Climate Policy Post-Copenhagen: Action at three levels offers prospect of success
Bonn, 29 April 2010 -
The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) will today submit a Policy Paper to the German Government, represented by Federal Environment Minister Dr Norbert Röttgen. The Policy Paper shows how the current deadlock in international climate policy can be broken. > www.wbgu.de: Climate Policy Post-Copenhagen: Action at three levels offers prospect of success
Copenhagen Accord - missing the mark
London, April 23 2010 -
Current pledges to reduce emissions are no where near good enough to keep the planet's warming to below 2°C, argue Joeri Rogelj, Malte Meinshausen and colleagues in an opinion piece in Nature this week.
They analyzed the pledges made in conjunction with the Copenhagen Accord, taking into account a few major loopholes that will likely make emissions worse. First, they say, most nations will only meet the higher ends of their emissions reductions targets if there is a better international agreement in place, so the lower ends of their targets are more realistic.
Secondly, many nations have banked surplus emissions allowances from 2008-2012 that they are likely to use after 2012. Thirdly, some nations will probably be permitted extra allowances thanks to land use change, such as planting forests, that go beyond actual emissions savings. All of this paints a poor picture of future emissions. > blogs.nature.com: Copenhagen Accord - missing the mark > www.nature.com: Copenhagen Accord pledges are paltry > www.physorg.com: Copenhagen pledges set Earth for +3 C warming
China's Wen Says Not To Blame For Copenhagen Problems
Beijng, March 15 2010 -
China's Premier Wen Jiabao hit back on Sunday at critics who blamed China for the feeble outcome of the Copenhagen climate conference, saying he was not even invited to a key meeting he was accused of skipping.
Wen's defensive comments on climate change focused on last year's contentious summit, but his prickly tone suggested China will remain a demanding negotiator in resumed negotiations aiming to reach a global climate change pact in Mexico at the end of this year. > www.planetark.org: China's Wen Says Not To Blame For Copenhagen Problems
Copenhagen climate deal gets low-key endorsement
Oslo, January 31 2010 –
Nations accounting for most of the world's greenhouse gas emissions have restated their promises to fight climate change, meeting a Sunday deadline in a low-key endorsement of December's "Copenhagen Accord."
Experts say their promised curbs on greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 are too small so far to meet the accord's key goal of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. > reuters.com: Copenhagen Climate Deal Gets Low-Key Endorsement > www.ft.com: Big nations set out emission cuts targets
The long and winding road after Copenhagen
Paris, January 29 2010 –
After the near-train wreck of last month's Copenhagen climate summit, what lies ahead for efforts to beat back global warming? Next week may yield the first clues. > afp.com: The long and winding road after Copenhagen
After COP15, which way now for the most vulnerable countries?
Copenhagen, January 20 2010 -
Before COP15 there was widespread optimism that even if the outcome was not legally-binding, it would include strong positives for the 100 or so developing nations that have done least to cause climate change and are most at risk – the Least Developed Countries, Small Island
Developing States and most of Africa. > www.stakeholderforum.org: After COP15, which way now for the most vulnerable countries?
The Copenhagen Accord - A first stab at deciphering the implications for the EU
Brussels, 28 December 2009 -
Days after the meeting ended, people are still asking themselves whether the outcome of the Copenhagen summit was positive or not. What is striking is that the outcome is generally seen in a more favourable light in the US than in Europe. The difference can probably be explained by different expectations and perspectives. In this new CEPS commentary, CEPS Fellows Christian Egenhofer and Anton Georgiev make a first attempt at deciphering the implications of the accord for the EU. > www.ceps.eu: The Copenhagen Accord - A first stab at deciphering the implications for the EU
'China Doesn't Want to Lead, and the US Cannot'
Berlin, December 28 2009 -- (spiegel.de) --
German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen talks to SPIEGEL about the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit, why neither China nor the US can take the lead in the fight against global warming and Germany's role in the new world order. > wwww.spiegel.de: China Doesn't Want to Lead, and the US Cannot'
John Prescott defends China's role at Copenhagen climate summit
London, December 28 2009, --
John Prescott has defended China's role in the climate change summit, saying the blame for its flawed outcome must lie with the United States and Barack Obama.
The former deputy prime minister helped negotiate the Kyoto protocol in 1997, and was in Copenhagen acting as an informal bridge between the Chinese delegation and others. > www.guardian.co.uk: John Prescott defends China's role at Copenhagen climate summit
Copenhagen blame game not helpful: U.N. climate chief
London, December 25 2009 -- (Reuters) --
Countries should stop blaming each other for the weak outcome of the Copenhagen climate talks and sit down together to move the process forward, the U.N.'s top climate change official Yvo de Boer said on Wednesday. > news.xinhuanet.com: Copenhagen blame game not helpful: U.N. climate chief
India, China Stronger From Climate Meet: Pachauri
New Delhi, December 24 2009 --
The grouping of China, India, Brazil and South Africa has emerged as a significant force in Copenhagen and they could lead the way in future negotiations, the head of the U.N. climate panel said on Wednesday. > planetark.org: India, China Stronger From Climate Meet: Pachauri
Why did Copenhagen fail to deliver a climate deal?
Copenhagen / London, December 22 2009 -
About 45,000 travelled to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen - the vast majority convinced of the need for a new global agreement on climate change.
So why did the summit end without one, just an acknowledgement of a deal struck by five nations, led by the US.
And why did delegates leave the Danish capital without agreement that something significantly stronger should emerge next year? > news.bbc.co.uk: Why did Copenhagen fail to deliver a climate deal?
How do I know China wrecked the Copenhagen deal? I was in the room.
