Copen-talkin': Smarties offer their takes on COP15 climate talks
In This Series
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What should we watch for during the climate summit’s final days? [UPDATED]
We’re at the halfway point in the U.N. Copenhagen climate summit. Week one brought us the troublesome leaked climate treaty draft; the surprise proposal (from the tiny island nation of Tuvalu) to lower the acceptable rise in global temperature from 2 degrees Centigrade to 1.5; lead U.S. negotiator Todd Stern’s unequivocal rejection of the argument […]
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Is the leaked draft a big deal or a non-issue?
Earlier this week, a leaked draft of proposed treaty text from Denmark caused quite a kerfuffle. We asked our expert panel: Is it a big deal, or a tempest in a teapot? Here are edited excerpts from their responses: —– Andrew Light Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Any veteran of the UNFCCC meetings […]
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Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? [UPDATED]
Will the EPA’s greenhouse-gas decision affect the Copenhagen climate talks? On Monday, as expected, the U.S. EPA officially declared that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health (the so-called endangerment finding), which means the agency is now “now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts” to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. We asked our expert panel […]
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What does it mean that Obama is going to Copenhagen at the end of the climate talks? [UPDATED]
We asked our expert panel about the significance of President Obama changing the timing of his visit to the Copenhagen climate talks, from Dec. 9, the middle of the first week, to Dec. 18, the big finale at the end of the second week. Is this a big deal? What does it mean? Here are […]
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Optimistic or pessimistic about the Copenhagen climate talks?
The COP15 climate conference starts next week in Copenhagen, and our panel of experts is optimistic … ish. We asked them, “What’s the mood as Copenhagen approaches?” Many say they draw inspiration from the fast-growing, increasingly diverse, grassroots global climate movement. But they aren’t under the delusion that Copenhagen will produce the comprehensive, legally binding […]