Region: International
Guest blogger Vera Pardee: Clearing the Runway for Carbon Pollution Reduction — a Better Way to Fly
This post, by Vera Pardee of the Center for Biological Diversity, is part of an occasional series by guest bloggers. In the absence of international agreements on climate change, important state, regional and national efforts are forging ahead on their own to tackle greenhouse gas pollution. Despite the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, the business-as-usual …
CONTINUE READINGMore Forest Greenwashing: Asia Pulp & Paper and Fake Certifications
In the firmament of environmental organizations, the World Wildlife Fund is about as centrist and mainstream as you are going to get. For many years, it was associated with the sorts of Republicans that Dan highlights in his post below: those who took the “conserve” part of conservative seriously. That’s why the report it issued …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Durban Outcome: End of CBDR?
I wasn’t in Durban for the last days of wrangling, so I missed some late nights, dramatic speeches, and unexpected alliances. ClimateWire has the best account I’ve seen of the last-minute drama (sub. req’d.: “How a Belligerent, Sleep-Deprived Crowd in Durban Arrived at Consensus”). Highlights include a ministerial-level “huddle to save the planet”; invocations of …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy we have the EPA
Air quality in Beijing over the past week has reached horrifically bad levels. The U.S. Embassy’s air quality tracker went from “Hazardous” to “Beyond Index” on Dec. 4. Check out the depressing details via Treehugger and France 24. It looks like the Great Smog of London from 1952. England passed its Clan Air Act 4 …
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CONTINUE READING4 degrees warming here we come!
With the Durban COP17 negotiations concluded, there seem to be two lines of thought in the environmental community: Wow, that was better than expected. Our climate is really screwed. In this case, I think both (1) and (2) can be simultaneously true. For some summaries of what went down at Durban, check out CleanTechnica, Climate …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat REALLY Happened in Durban?
Dan wants to know, and he is right to ask. Fortunately enough, it’s a pretty easy question to answer. As far as I can tell, the delegates agreed to negotiate a treaty some time in the future. That is diplomatic-speak for kicking the can down the road. As I have argued for well over a …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Happened in Durban?
The outcome in Durban seems to be better than expected, although admittedly that’s partly because expectations were low. From the official press release: In Durban, governments decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015. Work will begin on this immediately under a new group …
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CONTINUE READINGPotential for 2015 roadmap from Durban?
Reuters reports on a potential roadmap for future climate change action that is developing at COP17 in Durban. Under the EU plan, parties would agree to a road map that would lead to legally binding commitments for GHG emission reductions in 2015. Up to this point, the head of the U.S. delegation, Jonathan Pershing, had …
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CONTINUE READINGImages from Durban
If you want a flavor of it, here are some images from COP17 (all credits mine):
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia cap-and-trade a topic of interest at Durban
California’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions has gotten some interest here at the climate change negotiations in Durban. At a discussion of Australia’s new carbon pricing program, panelists discussed how Australia considered California’s economic modeling of cap-and-trade during the development of Australia’s system. And a panel on linking between different carbon and offset markets, …
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