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Key countries agreed to Copenhagen Accord
In the late morning hours Saturday in Copenhagen, the overwhelming majority of countries adopted a new framework for addressing global warming. This new agreement — called the Copenhagen Accord (available here) — was hammered out by 28 of the world’s key countries. These countries represent over 80 percent of the world’s global warming pollution (both […]
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A preliminary assessment of the Copenhagen Accord
After years of preparation, the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commenced on December 7th, 2009, and adjourned some two weeks later on December 19th after a raucous all-night session. The original purpose of the conference had been to complete negotiations on a new international […]
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Copenhagen outcome: a real climate catastrophe
President Barack Obama negotiating with, from left, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, and Israeli President Shimon Peres, at the Copenhagen climate conference.Photo: White House/Pete Souza This piece appeared first in The Daily Beast. Saturday morning witnessed one of the most extraordinary and dramatic debates in the 17-year history of […]
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Thomas Friedman talks COP15, Mother Nature, and Father Greed
Thomas FriedmanHours before the outcome of the Copenhagen conference was revealed, I sat down with New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman to discuss the implications of the historic summit. No matter what happens in Copenhagen, said Friedman, what matters most is what happens at home: Where the U.S. goes, so goes the world. But we […]
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Obama hits the reset button on the foundations of international climate agreements
Shortly before leaving Copenhagen yesterday, President Obama announced that the terms of an interim, “political” agreement, the Copenhagen Accord, had been reached with the leaders of Brazil, South Africa, India, and China which very well may lay the groundwork for a new international agreement on climate change. Commentators are already lining up to decry this […]
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COP15: the untold story
While reporters were busy writing about the violence in Copenhagen they missed the alive spirit that came from the world’s citizens gathered to fight climate change. Photo: Greenpeace Finland via FlickrJust off the plane from Copenhagen, little sleep under my belt, I’m full of ideas for how to ratchet up the climate movement, big time. […]
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Rachel Maddow on Obama’s ‘diplomatic acrobatics’ in Copenhagen
Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell explain the strange circumstances that led to Obama’s climate deal in Copenhagen: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1012000&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D34486093%26width%3D400%26height%3D320] Spread the news on what the føck is going on in Copenhagen with friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, or smoke signals.
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Global will is ripe. Leaders need to pluck it.
The “Copenhagen Accord” is terribly weak. Not just “weaker than it needs to be to prevent climate catastrophe.” We knew it would be that, but hoped to emerge with a serious framework for real solutions. Formally, diplomatically, legally, we didn’t get that. This truth is stark but indispensable. We shouldn’t spin away from it. The […]
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Why is everyone so pissed at Obama?
An insufficient deal has been struck at Copenhagen, leaving many participants dismayed by the outcome and miffed at President Obama. Resentment toward Obama had been building throughout the day, and it spilled over as I went looking for food. After buying a plate of lentils at a cafeteria inside the Bella Center, I sat down […]
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Quick thoughts on the new climate deal?
Rhiya TrivediClimate activist and first-year student at Middlebury College All I can really say at this point, having just run to the screen with President Obama’s press conference with all the other fools who believed that this might be worth our time, is that the time for “meaningful first steps” is long, long gone. You […]
