More than 110 nations, including top greenhouse gas emitters led by China and the United States, back the non-binding Copenhagen Accord for combating climate change, according to a first formal UN list on Wednesday.

Deforestation slowed in the last decade, in the first sign that global conservation efforts are bearing fruit, but an area the size of Costa Rica is still being destroyed each year, the United Nations said on Thursday.

John Vidal

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THE current wave of globalisation has much in common with the wave that swept the world at the end of the 19th century. Both are driven by two factors: technological change and political decisions to open up markets. Likewise, both create huge economic opportunities and wealth, but also trigger huge economic and political tensions within and across borders.

The appetite for omega-3 fatty acids