Climate talks in danger of unravelling as China and US clash.
London Guardian 07 Aug
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Other NewsEditorialsThree degrees is at least one too many.The heat rises inexorably yet the world dithers and looks away. None of the excitement that surrounded the opening stages of the climate summit at Copenhagen last year looks like materialising this November at Cancun in Mexico. London Independent 31 Aug As global warming becomes a given, solutions seem ever more distant.If the snow storms that plagued the Northeastern states this winter warmed the hearts of climate change deniers, the record heat and cataclysmic rains across the globe in the last few months must be giving them chills. Houston Chronicle 15 Aug Climate talks continued: Son of Copenhagen.There is a moment in negotiations when you come up against a nagging problem: Many countries that are committed to act on climate change will seek to avoid really doing so for at least as long as other parties are under no such commitment - if not longer. Economist 19 Jun Mood thaws on climate change.The Bonn talks were surprisingly constructive. As outgoing UN climate chief Yvo de Boer noted, countries were “talking to each other rather than at each other” with a view to laying the groundwork for this year’s climate summit in Cancún, Mexico. Dublin Irish Times 14 Jun OpinionUrgent need for climate fund.The flood calamity in Pakistan has again highlighted the urgent need to set up a proper global system to help developing countries affected by climate change and natural disasters. Petaling Jaya Star 30 Aug Sorry state of play when China leaves us for dead on climate.Let's try a round of word association. China on climate change. What's the first thing that comes to mind? For those paying passing attention to what qualifies as a climate change debate in Australia, the answer is likely to be: villain-in-chief. Melbourne Age 18 Aug A climate sceptic PM? Not a good look.If elected, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would have the dubious honour of joining Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as the only other head of government – besides the recalcitrant Saudis – in the G20 group of nations to be a known climate change sceptic. Melbourne Age 18 Aug A changed climate on climate change.Progress in climate change talks remained stalled in Bonn, but there is hope for the upcoming Cancun round. London Guardian 14 Aug Climate change: Implications of Bonn.Particularly to the communities of our small low-lying countries where the effects of sea level rise and changing weather patterns are already creating social and economic disruption. All these impacts will affect the very fabric of island livelihoods. Islands Business 12 Aug Broken promises.The world is moving. Many developing countries have already made significant steps to reduce emissions. They have also signalled their willingness to discuss further action - if developed countries provide financial and technological support. Sydney ABC News 04 Aug Climategate scientist breaks his silence.It has been two weeks since the last independent inquiry into "climategate" was published. Phil Jones has agreed to break a silence of five months as the CRU prepares to put its data and software online. New Scientist 29 Jul de Boer departs an optimist."If you can’t make a convincing case that green growth is possible, then it’s end of story." Yale Environment 360 21 Jun |
Greater clarity on climate finance at 46-nation forum.Forty-six countries gained a clearer view on Friday of what it may take to secure a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars in climate aid, an issue that threatens hopes for a treaty on global warming. Agence France-Presse 04 Sep U.N. official warns against worsening global disasters.The world cannot afford escalating disasters of the kind witnessed in Pakistan and Russia, the Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change said Friday. Afrique en ligne 04 Sep Mexico's foreign minister dampens hopes of Cancun climate deal.Speaking after a two-day meeting in Geneva that dealt with how to pay for carbon-cutting projects in developing countries, Patricia Espinosa said the public should not measure the success of the Cancun talks by whether countries agree on a new legally binding text to combat global warming. Associated Press 04 Sep Progress seen on Green Fund for climate deal.Almost 50 nations made progress on Friday toward a "Green Fund" to help poor countries fight global warming but hosts Mexico and Switzerland said a full U.N. climate treaty was out of reach for 2010. Reuters 04 Sep EU climate chief calls for new carbon mechanisms.Europe's climate chief called on Friday for a major reform of the U.N.'s carbon crediting mechanism, including more money for the poorest countries as well as a number of new pilot projects. Reuters 04 Sep Nations meet on climate cash.About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the UN warned them of a long haul to slow global warming. Reuters 03 Sep Disasters show 'screaming' need for action - climate chief.UN climate chief Christiana Figueres on Thursday warned that a string of weather calamities showed the deepening