Copenhagen climate talks
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On the road to Copenhagen, hope springs eternal
Half a year before the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, negotiators are far from agreeing on key components of a global climate deal. As envisioned in the 2007 Bali Climate Action Plan (or “Bali Roadmap”), the summit in December is supposed to deliver a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework […]
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Raining on the climate parade
At the Bonn climate talks, environmental groups showed their displeasure with Japan’s proposed carbon emissions cuts by comparing Prime Minister Aso with former U.S. president George W. Bush.Climate Action Factory via FlickrEven the skies wept last week when the latest cold front slammed into the ongoing effort to draft a new international climate treaty. The […]
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At Bonn climate talks, it’s a dialogue of the deaf
Climate protesters march in Bonn on June 6.Courtesy Oxfam Germany via Flickr BONN, Germany — Beethoven’s birthplace stands just a few stops down one of Bonn’s speedy tramlines from the conference center hosting the latest session of the international climate negotiations. A modest yellow-painted house with dark green wooden shutters, it is now a museum […]
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‘Sea Change’ documentary highlights threat of ocean acidification
Sven Huseby and his grandson Elias during production of the film A Sea Change.Photo: Daniel de La Calle If you’ve ever doubted the power of the printed word, strike up a conversation with one Sven Huseby, whose entire life was changed by one article in the New Yorker. The retired history teacher found himself […]
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Part 3: Draft negotiating text proposed for Copenhagen agreement
I’ve discussed in part 1 — shared vision and developed country emissions reduction commitments — and part 2 — developing country emissions reductions and the incentives to encourage them to go further — key proposals that have now been produced in a new draft negotiating text for the Copenhagen agreement. I’ll now discuss the last […]
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U.S. climate envoy heads to China to seek bilateral climate deal
Negotiations on a new international climate pact are underway in Germany this week, but the United States’ top climate envoy is headed in the opposite direction with a planned trip this weekend to China. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern on Wednesday said he hopes the world’s two biggest polluters can reach consensus on […]
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Part 2: Draft Negotiating Text Proposed for Copenhagen Agreement
As I discussed in my previous post, the draft negotiating texts for the Copenhagen agreement are now out. With the release of these texts the world now begins the serious work to get an agreement in Copenhagen — marking them up and getting agreement. As in the other post, I’ll briefly discuss how the American […]
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Nicholas Stern’s heresy: conceding the West’s climate burden
Nick Stern is a relatively recent recruit to the battle against climate change, but he has rapidly become one of its most formidable champions. A former Chief Economist at the World Bank and top official at the British Treasury, Baron Stern of Brentford (to pay him due deference) is very much an establishment figure, far […]
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The Climate Post: Something wrought in the state of Denmark?
The word “Copenhagen” hangs over climate discussions everywhere from Washington to Wagga Wagga. That’s because in December the world travels to the Danish capital for the 15th Conference of Parties meeting, affectionately referred to as COP15. There, nations large and small hope to reach a new international agreement that would ratchet down global emissions beginning […]
