Kyoto Protocol
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Rich countries halt Barcelona climate talks with inaction; Africa walks out
African negotiators at the U.N. climate talks in Barcelona refused to continue formal discussions about all other issues until wealthy countries live up to their legal and moral responsibility to commit to deep emissions reductions. Rich countries (also called “Annex 1 countries”) have ground negotiations to a halt by failing to agree to their new […]
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Bangkok: rich countries try to kill Kyoto, youth declare
Today marked one of the final days of the Bangkok U.N. Climate Negotiations. With the end of this intersessional in sight, the International Youth Delegation (IYD) has officially declared “No Confidence” in the road to Copenhagen. With youth delegates from over 30 countries engaging in the Bangkok process, the IYD cited pathetically weak targets from […]
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Climate Week kicks off in New York with bigwigs and big hopes
2009: The year so many met so often to talk so much about the perilous state of the climate — and as of September, accomplished so little. Will this week be the charm? During several different international meetings this year, nations have been getting into position for this December’s international climate treaty talks in Copenhagen. […]
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Carl Pope says 350 ppm not strong enough, endorses carbon pricing and global tax & dividend!
In the Sept/Oct issue of Sierra Club Magazine, Club Chairman Carl Pope details four “fallacies about solving global warming” that must be scrapped in order to achieve “the transformational global deal we need to save our planet” in Copenhagen. Put in positive terms, and looking only at the specifics, Pope outlines the following platform. 1. […]
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Global warming is no friend to Russia, ambassador says
Red Square in Moscow: It gets cold there, but that doesn’t mean they like global warming.Russia may be one of the coldest nations on Earth, but it has no interest in seeing global warming continue unchecked, the Russian ambassador to the United States said in an interview. Ambassador Sergei Kislyak said Russia is willing to […]
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Climate talks should not focus on China and India at Africa’s expense
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has already failed Africa, some observers believe, so why bother post-2012 when the existing CDM framework established under the Kyoto Protocol expires? But as the international community prepares to negotiate a new climate pact, we should care about extending the CDM, and care a great deal. After all, the CDM […]
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American Clean Energy Security Act strengthens U.S. ability to sabotage international climate talks
“The world is not going to turn its back on coal.“U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven ChuThe Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy Security Act (ACES) won’t cut emissions. It won’t serve as a platform we can improve later anymore than the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) served as a foot in the door to improve our democracy when […]
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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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How Waxman-Markey tackles climate change by saving forests
One of the little-known ingredients of the deal that allowed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, to pass the Energy and Commerce committee was a breakthrough on protections for the world’s vanishing tropical forests. The bill’s authors, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), used this agreement to achieve the bill’s […]