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An unwelcome lesson in power politics
350.org’s Bill McKibben at a candlelight vigil Dec. 17 in Copenhagen.Matthew McDermott via FlickrCOPENHAGEN — Late last night, after the word had come down that the climate talks had ended in a four-way, non-binding, unfair, and breathtakingly unambitious agreement between the United States, China, India, and South Africa, a crowd of young demonstrators from around […]
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The Copenhagen Accord
The Conference of Parties formally took note of the Copenhagen Accord this morning after an emotional all night debate, during which many countries expressed deep disappointment with the outcome, but a determination to use it as a stepping stone to more rigorous action. This procedure allowed the Accord to be formally acknowledged by consensus, despite […]
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Climate deal not accepted by all, but Copenhagen conference makes it ‘operational’
COPENHAGEN — Seven countries, led by the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, this morning declined to accept the Copenhagen Accord that was reached late last night. But in a procedural move designed to put the agreement into effect, the conference decided to “take note” of the accord instead of formally approving it. NGO experts […]
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Final text of the Copenhagen Accord
This is the text of the climate accord worked out by President Obama and the leaders of several key nations in Copenhagen on Dec. 18. In pursuit of the ultimate objective of the Convention as stated in its Article 2, Being guided by the principles and provisions of the Convention, Noting the results of work […]
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What to make of second leaked U.N. doc and its sanctioned 3C rise in global temp?
Earlier this week, yet another “leaked” U.N. document caused a fuss in Copenhagen. Leaked document #2, first reported on by the Guardian, showed that the commitments on the table for a post-Kyoto treaty would still allow for a potentially disastrous 3C temperature rise in global temperature. Bill McKibben of 350.org, whose name was mysteriously scrawled […]
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Price of coal surges!
The price of coal surged this morning as a new buyer entered the market. A high-volume rush order came in from the North Pole in the last few hours, accounting for the surge. Shaking his head, one dazed trader said the size of the order was equivalent to the yearly total of a medium-size country […]
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Video archives from the Copenhagen climate talks
Grist sent comedian Eugene Mirman (of Flight of the Conchords fame) to lighten up the mood as a special correspondent at the climate talks in Copenhagen. He was joined by Grist’s own Umbra Fisk — and a few special guests — on the scene. Enjoy (and share!) their crazy video adventures in Denmark. Eugene Mirman […]
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‘This entire conference is an elaborate sham’
COPENHAGEN — For two weeks we’ve been listening to the story of the leaked emails from East Anglia — a media tempest in an English teapot. And all the time the biggest scandal has been directly under our noses. This afternoon at Copenhagen a document was mysteriously leaked from the UN Secretariat. It was first […]
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‘Transparency’ is a hot issue in Copenhagen — but what does it mean?
Sergio Barbosa Serra. Photo courtesy Brazilian governmentCOPENHAGEN — I just had a cappuccino with Sergio Barbosa Serra, Brazil’s ambassador of climate change and one of the country’s top delegates at the Copenhagen talks. We discussed what’s going to get hashed out over the next 36 hours of the U.N. climate conference. He boiled the challenge […]
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Selling our future
In Chapter 1 of Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, I underscore important indicators of global stability and resource consumption. The following are summaries of key datasets that inform these discussions. Each year, the Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine rank 60 “failing states,” countries which on some level fail to provide personal […]