Copenhagen / London, December 22 2009 -
Copenhagen was a disaster. That much is agreed. But the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations. The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful "deal" so western leaders would walk away carrying the blame. How do I know this? Because I was in the room and saw it happen. > www.guardian.co.uk: How do I know China wrecked the Copenhagen deal? I was in the room
Copenhagen Reveals a Vicious Circle of Mistrust
Copenhagen, December 21 2009 -
Who is to blame for the summit disaster? The US? China? The EU? The G-8? In fact, all of the above. It was a coming together of states that killed off a vital resource for the world: trust. > www.spiegel.de: Copenhagen Reveals a Vicious Circle of Mistrust
Forget the Club of Rome, This is the Club Of Losers
Copenhagen, December 21 2009 -
After days of negotiations, debate, political drama and pages of will-they or won't-they headlines, the Copenhagen climate conference is over. And there is no conclusive agreement on any important issues. So did the situation produce any winners -- or has the whole world become a club for environmental losers? > www.spiegel.de: Forget the Club of Rome, This is the Club Of Losers
Lessons from the Copenhagen climate talks
Copenhagen, December 20 2009 -
Although many will remember the Copenhagen climate summit as an unmitigated disaster, that's too simple an assessment. The real value of Copenhagen of the summit may lie in what it teaches us about dealing with climate change — and much more. > www.time.com: Lessons from the Copenhagen climate talks
Climate scientists underwhelmed by Copenhagen Accord
Paris, December 20 2009 -
Top climate scientists said Saturday that the eleventh-hour political deal hammered out at UN talks in Copenhagen falls perilously short of what is needed to stave off catastrophic global warming. > www.physorg.com: Climate scientists underwhelmed by Copenhagen Accord
Copenhagen chaos sets world on track for 3.5 degrees
Copenhagen, 19 December 2009 -
After a night of wrangling and behind-the-scenes arguments, the United Nations conference agreed to "take note" of the Copenhagen accord, but countries were not forced to endorse it. With a number of Latin American nations and Sudan hostile to it, the meeting agreed that countries choosing to endorse the US-brokered deal would be listed in the text.
The deal provoked immediate anger for failing to include concrete measures to reach that target, and scientists at the talks said it would set the world on a path to 3.5 ºC of warming by 2100. > www.newscientist.com: Copenhagen chaos sets world on track for 3.5 degrees Celcius
Petition to the 110 Presidents and Prime Ministers negotiating in Copenhagen:
Copenhagen, December 18 2009 - We call on each one of you to make the concessions necessary to meet your historic responsibility in this crisis. Rich countries must offer fair funding, and all countries must set ambitious targets on emissions. Do not leave Copenhagen without a fair, ambitious and binding deal that keeps the world safe from catastrophic global warming of 2 degrees. Sign the petition: Save Copenhagen: Real Deal Now!
'Meaningful deal' reached at Copenhagen climate summit
Copenhagen, December 18 2009 -
The climate summit has reached a "meaningful agreement", according to a US official in Copenhagen.
No country was "entirely satisfied" with the deal, but it was a "historic step forward," he added.
However, the deal was not enough to curb climate change in the future, he conceded.
The two-week summit in the Danish capital had been deadlocked on Friday evening as world leaders tried to hammer out a deal. > www.reuters.com: Obama reaches climate deal with emerging powers
Poor nations push for 'new world order' in Copenhagen
Copenhagen, 17 December 2009 -
An attempt by developing and emerging countries to create "a new world order" in which Western industrialised nations are no longer dominant is threatening to scupper an agreement on climate change in Copenhagen, warned EU delegates.
As more than 130 world leaders arrive in Copenhagen for the final two days of the UN climate conference - US President Barack Obama is due to arrive tomorrow (18 December) - negotiators have warned that the risk of failure has never been higher.
"The final negotiations will be tense and strenuous," said Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who is chairing the conference after Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard resigned from the role to move the negotiations up a notch. > www.euractiv.com: Poor nations push for 'new world order' in Copenhagen > www.euractiv.com: Climate summit struggles to overcome targets row > www.euractiv.com: EU targets 'fake and untransparent'
Archbishop Tutu: Rich nations 'condemning Africa to incineration'
Copenhagen, December 16 2009 -
On the eve of the arrival of senior ministers and the first few heads of state at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, pessimism was rife that divisions amongst the major parties were so wide that talks may end in collapse.
Adding to developed countries' woes as talks chugged away well into the night, anti-apartheid veteran Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote to the president of the talks and future EU environment commissioner Connie Hedegaard charging that the position of wealthy nations would "condemn Africa to incineration." > euobserver.com: Archbishop Tutu: Rich nations 'condemning Africa to incineration'
Local Climate Efforts: Too Little, Too Slow, Too Late?
Colombo, December 14 2009 - (IPS/TerraViva) -
Sri Lankan experts do not seem to be pinning their hopes on the ongoing climate talks in Copenhagen, saying greenhouse gas emissions will continue to torment the world as long as western lifestyles remain the same.
The key, therefore, is for the island state—and other developing countries for that matter—to tackle climate change right in their own backyards. That is, through applicable mitigation and adaptation measures. But that is easier said than done. > www.ipsnews.net: Local Climate Efforts: Too Little, Too Slow, Too Late?
Expectations run high in Copenhagen, core discussions underway
Copenhagen, December 13 2009 - (Xinhua) --
Government ministers were arriving here over the weekend to work for consensus on two draft texts after a week of discussions at the U.N. climate change talks amid expectations that negotiators from over 190 countries would seal a deal to fight climate change. > xinhuanet.com: Expectations run high in Copenhagen, core discussions underway
The push for 350: Contradictions and carbon levels
Copenhagen, December 13 2009 - (AFP) -
As police cracked down on climate protesters, church bells tolled 350 times Sunday to impress on the U.N. global warming conference a number that is gaining a following, but is also awash in contradictions.
