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Every day a huge amount of oil is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico in the US. This is symbolic of the energy choices that we have made to date. And it shows the dramatic implications of that energy choice. But those energy choices are also having devastating impacts which are less visual but more damaging. Rampant global warming is impacting countries around the world as a result of our energy and development choices. The oil catastrophe is a wake-up call for the United States and should be a wake-up call for the world.
Continue Reading The Choice to Move Forward on International Efforts to Address Global Warming
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The “Road to Cancun” moves haltingly forward with the conclusion last Friday of the United Nations climate talks in Bonn.
According to a UN press release, the two-week negotiating session made “important progress towards concluding what was left incomplete at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009”.
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Despite the flourishing rhetoric at the outset of the COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen last December, by the time the conference got underway it was already apparent that the degree of tension and mistrust between the developed and developing world would likely hobble efforts to negotiate a “fair and binding” agreement to deal with climate change at an international level.
Continue Reading Yvo de Boer: The “Danish Text” Sunk COP15
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EarthTalk® is a weekly environmental column made available to our readers from the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: There have been many contradictory reports (“it was good; it was bad”) about what came out of “COP 15,” the December 2009 international Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen. Can you set the record straight? – Jay Killian, Brookline, MA
Continue Reading EarthTalk: What Really Happened at COP15?
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Ministers from four of the major emerging economies – Brazil, South Africa, India, and China (the “BASIC” group) – met over the weekend and through Monday to discuss the next steps in international efforts to address global warming. These four countries played a critical role in Copenhagen and collectively account for around 30% of the world’s global warming pollution* so they are critical players in addressing this challenge. And each of them have made commitments as a part of the Copenhagen Accord to reduce their emissions and are implementing policies to achieve those goals (as I discussed here).
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It is almost 3 months after the Copenhagen Accord was hammered out by 28 of the world’s key countries that represent over 80% of the world’s global warming pollution and some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (as I discussed here). Given the state of the Accord just after Copenhagen with some calling it a failure, some outlining the foundations in the Accord for international efforts (and as my colleague discussed here), and others…well not quite sure what to make of it, where do things stand on international efforts to address global warming?
Continue Reading Where Do Things Stand on International Efforts to Address Global Warming?
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The following is a press release from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
(Bonn, 18 February 2010) – Mr. Yvo de Boer has announced today that he will resign his position as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as of 1 July 2010. Mr. de Boer will be joining the consultancy group KPMG as Global Adviser on Climate and Sustainability, as well as working with a number of universities.
Continue Reading Yvo de Boer to Step Down as UNFCCC Executive Secretary
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As I mentioned here by the end of January countries were to register their actions to reduce global warming pollution as agreed under the Copenhagen Accord. And by deadline countries accounting for over 80% of the world’s global warming pollution (and a bit more) have registered their actions to reduce their pollution. So what does this all mean?
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In December 2009, more than 120 Heads of Government attended the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, the largest meeting of world leaders in history (the previous largest one was the funeral of the Pope according to Wikipedia). Many of the leaders came to Copenhagen with new commitments to actions on global warming pollution (as I discussed here and here). Under the Accord, all of the big emitters are expected to record their commitments officially by January 31st, 2010 (in Appendix I and Appendix II).
Continue Reading Copenhagen Accord = Climate Action
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NOTE: See the update below for the latest from the UNFCCC and links to countries officially submitting targets and mitigation plans under the Copenhagen Accord
Meeting the January 31st deadline specified in the Copenhagen Accord that president Obama helped negotiate at the COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen, the State Department has formally submitted its emissions reduction target to the UNFCC of 17 percent over 2005 levels by 2020. The target is consistent with expectations and in line with the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House last summer.
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