urgency to forge a breakthrough deal on global warming this year. Agence France-Presse 03 Sep Nations meet on climate cash, U.N. sees long haul.About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the United Nations warned them of a long haul to slow global warming. Reuters 03 Sep UN: Climate funds shouldn't divert poverty aid.The U.N.'s climate chief says poor countries are right to expect that any funding they receive to combat global warming be kept separate from development aid or poverty relief. St. Louis Post-Dispatch 02 Sep Why failure of climate summit would herald global catastrophe.Two analyses of the Copenhagen Accord and its pledges suggest that, with the cuts that are currently promised under Copenhagen, the world will still warm by 3.5C by 2100. Such a rise would be likely to have disastrous effects. London Independent 31 Aug Cap-and-trade is raising concerns.Opponents of offsetting have likened the system to the kind of financial engineering on Wall Street that helped precipitate the recent banking crisis. They say the offsetting encouraged by the Kyoto Protocol encourages profiteering, with little or no value in efforts to curb climate change. New York Times 30 Aug Six Caribbean countries endorse Copenhagen Accord.Six Caribbean islands have now endorsed the controversial Copenhagen Accord, a key outcome of the 15th United Nations climate change conference held in Denmark last December. Kingston Jamaica Observer 29 Aug Prevailing disaster.The recent heat waves, flooding, and shrinking glacier have added no urgency to international negotiations aimed at curbing the world’s growing emissions of greenhouse gases. Chemical & Engineering News 24 Aug "Roadmap" to tackle climate change.The United Nations has high hopes that the Shanghai Declaration will become a "useful roadmap" for tackling climate change and other environmental, urban and social issues, Awni Behnam, assistant secretary-general of the UN, said over the weekend. China Daily 23 Aug Indonesian envoy laments grim U.N. climate talks.Nations face an uphill battle to reach agreement on a tougher climate pact by the end of 2011, a senior Indonesian climate change official said on Thursday, describing progress to date as bleak. Reuters 20 Aug Extreme weather unlikely to help climate talks.Extreme weather in 2010 will spur more strident calls for action to combat global warming but is unlikely to break a deadlock at U.N. climate talks about sharing the burden between rich and poor. Reuters 18 Aug China: Helping poor matters more than economy rank.China's government said Tuesday it still is a developing country despite becoming the second-largest economy, reflecting its reluctance to take on new obligations on climate change and other issues. Associated Press 17 Aug Right climate for change.Almost 200 "climate ambassadors" recently attended a United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)-funded conference in Zambia to discuss ways of surviving climate change and to develop strategies for dealing with the effects of global warming.But the delegates were not heads of state or policy-makers but proactive teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18. Johannesburg Mail & Guardian 17 Aug Kyoto targets are impossible to verify.Crunch time for the Kyoto protocol is fast approaching. 2012 marks the end of the two-year period during which rich nations must prove that they have cut emissions from 1990 levels. That may be an impossible task. New Scientist 13 Aug Climate skeptics stall negotiations.Climate change skeptics have been used as “a weapon” by countries opposing a binding treaty on emission reductions to stifle climate negotiations, officials say. Jakarta Post 13 Aug Climate change group raises alarm over global poor.As the latest round of UNFCCC talks on climate change ended recently in Bonn, Germany, international agency Oxfam has warned that there has been a clear lowering of expectations ahead of the next UN climate summit in Cancun, which will stall the progress needed unless negotiations step up several gears. Lagos This Day 13 Aug UN climate negotiations "unsuccessful" in raising commitment levels: Bolivia.The third round of UN climate negotiations in 2010 were unsuccessful in raising the levels of commitment of developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Bolivian ambassador to the UN said Wednesday. Xinhua News Agency 12 Aug Post-Copenhagen quest for global warming accord stuck in reverse.With 3-1/2 months left before a United Nations climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, the spade work ahead of the meeting seems to be turning up more boulders than a New England plow. Christian Science Monitor 10 Aug U.N. Chief recommends small steps on climate.Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said Monday that he doubted that member states would reach a new global climate change agreement in December at a conference in Mexico. New York Times 10 Aug UN panel to study link between poverty, environment.UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday launched a high-level panel tasked with crafting a blueprint on how to roll back world poverty while ensuring a sustainable environment. Agence France-Presse 10 Aug |