Conference negotiators went behind closed doors in talks to pin down an elusive new pact on climate, talks in which the figure 350 looms as a goal for true believers, but one that appears impossible based on progress so far. > news.yahoo.com / The push for 350: Contradictions and carbon levels
ADB chief says climate finance insufficient
Copenhagen, December 13 2009 - (Reuters) -
The head of the Asian Development Bank said on Sunday that rich countries' offers of funds to developing countries for measures to mitigate or adapt to climate change remain insufficient a week into U.N. talks. > www.reuters.com: ADB chief says climate finance insufficient
Hope in 100,000 Flavours
Copenhagen, December 13, 2009 - IPS/TerraViva -
The midpoint of a conference on climate change in which tremendous hope has been invested; unsurprising then that demonstrations of popular desire for decisive action against global warming took place around the world. > www.ipsnews.net: Hope in 100,000 Flavours
Copenhagen, December 12, 2009 -
They came from as far away as Taiwan, Hawaii, South America and South Africa and they ranged from toothless toddlers to gray-haired grannies as they all shivered together in Copenhagen on Saturday. They spoke in countless different languages but the 30,000 activists marching all had the same message: Act now on climate change. > blogs.reuters.com: But will they get the message?
Copenhagen climate summit releases draft final text
Copenhagen, December 11 2009 -
Rich countries are being asked to raise their pledges on tackling climate change under a draft text of a possible final deal at the Copenhagen summit.
Documents prepared by the summit's chairmen call on developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25-45% from 1990 levels by 2020.
Analyses suggest that current pledges add up to about 18%.
The document leaves open the exact target for limiting temperature rise, amid disputes between various blocs. > news.bbc.co.uk: Copenhagen climate summit releases draft final text > www.e360.yale.edu: Draft Climate Treaty Released; EU Pledge of Funds Angers Poorer Nations
Draft text divides climate summit
Copenhagen / London / Beijng 8/9 December 2009 - (Various) -
Documents leaked at the UN climate summit reveal divisions between industrialised and developing countries over the shape of a possible new deal.
Campaigners say a draft text proposed by the Danish host government would disadvantage poorer nations.
It also sees everything coming under a single new deal, whereas an alternative text from developing countries wants an extension to the Kyoto Protocol. > news.bbc.co.uk: Draft text divides climate summit > news.xinhuanet.com: Climate talks in disarray after 'Danish text' is leaked
Act now on climate, summit urged
Copenhagen, December 7 2009 -
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has described the UN climate summit in Copenhagen as an "opportunity the world cannot afford to miss".
Opening the two-week conference in the Danish capital, he told delegates from 192 countries a "strong and ambitious climate-change agreement" was needed.
About 100 leaders are to attend the meeting, which is intended to supplant the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The UN says an unprecedented number of countries have promised emissions cuts.
The Copenhagen climate negotiations must yield an ambitious, sweeping agreement to capitalize on pledges by countries to fight global warming, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said on Sunday. > news.bbc.co.uk: Act now on climate, summit urged See also: > en.cop15.dk / UN: Historic climate talks must deliver
'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation'
London, December 7 2009 -
Today 56 newspapers in 45 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial. We do so because humanity faces a profound emergency:
Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, and with it our prosperity and security. The dangers have been becoming apparent for a generation. Now the facts have started to speak: 11 of the past 14 years have been the warmest on record, the Arctic ice-cap is melting and last year's inflamed oil and food prices provide a foretaste of future havoc. In scientific journals the question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage. > guardian.co.uk: 'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation'
Hedegaard: 'Time is up' for climate choices
Copenhagen, December 2, 2009 -
"We have no alternative. We must handle climate change and we must do it right now. Copenhagen is the deadline. Time is up," writes former Danish Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard, the EU's commissioner-designate for climate action, in an exclusive op-ed for EurActiv. > www.euractiv.com / Hedegaard: 'Time is up' for climate choices
World Can Reach Climate Pact By End 2010: Mexico
Mexico City 27 November 2009 -
Global climate change talks in Copenhagen next month should yield a concrete base that will allow for a definitive treaty to be agreed within a year, Mexico's top climate change diplomat said on Wednesday.
Acknowledging that world leaders will not be able to draw up a new global treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol at a December 7-18 summit in the Danish capital, Luis Alfonso de Alba said he was optimistic the meeting would yield a major results including an accord to cap rising temperatures and set billions of dollars to help poor countries. > planetark.org: World Can Reach Climate Pact By End 2010: Mexico
Climate Change: The Case for Engagement
November 25, 2009 -
With the critical Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference just a few weeks away, it is worthwhile to recall what is at stake: any advances made and to be made in global integration, wealth creation, poverty reduction and peace building critically depend on our ability to address climate change now.
At the same time, climate change presents a tremendous opportunity for business to create value. The critical question is whether the private sector can seize this opportunity to retool the global economy and lay the foundation for low-carbon growth. > climate-l.org / Climate Change: The Case for Engagement
UN climate chief: 'The world is waiting for the EU'
Brussel, 23 November 2009 -
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer has said that a strong global agreement is still possible at the international climate summit in Copenhagen in 13 days' time, but the EU must "provide clarity" on its negotiating position to make it happen.
"The EU has been at the front of climate change policy, but leadership is about courage to storm the final breach," the Dutchman and secretary-general of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change told reporters in Brussels ahead of the last meeting of EU environment ministers before the Copenhagen climate conference. > euobserver.com / UN climate chief: 'The world is waiting for the EU'
Climate Goal Needs "More Than Technology": Shell
London, 23 November 2009 -
Action to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius is beyond simply inventing new, low-carbon technologies and depends on wider changes to behavior and the way communities are built, said a Royal Dutch Shell executive.
