Region: International

The 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 …

CONTINUE READING

Why 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 …

CONTINUE READING

4 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 …

CONTINUE READING

What 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 …

CONTINUE READING

What 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 …

CONTINUE READING

Potential 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 …

CONTINUE READING

Images from Durban

If you want a flavor of it, here are some images from COP17 (all credits mine):

CONTINUE READING

California 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, …

CONTINUE READING

Youth Involvement at COP 17

Special blog post by Lauren Bernadett, UCLA School of Law 2L A striking feature of the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) is the extensive youth involvement.  The International Convention Centre in Durban is constantly abuzz with young interns and volunteers from various delegations, including some delegations exclusively comprised of young people.  The youth network is …

CONTINUE READING

Jonathan Pershing on climate change

Special post by Nina Jarass, UCLA School of Law LLM student, from Durban So far the US has kept pretty quiet in Durban – at least during the official meetings. Against this background, environmental groups like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council have urged the Obama administration to show more flexibility on key …

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING