56 papers lead with climate change editorial
The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change began on Monday
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Fifty-six newspapers from around the world today ran identical front-page editorials calling for action on climate change as world leaders and officials assemble in Copenhagen.
The Guardian coordinated the project to mark the beginning of United Nations' Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change.
It took over a month of consultation between the papers before the exact wording of the opinion piece was decided.
Click here to read the editorial
Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said: "No individual newspaper editorial could hope to influence the outcome of Copenhagen but I hope the combined voice of 56 major papers speaking in 20 languages will remind the politicians and negotiators gathering there what is at stake and persuade them to rise above the rivalries and inflexibility that have stood in the way of a deal."
The titles that will feature the leader on their front pages include two Chinese papers, India's the Hindu, France's le Monde, Spain's El Pais and Russia's Novaya Gazeta. There are also 11 African papers participating, and nine from the Americas.
Some papers, such as Japan's Ashai Shimbun, were not able to run the piece because of editorial rules but carried news reports on the initiative.
Two Australian papers, the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, pulled out at the last-minute after the electoral success of Liberal party leader Tony Abbott, a climate change sceptic who has recast the country's debate on green issues.