Oil major Shell was among nine firms which signed on Friday a letter addressed to head of the European Union's executive Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, calling for a "strong deal" on climate at a global U.N. meeting next month in Copenhagen. > planetark.org: Climate Goal Needs "More Than Technology": Shell
Pre-COP-15 Meeting Convenes in Copenhagen
Copenhagen, 17 / 18 November 2009 -
Forty ministers responsible for environment and climate met in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 16-17 November 2009, to prepare for the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the UNFCCC, scheduled to be held in December. At the meeting, ministers from Brazil and the Republic of Korea presented recently approved national decisions on emissions reductions.
Environment ministers made progress on Tuesday (17 November) towards a scaled-down climate deal in Copenhagen next month, with Washington under pressure to promise to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
"We still need more movement," Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, told a news conference at the end of two days of talks among 40 ministers from around the world on a deal meant to be agreed at the 7-18 December meeting in Denmark. > climate-l.org: Pre-COP-15 Meeting Convenes in Copenhagen (17-11) > www.euractiv.com: Ministers resigned to political climate deal in Copenhagen (18-11)
Binding Climate Treaty May Slip Far Into 2010
Copenhagen, November 17 2009 -
A binding international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions will slip to mid-2010 or beyond and a summit in Copenhagen next month will fall short of its ambitions, the United Nations and Denmark said on Monday.
The United Nations' top climate official said a treaty could be wrapped up at talks in Bonn by mid-2010. Denmark, host of next month's meeting, said it might take longer - until Mexico in December. Negotiations on a deal, initially due to be reached at the December 7-18 summit in Copenhagen, have stalled. > planetark.org: Binding Climate Treaty May Slip Far Into 2010
Copenhagen must set date for treaty, says Denmark's environment minister
Copenhagen, November 16 2009 -
Connie Hedegaard tells negotiators it is important to set the deadline for a legally binding agreement 'as soon as possible'
She spoke at the start of a two-day closed meeting of climate negotiators from nearly 40 countries who are preparing for the Copenhagen UN summit, which starts on 7 December. > www.guardian.co.uk: Copenhagen must set date for treaty, says Denmark's environment minister
Climate talks risk becoming 'new Doha', says ambassador
Brussels, 16 November 2009 -
After the last round of climate talks before the UN conference in Copenhagen ended with a sense of pessimism and impending defeat, the Danish ambassador to the EU, Poul Skytte Christoffersen, warns against the danger of postponing a deal until next year. > www.guardian.co.uk: Climate talks risk becoming 'new Doha', says ambassador
Clinton: No binding climate deal at Denmark talks
Manilla, November 13 2009 -
Next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen is not likely to produce a legally binding treaty to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that are widely blamed for global warming, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday. > yahoo / afp.com / Clinton: No binding climate deal at Denmark talks
Barack Obama says he will go to Copenhagen climate change conference
Ahead of Washington visit, Ban expresses belief in climate change talks
New York, November 9 2009 -
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced confidence for an agreement next month on fighting global warming even as key issues remain unresolved, a day before he travels to Washington D.C. to discuss with senior officials and congressional leaders what world governments expect in terms of the United States’ role. > www.un.org: Ahead of Washington visit, Ban expresses belief in climate change talks
New climate change treaty could be ready in 2010, U.N. official says
Barcelona, November 6 2009 -
A new international treaty to combat climate change will not be ready when 40 world leaders meet next month in Copenhagen but may be finished next year, a top United Nations official said Friday.
"What we will need after Copenhagen is a little time," said Yvo de Boer, head of the United Nations climate change secretariat. "I don't know how much time to turn that operational language into a treaty, if that is what governments decide." > www.cnn.com: New climate change treaty could be ready in 2010, U.N. official says
U.N. lowers expectations for Copenhagen climate deal
New York / United Nations, October 26 2009 -
The United Nations lowered expectations for clinching a legally binding agreement at a U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen in December, saying it might take longer to secure a final deal. > www.reuters.com: U.N. lowers expectations for Copenhagen climate deal
Ban Ki-moon: We Can Do It
New York, October 25, 2009 -
Every day, the critical December summit in Copenhagen grows closer. All agree that climate change is an existential threat to humankind. Yet agreement on what to do still eludes us.
How can this be? The issues are complex, affecting everything from national economies to individual lifestyles. They involve political trade-offs and commitments of resources no leader can undertake lightly. We could see all that at recent climate negotiations in Bangkok. Where we needed progress, we saw gridlock.
Yet the elements of a deal are on the table. All we require to put them in place is political will. We need to step back from narrow national interest and engage in frank and constructive discussion in a spirit of global common cause. > www.nytimes.com / Ban Ki-moon: We Can Do It
President Obama won’t talk climate change in Copenhagen
Washington, 24 October 2009 -
President Obama will almost certainly not travel to the Copenhagen climate change summit in December and may instead use his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to set out US environmental goals, The Times has learnt. > www.timesonline.co.uk: President Obama won’t talk climate change in Copenhagen
China, India Cancel Out Copenhagen
October 23, 2009 -
With less than two months to go before the big Copenhagen Conference on global warming, two major nations have said "no thanks" to the no-growth agenda. For that reason alone, so should we.
Following a deal signed late Thursday between China and India, anything we might agree to do in Copenhagen is likely moot anyway. The two mega-nations -- which together account for nearly a third of the world's population -- said they won't go along with a new climate treaty being drafted in Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
They're basically saying no to anything that forces them to impose mandatory limits on their output of greenhouse gas emissions. Other developing nations, including Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, will likely reject any proposals as well. > news.yahoo.com: China, India Cancel Out Copenhagen
Europe offers to cut emissions 95% by 2050 if deal reached at Copenhagen
Luxemburg, 21 October 2009 -
Europe attempted to reassert its international leadership in the fight against global warming today, offering to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95% by 2050 and by 30% by 2020 if a climate change pact is sealed in Copenhagen in six weeks' time.
