of the clean energy advocacy group "SF Environment" said the agency is also prepared to go to court if necessary to fight the order that eliminates many restrictions on fossil fuel production.

Meanwhile California Governor Jerry Brown said the state will help fill the void left by Trump's decision to unravel former President Barack Obama's plan to curb global warming.

Brown also signed a statement released by West Coast political leaders calling climate change one of the region's greatest threats due to wildfires, ocean acidification and drought.

California, along with New York, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

They also have mandated that half of each state's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

San Francisco, California - March 29, 2017

1. wide shot of San Francisco City Hall

2. close up of solar panels on City Hall roof shot from ground

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment

"We're on the rooftop of San Francisco City Hall which just celebrated its centennial anniversary. This is a classic example of the direction we're heading in our city. We can take an historic building like this, add solar panels to help power the building and also do a bunch of energy efficiency and water conservation projects in order to improve the output from here."

4. pan down from City Hall dome to solar panels on rooftop

5. electric vehicle charging station outside City Hall

6. green vehicle parking spot outside City Hall

7. wide shot of SF Environment agency electric vehicle

8. close up of SF Environment logo on electric car

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Raphael, Director - SF Environment

"It was a really tough day to be an American for me and for those of us here in San Francisco. We are so committed and so convinced of the importance of this work, to heal the planet, to get CO2 out of the air, to stop polluting our environment. When we hear from our top leader that this work is not only not valued but that they also want to go backwards in time, it's very demoralizing."

10. Composting Means Jobs sign in Raphael's office

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Raphael, Director - SF Environment

"Every one of us is asking the question: is it legally defensible, what they're doing? We are reading those same documents. We are looking at the Constitution. We are looking at the laws of our land. We are prepared to fight and prepared to demand that the law of the land remain in tact."

12. side profile shot of rows of solar panels on City Hall roof

13. close up of one solar panel

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Tyrone Jue, Mayor's Senior Advisor on the Environment

"We've definitely been keeping a close eye on where those funds are coming into our city and how they may impact our programs. But, to be clear, the Mayor has made a very firm commitment that we're going to move forward our climate action plan in the city. This is something that we've embraced for over a decade now because it's the right thing to do. It's also the right thing to do both economically and from a public health perspective. If you look at San Francisco's thriving economy, we've managed to reduce our emissions by 24 percent while our economy has grown by over 50 percent. To say that going to a clean energy economy is somehow bad for business, that's just not the case in San Francisco, the Bay Area and many of the major cities throughout the United States are clear examples of that being the case."

15. medium static shot of City Hall dome above solar panels

Three years after sealing a landmark global climate deal in Paris, world leaders will be gathering again to agree on the fine print in Katowice, Poland from 2 December.

The euphoria of 2015 has given way to sober realisation that getting an agreement among almost 200 countries, each with their own political and economic demands, will be challenging, as evidenced by President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris accord, citing his mantra "America First."

"Looking from the outside perspective, it's an impossible task," Poland's deputy environment minister, Michal Kurtyka, said of the talks that he will preside in Katowice from December 2-14.

Top of the agenda will be finalising the so-called Paris rulebook, which determines how countries had to count their greenhouse gas emissions, transparently reporting them to the rest of the world and reveal what they are doing to reduce them.

Seasoned negotiators are calling the meeting, which is expected to draw 25,000 participants, 'Paris 2.0' because of the high stakes at play in Katowice.

Forest fires from California to Greece, droughts in Germany and Australia, tropical cyclones Mangkhut in the Pacific and Michael in the Atlantic: scientists say this year's extreme weather offers a glimpse of disasters to come if global warming continues unabated.

A recent report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that time is running out if the world wants to achieve the most ambitious target in the Paris agreement, keeping global warming at 1.5 Celsius.

The planet has already warmed by almost 1 degree since pre-industrial times and it is on course for another 2-3 degrees of warming by the end of the century unless drastic action is taken.

