Wolf at our door
The US has made the world rewrite the climate agreement so that the targets are based on voluntary action, not science
Press Release
Date: NOV. 3, 2014 IPCC’s Synthesis Report released; warns of catastrophic consequences of inaction on limiting global warming
The end game: Will Warsaw be a repeat of Poznan?
Climate negotiations at Warsaw may give the world a financial mechanism to deal Loss and Damage, but it may be a non-starter like the Adaptation Fund agreed to at the Poznan COP As I leave a cold and rainy Warsaw, the outcome of the 19th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) looks as gloomy as the weather.
Climate Change Update
CoP18, Doha: An assessment A Gateway that leads nowhere
Sunita Narain on the Doha outcome It was a nail-biting end that came in a no-ball game. For the past 20 years, the world has been haggling about who will cut greenhouse gas emissions and how much. In the same 20 years, the science of climate change has become more certain. The world is beginning to witness what the future will look like – more extreme events like the typhoon Bopha and the tropical storm Sandy are expected to cripple life and livelihoods across the world. In fact, as the leader of the Philippine delegation emotionally pointed out, the world is running out of time -- his ocean nation has seen 17 killer typhoons in the past year.
US says it will not extend commitment on climate mitigation efforts
By: Arnab Pratim Dutta Date: Nov 26, 2012 Ambitions on reducing carbon emissions levels missing at CoP 18, say developing countries The swords and daggers are still not out. Going by previous experience of climate change conferences, the big fights are generally kept for the last week of the conference, ceremoniously also known as the high level segment. However, on the opening day of the 18th Conference of Parties (CoP18) in Doha, Qatar, parties reaffirmed their positions, on which each will try to consolidate its position over the next two weeks. Although Doha seems to be just another milestone in the setting-up process of a new treaty in 2015, based on the Durban Platform to be implemented from 2020, the coming two weeks will see confrontations, if not fisticuffs on numerous contentious issues that need to be settled before 2013. And in one of the several press conferences held on the first day, the United States, a party that has always shied away from taking on carbon emissions reduction, made this clear. Read more
Climate Change
Progress at Bonn marred by old climate politics Will negotiating parties be able to sort out their differences at Doha? By Uthra Radhakrishnan
LDCs ring the alarm bell before Bonn
Demand higher ambition; will EU still take the lead? By Uthra Radhakrishnan Just ahead of the mid-year climate change session at Bonn, starting on May 14, the least developed countries (LDCs) have issued a call for efforts to be directed towards raising ambition on mitigation for the pre-2020 period, calling it the sine qua non of a successful outcome on the new Durban Platform negotiations. Read more
Factsheet: Will the Kyoto Protocol survive?
Equity: the next frontier in climate talks
In 1992, when the world met to discuss an agreement on climate change, equity was a simple concept: sharing the global commons—the atmosphere in this case—equally among all. It did not provoke much anxiety, for there were no real claimants. However, this does not mean the concept was readily accepted. A small group of industrialised countries had burnt fossil fuels for 100 years and built up enormous wealth. This club had to decide what to do to cut emissions, and it claimed all countries were equally responsible for the problem. In 1991, just as the climate convention was being finalised, a report, released by an influential Washington think tank, broke the news that its analysis showed India, China and other developing countries were equally responsible for greenhouse gases. Anil Agarwal and I rebutted this and brought in the issue of equitable access to the global commons. We also showed, beyond doubt, that the industrialised countries were singularly responsible for the increased greenhouse gases.
Factsheet: Will the developed world meet their Kyoto Protocol target?
A report by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency says the developed world will meet their Kyoto Protocol target and blames India and China for the increase in global CO2 emissions in 2010. But that is not true. Read the analysis that brings out the bias in the report Read more
Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan gives hard hitting speech, receives standing ovation
Jeez, Mr.Stern: 2 degree C target is just a guidepost?
Durban, December 7: Transcript of the US press briefing by Todd Stern, Durban, December 7, 2011 Todd Stern: Negotiations are continuing...Both Kyoto and what happens in the future, questions and the issues relating to implementation of Cancun Agreement... Let me take your questions.
Factsheet: Will the Kyoto Protocol survive?
Countries are likely to debate on the fate of the Kyoto Protocol in the forthcoming Conference of Parties at Durban. How likely is a deal? Read more to find out what are the other issues on the table at Durban Read more
Factsheet: The Cancun Conference of Parties
Was the Cancun CoP successful? What happened between Copenhagen and Cancun, that made countries vulnerable to climate change give their nod to the Cancun Agreement Read more