"This should be seen as a clear message to the world," said Andreas Carlgren, the Swedish environment minister who chaired the Luxembourg meeting. "We expect to reach an agreement in Copenhagen," he added, after environment ministers from 27 countries finalised a common EU negotiating position. > www.guardian.co.uk: Europe offers to cut emissions 95% by 2050 if deal reached at Copenhagen
India, China agree to cooperate on climate change
New Delhi, 21 October 2009 -
India and China, both major polluters and crucial players in fighting global warming, agreed Wednesday to stand together on climate change issues at a major global conference later this year.
The December summit in Copenhagen aims to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the first international deal requiring reductions in emissions of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" by industrialized countries.
Developing countries argue that the industrial world produced most of the harmful gases in recent decades and should bear the costs of fixing the problem. India and China have agreed to work on slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, but resist making those limits binding and subject to international monitoring. > www.google.com: India, China agree to cooperate on climate change
New Financial Scheme Turns Heat on Rich Nations
Bangkok, October 11 2009 -
A new financial mechanism to help the developing world deal with the challenges posed by climate change looms as a major hurdle on the road leading up to a United Nations summit in Copenhagen in mid-December.
During a press conference, Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, said a successful new climate change deal hinges on industrialized nations committing to ambitious greenhouse gas emissions targets and reaching agreement on financing to help poor countries adapt. He said lack of progress on key political issues is making it difficult for negotiations to proceed. > www.ipsnews.net: New Financial Scheme Turns Heat on Rich Nations > climate-l.org: UNFCCC Bangkok Talks End with Little Progress on Finance and Mitigation
UN Climate Change Negotiations result in more clarity on 'bricks and mortar' of Copenhagen agreed outcome
Bangkok, 9 October 2009 -
The penultimate negotiating session before the historic UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December wrapped up Friday in the Thai capitol Bangkok with progress made on what needs to constitute the "bricks and mortar" of the Copenhagen agreed outcome, but a continuing lack of clarity on key deliverables to make a successful international climate change deal workable. > www.unep.org: UN Climate Change Negotiations result in more clarity on 'bricks and mortar' of Copenhagen agreed outcome
China: Climate talks sabotaged
Bangkok, October 5, 2009 -
Industrialized nations are trying to "sabotage" a treaty to combat global warming in advance of the December climate summit in Copenhagen, China's chief climate negotiator said Monday.
Now in the second and final week of talks in Bangkok on a climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, tensions were running high as negotiators representing 180 countries attempt to whittle down the exhaustive 200-page document before Copenhagen.
"The reason why we are not making progress is the lack of political will by Annex 1 (industrialized) countries," said Yu Qingrai, China's special representative on climate talks, the Guardian reports. "There is a concerted effort to fundamentally sabotage the Kyoto Protocol." > www.guardian.co.uk: China leads accusation that rich nations are trying to sabotage climate treaty
India challenges US over 'measly' climate change efforts
Bangkok, October 1, 2009 -
India demanded today that America step up its "measly" efforts to combat global warming – or risk jeopardising an international deal to avoid catastrophic climate change.
The challenge from Delhi's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, and recent moves from China, mark a deliberate ratcheting up of the pressure on Barack Obama to move more forcefully to reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions. > www.guardian.co.uk: India challenges US over 'measly' climate change efforts
Mounting Costs of Climate Change Raise Fears of Conflict
Bangkok, October 1 2009 -
The rising challenge of climate change has raised fears of growing conflicts as the impact of more extreme weather triggers food water scarcities across the Asia region.
The concerns have added to a growing sense of urgency in the ongoing 12- day climate change talks in Bangkok, the latest in a series of negotiations that will lead to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December, where a comprehensive treaty is expected to be adopted, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012. > www.ipsnews.net: Mounting Costs of Climate Change Raise Fears of Conflict
New York / Bangkok, September 29 2009 -
Delegates at U.N. climate talks in Bangkok are trying to whittle down a complex negotiating text that will form the basis of a broader global pact to curb the pace of climate change.
The two-week talks are crucial because negotiators have very little time to trim the options and alternative wording proposals in the 180-page text with just over two months to go before a December 7-18 climate meeting in Copenhagen.
The United Nations has set the Copenhagen gathering as the deadline to try to reach a broad agreement on a replacement pact for the Kyoto Protocol. > www.planetark.org: Key Issues On The Table At Bangkok Climate Talks > www.terradaily.com: UN climate chief says time running out for deal
Climate talks resume in Bangkok with deal in doubt
Oxford, 21 September 2009 -
The importance of the international climate summit to be held in Copenhagen later this year cannot be over- emphasised; 2009 is literally a make-or-break year in terms of climate-change negotiations.
After almost two decades of increasingly heated debate on how to tackle climate change, and notwithstanding the current recession, emissions of global greenhouse gases – from energy use, agriculture, deforestation and industrial processes – are rising at a faster rate now than they have done throughout our history.
As we enter the second decade of this new millennium, the international community is faced with a very clear and stark choice: to cut emissions urgently and radically, or to lock the next and future generations into "dangerous climate change". > www.independent.co.uk / Professor Kevin Anderson: Point of no return > www.independent.co.uk / Stephen Hale: It's now or never
Climate Change Summit Background Paper Released
New York, September 17 2009 -
Key questions and themes to guide the roundtable discussions of Heads of State and Government during the upcoming Climate Change Summit, to be held on 22 September 2009, have been identified in the UN Secretary-General’s Background Paper.
The Summit’s aim is to “mobilize the political will and vision to reach an ambitious agreed outcome based on science at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen,” with a view to achieving “a fair, effective and comprehensive global climate change deal” leading to a “fundamental transformation of the global economy” that will strengthen climate-resilient development and assist the most vulnerable to adapt. > climate-l.org: UN Climate Change Summit Background Paper Released > www.un.org: Note from the Secretary-General to Heads of States and Governments Regarding the Summit on Climate Change 22 september 2009
People power is crucial to making Copenhagen a success
London, September 10 2009 -
A huge show of popular support should empower our political leaders to reach a wise and visionary agreement in Copenhagen.
