Climate Change
Will the TPP Undermine Climate Policy?
The short answer: probably not much, maybe not at all
Representatives of U.S. environmental negotiations have shown up in Paris to campaign against the new TPP trade agreement. (here) They’ve also been actively engaged in discussions with Democratic law-makers, in an effort to block approval. A key objection is that the TPP will undermine climate policy. Jim Salzman had a great post last week on …
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CONTINUE READINGHow are negotiators building text at the climate talks?
Paris, the micro view
Ted has been posting on the proceedings at the Paris climate conference, explaining some of the central conflicts playing out here and the often-counterproductive processes being employed. He’s given the talks an appropriately large context, stretching all the way back to Charles Lindbergh’s landing at Le Bourget. I hope to complement his posts with a …
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CONTINUE READINGEmmett Institute updates from the Climate Conference
UCLA faculty and students participating in COP21/CMP11
For two weeks starting today, negotiators gather in Paris for the annual climate-change meetings – officially, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the 11th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 21/CMP11). The meeting is located in a sprawling conference center at the edge …
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CONTINUE READINGA Thanksgiving Day Reflection
Thoughts about the impacts of extreme events and climate change on food security, and hopes for the Paris negotiations
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude for the food and community we share. But as many of us feast with loved ones today, our gratitude might also prompt reflection about the sources of our food and, more generally, the fragility of the environment. This seems especially appropriate, as Native American tribes are among those most …
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CONTINUE READINGPromises to Keep
In the run-up to the Paris talks, the major economies have all pledged carbon reductions.
With Saudia Arabia’s pledge last week to cut emission, all of the world’s major economies are now on board. In a nutshell, here is what they are promising. Except as noted, the target dates are all 2030. A number of countries have subsidiary promises in terms of percentage of renewable energy or of bigger cuts premised …
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CONTINUE READINGA gift from the Montreal Protocol parties to the Climate Convention
Montreal Protocol parties agree to negotiate amendment to limit HFCs
Last week, the parties of the Montreal Protocol took an important step to broaden their treaty’s chemical controls to contribute to limiting climate change. The chemicals at issue are the HFCs, or Hydrofluorocarbons. (Like the other halogenated chemicals relevant to ozone depletion, the acronym tells you the chemical composition of the class of chemicals. The …
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CONTINUE READINGAttack of the Killer Blob
A weird patch of warm weather is killing sea lions and poisoning crabs.
There’s a weird area of warm water, which has come to be known as the Blob, sitting offshore of the West Coast. That doesn’t sound too significant, except perhaps in terms of making things more pleasant for swimmers. But actually, it’s causing a whole cascade of impacts on wildlife and humans. As the Chronicle explains: “The …
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CONTINUE READINGGoodbye, Keystone, Goodbye
After seven years, the project is history.
The President announced this morning that he would not approve the Keystone pipeline project. This wasn’t a huge surprise at this point of the game. Still, it’s a good time to take stock of the dispute. The fight was largely — but not entirely — symbolic. With falling oil prices, the alternative of rail transport …
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CONTINUE READINGAir quality and wildfire
We may need to burn more to get less smoke
One of the impacts of California’s difficult fire season has been air pollution. Fires produce smoke. Large wildfires produce a lot of smoke. And large wildfires in the southern Sierra Nevada produce smoke in the southern Central Valley – the part of the United States that already has some of the worst air quality in …
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CONTINUE READINGGaping Hole in EPA’s Methane Rules
Why don’t EPA’s proposed rules to reduce methane emissions apply to existing oil and gas facilities?
In August, EPA released proposed rules to reduce fugitive methane and VOC emissions from oil and gas operations. While this is a significant action in the fight against climate change, and much needed in light of the shale-driven national drilling renaissance, there is a gaping hole in the methane rules that has environmentalists worried — …
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