Date: October 11, 2017 Says world must respond to the intransigence of the US on climate change
Entitlements Date: Jul 31, 1998 Two weeks of discussions on the Kyoto Protocol on climate change have just ended. But core problems remain. The world's worst polluters are still scotfree. It is business as usual for industrialised nations. A report from Bonn
November 28, 2011, Durban: Key players at the climate negotiations in Durban presented a preview of their tactics which they might adopt over the next 14 days. On the opening day of CoP17, China made it clear that without finance and technology transfer on the table, the talks were doomed. The US on its part wanted the Cancun Agreement, signed last year, to be operationalised. The European Union stuck to its recent demand that a solution to global warming is only possible if emerging economies like China and India take emission reduction targets.
At 1 o’clock on December 3, 2011, halfway through CoP 17, the President of CoP 17 held a plenary to take stock of the work done so far. She first thanked the delegates for the “flexibility” they’d shown so far, thus “allowing work to happen”. She was pleased to inform the plenary that work on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) had progressed a lot: indeed, today was a crucial day in the GCF negotiations, such that the Chair wasn’t able to attend the ‘informal stocktaking’, as this particular briefing has been termed. She informed that after 2 rounds of informal consultations on GCF, “a number of countries are willing to accept a report”.
At an informal meeting today between BASIC and AOSIS, the AOSIS group has reportedly given an ultimatum to BASIC, saying that it will not support BASIC unless the major economies come up with some sort of ambitious mitigation targets.
It’s that time of the year again. Climate change talks are heating up, with the next conference of parties scheduled in Durban in end-November. There is heat but no light. The negotiations are stuck despite the clear signs of climate change: dangerous and potentially catastrophic extreme weather events.
Today the threat of climate change is real and urgent. And to prevent the catastrophic impacts the world needs drastic reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions. Any solution or roadmap must be based on the well-entrenched principles of equity, historical responsibility and common but differentiated responsibility.
November 15, 2000 At an informal meeting with NGOs during the negotiations on Tuesday, UNEP executive director Klaus Töpfer refused to comment when asked if UNEP was working overtime to position itself as a broker for CDM projects. He strongly advocated the inclusion of sinks in the CDM, despite the uncertainties involved. This would give UNEP the opportunity to participate and attract some funds for his cash-strapped organisation.
CSE Briefing Paper 2 The Kyoto protocol — to cut carbon emissions in industrialised countries in order to avert global warming — is increasingly being understood not as an environmental agreement but a trading agreement. Speakers at a recently organised symposium by the World Trade Organisation noted that Protocol could well be the most significant trading agreement of the century. Under the protocol, industrialised countries are expected to cut their overall carbon emissions by at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period, 2008 to 2012.
November 22, 2000
October 25, 2000 Cheap Fix: The rush to make profits out of carbon-fixing engenders another kind of colonialism