We have reached a defining moment in the global battle against climate change, and the role of the public is now more crucial than ever.
There are now less than 100 days until the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, which my colleague Nicholas Stern, the former head of the UK Government Economic Service and author of the Stern review has described as "the most important international meeting since the second world war". > www.guardian.co.uk: People power is crucial to making Copenhagen a success
Global Climate Deal Only 50:50 Chance: Flannery
Sydney, September 10 2009 -
The chances of a global agreement to fight climate change at U.N. talks in Copenhagen in December are only 50:50, said Australia's leading environmentalist, who warned of "full climactic destabilization" without a pact.
Tim Flannery, chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council which fosters collaboration between international business and science to fight climate change, said without action in Copenhagen the world faced "runaway" climate change.
"The changes in the climate system are occurring at a very fast rate indeed and our attempts to catch up in terms of our social and economic policy are just not fast enough," Flannery told Reuters Television in an interview on Tuesday. > planetark.org: Global Climate Deal Only 50:50 Chance: Flannery
'Industrialized Nations Are Facing CO2 Insolvency'
Berlin, September 4 2009 -
In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the German government's climate protection adviser, argues that drastic measures must be taken in order to prevent a catastrophe. He is proposing the creation of a CO2 budget for every person on the planet, regardless whether they live in Berlin or Beijing. www.spiegel.de: 'Industrialized Nations Are Facing CO2 Insolvency'
Copenhagen's Inconvenient Truth
Palm Coast (Fl/US), September 1 2009 -
The Copenhagen conference won't solve the problem of climate change once and for all. Rather than aiming for a broad international treaty, negotiators should strengthen existing national policies and seek targeted emissions cuts in both rich nations and the developing world. www.foreignaffairs.com: Copenhagen's Inconvenient Truth
Three Months From a Climate Summit, Agreement Far Off
Beijng, August 31 2009 -
If you happened on Friday morning to walk into the Temple of Earth in Beijing — the nearly 500-year-old monument where Chinese emperors once prayed for good harvests — you would have noticed a steady drip. The environmental group Greenpeace placed ice sculptures of 100 children — made of the glacial meltwater that feeds China's great rivers — inside the temple, to symbolize the risk that climate change and disappearing ice poses to the more than 1 billion people in Asia threatened by water shortages. > www.time.com: Three Months From a Climate Summit, Agreement Far Off > www.greenpeace.org: Global Campaign for Climate Action: tck tck tck
UNFCCC Secretariat Releases AWG-LCA Documents from Bonn Informal Climate Change Talks
Bonn, August 17 2009 -
The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a number of documents reflecting work done under the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (AWG-LCA) revised negotiating text (FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/INF.1), during the August intersessional informal consultations in Bonn. > climate-l.org: UNFCCC Secretariat Releases AWG-LCA Documents from Bonn Informal Climate Change Talks
Vulnerable states team up for tougher climate pact
Bonn, 14 August 2009 -
The world's poorest nations joined small island states on Friday to urge far tougher global goals for fighting climate change, saying their people were at risk from everything from droughts to rising sea levels. > www.reuters.com: Vulnerable states team up for tougher climate pact
Bonn climate talks end with no progress made
Bonn, 14 August 2009 -
Following the end of the latest round of UN climate change talks in Bonn, which finished today, Mike Childs, Head of Climate Change at Friends of the Earth said:
"Rich countries are once again pushing the con of carbon offsetting at UN climate change talks - which means avoiding real action through dodgy accounting - and putting pitifully inadequate targets on the table. > www.foe.co.uk: Bonn climate talks end with no progress made
‘Limited progress’ made at latest round climate talks, says top UN official
U.N. climate pact seen hinging on deeper CO2 cuts
BONN, August 12 2009 -
A U.N. climate deal due in December will be a flop unless industrialized nations sharply increase promised cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for 2020, the chair of a key U.N. group said on Wednesday. > www.reuters.com: U.N. climate pact seen hinging on deeper CO2 cuts
An Overview of the Multilateral Climate Negotiations
August 11, 2009, by Chris Spence -
The past two months have seen a flurry of activity on climate change. Domestic events and announcements in many nations, high-level meetings of key groups of countries and discussions arranged by the United Nations have all been making news.
Yet in spite of such endeavors, the mood among many participants has become increasingly pessimistic. Some feel the prospects for success in Copenhagen are dimming.
What has caused such doubts? Is such pessimism justified? To answer these questions, it is necessary to review recent events at the national, bilateral and multilateral levels. > climate-l.org: An Overview of the Multilateral Climate Negotiations > unfccc.int: Bonn Climate Change Talks - August 2009
UN chief warns of 'incalculable' suffering without climate deal
Incheon, (South Korea) August 11, 2009 -
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday of "incalculable" human suffering if the world fails to reach a deal at crucial climate change talks this December. The United Nations is orchestrating the talks in the Danish capital in hopes of securing an agreement to slash greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. "As we move toward Copenhagen in December, we must seal a climate change deal that secures our common future," Ban told an environmental forum in Incheon. > www.terradaily.com: UN chief warns of 'incalculable' suffering without climate deal > www.reuters.com: U.N. chief warns of dire future without climate deal
Climate change poker: The barriers which are preventing a global agreement
As the world's environment ministers, government officials, diplomats and campaigners prepare to attend the COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 to unite in the battle against climate change in one of the most complicated political deals the world has ever seen, the increasingly complex territory of climate negotiations is being revealed in an article published today, Aug. 5, 2009, in IOP Publishing's Environmental Research Letters. > www.eurekalert.org / Climate change poker: The barriers which are preventing a global agreement
The Road to Copenhagen
Stockholm, August 4 / 6 2009 -
We need an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen. An agreement that includes all nations, enables us to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and unleashes the forces for sustainable development.
The base for an agreement must be what science has taught us: global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2020 at the latest. They must be reduced by at least 50% as compared with 1990 levels by 2050. Developed countries must take the lead and collectively reduce their emissions by 25 to 40% by 2020 and by 80 to 95% by 2050. Among the developing countries, the emerging economies must ensure a deviation of 15-30% from their business as usual emissions scenarios by 2020. > climate-l.org: The Road to Copenhagen > www.terradaily.com: Global deal needs 'strong' 2020 targets: UN climate chief
G8 Makes Scant Progress To Copenhagen Climate Pact
L'Aquila, July 10 / 12 2009 -
A G8 summit made scant progress toward a new U.N. climate treaty due to be agreed in December with some nations back-pedaling on promises of new action even before the end of a meeting in Italy.
"This hasn't given me a huge rush of adrenalin," said Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate change official, of climate decisions by the G8 summit and a 17-member climate forum of major emitters including China and India.
"Generally this is careful but useful step forward toward Copenhagen...I'm still confident that the deal can be done," he said of the U.N. pact due to be agreed in mid-December.
Still, developing nations are prepared to make concessions on climate change targets if the G8 fulfils its side of the bargain in the run-up to the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December, a key negotiator told the Guardian today.
The developing countries want the G8 nations to sign up to a 40% cut by 2020, but that figure is off the radar of the EU and, given the unwieldy legislation laboriously passing through the senate, not a possibility for the US. > planetark.org: G8 Makes Scant Progress To Copenhagen Climate Pact (July 10) > www.guardian.co.uk: Developing countries urge G8 to impose 40% emissions cut by 2020 (July 10) > Sea level rise: Small Island Nations Demand More Emissions Cuts (July 12)
New method may help allocate carbon emissions responsibility among nations
Petten (Netherlands), July 8 2009 -
Just months before world leaders are scheduled to meet to devise a new international treaty on climate change, a research team led by Princeton University scientists, and including ECN researcher Heleen de Coninck, has developed a new way of dividing responsibility for carbon emissions among countries. > www.ecn.nl: New method may help allocate carbon emissions responsibility among nations
China Welcomes U.S. Climate Bill, Says More Needed
Beijing, 29 June 2009 -
China's top climate change official on Friday welcomed a U.S. climate change bill but said Washington needed to take stronger action to ensure success at year-end talks to settle a global framework on warming. planetark.org: International China Welcomes U.S. Climate Bill, Says More Needed
Copenhagen Climate Report: “Inaction is inexcusable”
Potsdam, 18 June 2009 -
Key climate indicators such as global mean surface temperature, sea-level rise and extreme climatic events are already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which contemporary society and economy have developed. This is one of the key messages of a report presented by leading scientists in Brussels today in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. The up-to-date overview of research relevant to climate change was handed over to the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the host of the conference. www.pik-potsdam.de: “Inaction is inexcusable”
International Agreement on Climate Treaty Seems Unlikely in 2009
Washington, June 15, 2009 -
It seems unlikely that an agreement on the terms of the next climate treaty could be reached at the December-scheduled Copenhagen talks. The United States, not a member of the Kyoto Protocol and one of the major players in the international negotiations tussle over the climate treaty, has not yet reached a consensus over how to reduce carbon emissions and a bill successfully passing through the Senate in 2009 seems quite difficult. planetark.org: International Agreement on Climate Treaty Seems Unlikely in 2009
Halfway to Copenhagen, no way to 2 °C
Potsdam, (Germany), June 11th, 2009 -
National targets give virtually no chance of constraining warming to 2 °C and no chance of protecting coral reefs.
International climate negotiations are picking up speed as the deadline for agreeing a global treaty approaches. Countries are now making clear their own commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions under amendments to the Kyoto Protocol1 and under a new agreement or protocol to be decided in Copenhagen in December2.
Nature compiles all of the current position statements from developed and developing countries and asks three questions: what do they add up to in terms of global greenhouse gas emissions, what are the consequences for the global climate system and how do they collectively compare to the goals of limiting warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above pre-industrial levels? www.nature.com: Halfway to Copenhagen, no way to 2 °C
China Tells Rich Nations To Cut Emissions By 40 Percent
London / Washington, May 21 2009 -
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the US will not be able to cut greenhouse emissions as much as it should due to domestic political opposition. www.bbc.co.uk: US CO2 goals 'to be compromised'
World "Not Standing Still" On Climate Pact: U.N.
Oslo, May 21 2009 -
he United Nations issued a range of rival ideas for fighting climate change from rich and poor nations on Wednesday and said the world was "not standing still" in work on a new U.N. treaty.
The 53-page text included suggestions that rich nations set aside up to 2 percent of their gross national product to help the poor cope with global warming, while rich countries called for developing nations to do more to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
"This document marks an important point on our road," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said in a statement that will form a basis for negotiations on a new pact to be agreed in Copenhagen in December. planetark.org: World "Not Standing Still" On Climate Pact: U.N.
The Road to Copenhagen / The Climate Crunch
London, April 30 2009 - In December this year, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will descend on Copenhagen to wrangle over the details of a new global climate deal — a potential successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
As the world moves along the road to Copenhagen, scientific magazine Nature will be covering every aspect of the science and politics of climate change in a series of special articles.
Research reveals that once a trillion tonnes of anthropogenic carbon has been released into the atmosphere, a peak global warming exceeding 2°C is likely. Yet only a third of economically recoverable oil, gas and coal reserves can be burned before 2100 if that 2°C warming is to be avoided.