The Katowice conference will have "quite significant consequences for humanity and for the way in which we take care of our planet," Kurtyka told the Associated Press ahead of the talks.

Experts agree that the Paris goals can only be met by cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

But the Paris agreement let countries set their own emissions targets. Some are on track, others are not. Overall, the world is heading the wrong way.

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a new record in 2017, while the level of other heat-trapping gases such methane and nitrous oxide also rose.

2018 is expected to see another 2 per cent increase in human-made emissions, as construction of coal-fired power plants in Asia and Africa continue while the number of carbon-absorbing forests are felled faster than they can regrow.

"Everyone recognised that the national plans, when you add everything up, will take us way beyond 3, potentially 4 degrees Celsius warming," said Johan Rockstrom, the incoming Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

"We know that we're moving in the wrong direction," said Rockstrom. "We need to bend the global carbon emissions no later than 2020, in two years' time, to stand a chance to stay under 2 degrees Celsius."

Convincing countries to set new, tougher targets for emissions reduction by 2020 is a key challenge in Katowice.

Doing so will entail a transformation of all sectors of their economies, including a complete end to burning fossil fuel.

Poor nations want rich countries to pledge the biggest cuts, on the grounds that they're responsible for most of the carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Rich countries say they are willing to lead the way, but only if poor nations play their part as well.

"Obviously not all countries are at the same stage of development," said Lidia Wojtal, an associate with Berlin-based consultancy ClimateKos and a former Polish climate negotiator.

"So we need to also take that into account and differentiate between the responsibilities. And that's a huge task," she added.

Among those likely to be pressing hardest for ambitious measures will be small island nations, which are already facing serious challenges from climate change.

The US, meanwhile, is far from being the driving force it was in Paris under President Barack Obama.

Brazil and Australia, previously staunch backers of the accord, appeared to be following in Trump's footsteps.

Some observers fear nationalist thinking on climate could scupper all hopes of meaningful progress in Katowice. Others are more optimistic.

"We will soon see a large enough minority of significant economies moving decisively in the right direction," said Rockstrom.

"That can have spillover effects which can be positive," he added.

Poland could end up playing a crucial role in bringing opposing sides together.

The country presided over three previous rounds of climate talks, and its heavy reliance on carbon-intensive coal for energy is forcing Warsaw to mull some tough measures in the years ahead.

The 24th Conference of the Parties, or COP24 as it is known, will be held on the site of a Katowice mine that was closed in 1999, after 176 years of coal production.

Five out of the city's seven collieries have been closed since the 1990s, as Poland phased out communist-era subsidies and moved to a market economy.

Still, in another part of the city, some 1,500 miners continue to extract thousands of tons of coal daily.

Poland intends to send a signal that their future, and by extension that of millions of others whose jobs are at risk from decarbonisation, aren't being forgotten.

During the first week of talks, leaders are expected to sign a Polish-backed declaration calling for a "just transition" that will "create quality jobs in regions affected by transition to a low-carbon economy."

Then, negotiators will get down to the gritty task of trimming a 300-page draft into a workable and meaningful agreement that governments can sign off on at the end of the second week.

"I hope that parties will be able to reach a compromise and that we will be able to say that Katowice contributed positively to this global effort," Kurtyka said.

ARCHIVE: Redding, California, US - 28 July 2018

1. House burning down in Northern California wildfire

2. Firefighter spraying water on fire

3. House and forest on fire

4. Fire and ashes on the ground

ARCHIVE: Venice, Italy - 1 November 2018

5. People walking through flooded archway in boots

6. People in flooded archway

7. Flooded St Mark's Square in front of St Mark's Basilica, with seagull swimming in water

ARCHIVE: Manila Bay, Philippines - 15 September 2018

8. Palm trees waving as typhoon Mangkhut hits  

9. Traffic driving through floodwaters, with waves crashing in the background

Katowice, Poland - 20 November 2018

10. COP24 conference centre in front of adjacent "Spodek" Arena accommodating NGO area and exhibits

11. Logo of "COP24 Katowice" on COP24 conference centre

12. Workers applying design elements on COP24 conference centre

13. COP24 conference centre

14. COP24 conference site with tents, "Spodek" Arena and green areas

15. COP24 conference site in front of closed mine turned into Silesian museum and culture centre

Warsaw, Poland - 9 November 2018

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Michal Kurtyka, COP24 President and Polish Deputy Environment Minister:

"Looking from the outside perspective, it's an impossible task, getting agreed 196 countries, and I take it really in a very humble way, so I hope that parties will be able to reach a compromise and that we will be able to say that Katowice contributed positively to this global effort."

Katowice, Poland - 20 November 2018

17. Workers inside plenary hall of COP24 conference

18. Tables and screens in COP24 plenary hall

19. Workers unfolding posters reading (English) "Touch points in Katowice"

20. Hall in COP24 conference venue

21. People on stairs from COP24 conference entrance

Warsaw, Poland - 9 November 2018

22. Close up of Kurtyka's hands

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Michal Kurtyka, COP24 President and Polish Deputy Environment minister:

"It will be, I think, one of the important COPs, and we must remain humble, but it will be the one which will have also quite significant consequences for humanity and for the way we take care of our planet."

ARCHIVE: Panama City, Florida, US - 10 October 2018

24. Debris and damaged vehicle, hit by Hurricane Michael

25. View from inside hotel looking out front window as canopy collapses and Hurricane Michael sends debris flying

26. Damaged vehicle in debris

ARCHIVE: Near Magdeburg, Germany - 25 October 2018

27. River Elbe at record low level, with sandbanks

ARCHIVE: Cologne, Germany - 25 October 2018

28. Sandbanks at river Rhine

Berlin, Germany - 7 November 2018

29. Former Polish climate negotiator Lidia Wojtal walking down hallway

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Lidia Wojtal, an associate with ClimateKos consultancy and former Polish climate negotiator:

"In Paris, we decided that everybody is going to contribute to this new system, so no exceptions, everybody is doing something. And the Paris rulebook is actually about who and how we are going to contribute to that. Obviously not all countries are at the same stage of development and capacity building, so we need to also take that into account and differentiate between the responsibilities. And that's a huge task."

Katowice, Poland - 20 November 2018

31. Former mine shaft tower beside high-rise building

32. Site of 2018 COP24 UN climate conference in front of Silesian museum and Culture Centre

33. "Spodek" arena on conference site

34. Cars on street in Katowice

Berlin, Germany - 7 November 2018

35. Designated Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Johan Rockstrom talking to colleague at briefing

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Johan Rockstrom, ecologist and designated Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research:

"Everyone recognised that the national plans, when you add everything up, will take us way beyond 3, potentially 4 degrees Celsius warming, so these national plans have to be revised and updated. And we know scientifically that we have to bend the global curve of emissions no later than 2020, so just the year after Katowice. We know that we're moving in the wrong direction. So, 2018 and 2019 are decisive years for all countries in the world to revise their plans, and really start implementing de-carbonisation policies and pathways."

37. Close up of Johan Rockstrom's hands

38. SOUNDBITE (English) Johan Rockstrom, designated director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research:

"We are starting to see a momentum rising, not yet, you know, universally all countries. But I foresee that we will soon see a large enough minority of significant economies moving decisively in the right direction, that can have spillover effects which can be positive."

ARCHIVE: Hambach Forest, Germany - 27 October 2018

39. Anti-coal demonstrators marching in protest against coal, climate change, and to save ancient Hambach Forest, a forest at risk of being felled for mining operations by energy giant RWE

40. Demonstrators marching

41. Large coal excavator moving

42. Protesters gathering at edge of RWE mine beside large coal excavator

43. Coal mine with large coal excavator