Climate Change
Copenhagen in a Nutshell
Rob Stavins has a good, concise overview of the session and the outcome on the Belfer Center website. Not as negative as some other observers, he highlights the extraordinary procecess that resulted in the Copenhagen Accord: It is virtually unprecedented in international negotiations for heads of government (or heads of state) to be directly engaged …
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CONTINUE READINGAfter Copenhagen — Where Do We Go From Here?
Copenhagen was a letdown, and it would have been a complete disaster without President Obama’s last-minute efforts. Where do we go from here? How do we get the climate change effort back on track? We’ll be holding a conference at Berkeley on January 28 to explore those issues. “Beyond Copenhagen: Forging a Global Response to …
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CONTINUE READINGCopenhagen: The Story Isn’t Over Yet
For those who are interested, the text of the accord can be found here. There’s an important feature that does not seem to have gotten much attention, found in paragraphs 4 and 5. Paragraph 4 says: Annex I Parties commit to implement individually or jointly the quantified economy-wide emissions targets for 2020, to be submitted …
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CONTINUE READINGCEQA thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas emissions: a strange but good process
Way back in the old days, before 2006 and AB 32 (California’s landmark law limiting greenhouse gas emissions statewide), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was the critical tool to limit greenhouse gas emissions from projects around the state. CEQA is the law that requires state and local agencies to assess the significant environmental impacts …
CONTINUE READINGOverall impressions of COP/MOP: World Governance for the Climate-as-Artifact
By Jed Ela, UCLA Law delegation — part of a series of posts on COP 15 from Copenhagen: Deep in the bowels of COP15, in a temporary, metal-walled conference room nestled like a shipping container into a vast temporary hangar housing national delegation offices, a presenter from Google is apologizing. The Google team has lured …
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CONTINUE READINGAddressing Climate Change: Is there a special role for the private sector?
By Bianca Zambao da Silva, UCLA Law COP 15 delegation — one in a series of posts from Copenhagen Since the first day of this COP, I have been on a waiting list to attend a tour of an offshore wind power farm, hosted by an initiative promoting wind power during the conference. The tour is part …
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CONTINUE READINGU.S. single track proposal sounds a lot like WTO ‘single undertaking’
By Jesse Swanhuyser — One in a series of posts from the UCLA delegation at COP 15, Copenhagen It appears the global North is once again seeking a compromise deal with the South, based on a promise that they can deliver political support at home. The developing world is bringing experience from WTO negotiations into …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia publishes new report on adapting to climate change impacts; is anyone paying attention?
All eyes are on the COP-15 proceedings in Copenhagen, and specifically on the prospects for greenhouse gas reductions emerging from the meeting. At the same time, we need to plan to adapt to some measure of climate change impacts, some of which are unavoidable regardless of our success at reducing GHG emissions, and to build …
CONTINUE READINGA Rift Appears Within the G77 + China, Derailing the COP & CMP – But Not the Real Work
by Dustin Maghamfar, UCLA Law delegation — one in a series of posts from COP 15 in Copenhagen: Before preparing for this trip to Copenhagen, I conceived of UN international negotiations as massive plenary sessions where countries debate various proposals in an open forum. While I think this is a somewhat commonly held perception, the …
CONTINUE READINGOp-ed on local renewable energy production
Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and I authored an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle today that outlines steps California can take to boost significant renewable energy production, such as from wind and solar resources, from our large rooftops, highway land, aqueduct infrastructure, and other big spaces close to consumers. These recommendations were informed by a …
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