Faced with this climate crunch, three news features ask: will cutting back on carbon be tougher than we think? Can we drag CO2 directly from the air? And could we cool the planet with a wisp of mist? The worst-case scenario is a world in 2100 that has twice the level of pre-industrial CO2 in the atmosphere. If we want to avoid that, the time for action is now, says Nature. The Road to Copenhagen / The Climate Crunch
Major negotiations for new UN climate change pact kick off in Germany
Bonn, March 29 2009 -
The first round of United Nations-backed negotiations designed to culminate in an ambitious new international climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December got underway today.
More than 2,000 delegates from government, business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, have gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the first of a series of three sessions aimed at producing a draft document to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period to reducing greenhouse gas emissions ends in 2012. www.un.org: Major negotiations for new UN climate change pact kick off in Germany
Stern attacks politicians over climate 'devastation'
Copenhagen, (DK) March 13 2009 -
Politicians have failed to take on board the severe consequences of failing to cut world carbon emissions, according to Nicholas Stern, the economist commissioned by Gordon Brown to analyse the impact of climate change.
His stark warning about the potentially "devastating" consequences of global warming came as scientists issued a desperate plea last night for world leaders to curb greenhouse gas emissions or face an ecological and social disaster. www.guardian.co.uk: Stern attacks politicians over climate 'devastation'
Lord Stern on global warming: It's even worse than I thought
Copenhagen, (DK) March 13 2009 -
Lord Stern, the economist who produced the single most influential political document on climate change, says he underestimated the risks of global warming and the damage that could result from it. www.independent.co.uk: Lord Stern on global warming: It's even worse than I thought
Climate scenarios 'being realised'
Copenhagen, (DK) March 12 2009 -
The worst-case scenarios on climate change envisaged by the UN two years ago are already being realised, say scientists at an international meeting. news.bbc.co.uk: Climate scenarios 'being realised'
When the ice melts, it is too late
Copenhagen, (DK) March 12 2009 -
On the day-to-day timescale that humans normally deal with, climate change appears to be a slow process that takes place over decades and centuries. This generates a common misconception: if things get really bad, we can quickly change our behaviour and set it all right again.
This is a fallacy, rather like the idea that we can alter the course of a supertanker minutes before it collides with an iceberg. The climate responds slowly because it has an in-built resistance to change – which is why 200 years of vast fossil-fuel emissions have taken so long to produce an effect, and why any delay now in curbing carbon dioxide emissions will only store up bigger problems for the future. www.independent.co.uk: When the ice melts, it is too late
Make clear dire scenarios to prod climate action: Stern
Copenhagen, (DK) March 12 2009 -
Scientists must make clear the disastrous effects of climate change so the world takes action now to cut carbon emissions, leading economist Nicholas Stern said on Thursday. www.reuters.com: Make clear dire scenarios to prod climate action: Stern
Global warming 'will be worse than expected' warns Stern
Copenhagen, (DK) March 12 2009 -
Economist Nicholas Stern says his 2006 groundbreaking report underestimated risk and he accuses governments of not being ready for consequences of 6C temperature rise.
According to Stern politicians have failed to take on board the severe consequences of failing to cut world carbon emissions.
Stern told a meeting of climate change scientists in Copenhagen that the effects of global warming would be worse than he predicted in his seminal 2006 report on the economics of the problem. He said policy-makers needed to think more about the likely impact of severe temperature rises of 6C or more. www.guardian.co.uk: Global warming 'will be worse than expected' warns Stern www.guardian.co.uk: Climate change: Prepare for global temperature rise of 4C, warns Bob Watson (Aug 7 2008)
Key Messages from the Congress
Copenhagen, 12 March 2009 -
Following a successful International Scientific Congress Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions attended by more than 2,500 delegates from nearly 80 countries, preliminary messages from the findings were delivered by the Congress? Scientific Writing Team. The conclusions will be published into a full synthesis report June 2009. The conclusions were handed over to the Danish Prime Minister Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen today. The Danish Government will host the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 and will hand over the conclusions to the decision makers ahead of the Conference. climatecongress.ku.dk: The six preliminary key messages
Carbon sinks losing the battle with rising emissions
Copenhagen, (DK) March 11 2009 -
The stabilising influence that land and ocean carbon sinks have on rising carbon emissions is gradually weakening, say scientists attending this week’s international Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
“Forests, grasslands and oceans are absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere faster than ever but they are not keeping pace with rapidly rising emissions,” says CSIRO scientist and co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project, Dr Mike Raupach. > www.csiro.au: Carbon sinks losing the battle with rising emissions
Leading economist proposes "Climate Marshall Plan
Fighting global warming offers growth and development opportunities
Copenhagen, 12 March 2009 -
Combating climate change may not be a question of who will carry the burden but could instead be a rush for the benefits, according to new economic modeling presented today at "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions" hosted by the University of Copenhagen. climatecongress.ku.dk: Fighting global warming offers growth and development opportunities
Law students' proposal for a climate protocol will inspire the climate conference
Copenhagen, 11 March 2009 -
How will the young generation solve the planet's climate challenges? This was negotiated by law students from all over the world in an international climate competition arranged by the Faculty of Law at University of Copenhagen. climatecongress.ku.dk: Law students' proposal for a climate protocol will inspire the climate conference
New renewables to power 40 per cent of global electricity demand by 2050
Copenhagen, 11 March 2009 -
With adequate financial and political support, renewable energy technologies like wind and photovoltaics could supply 40 percent of the world's electricity by 2050, according to findings from the International Scientific Congress "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions." However, if such technologies are marginalized, its share is likely to hover below 15 percent. climatecongress.ku.dk: New renewables to power 40 per cent of global electricity demand by 2050
'More bad news' on climate change
Copenhagen, March 10 2009 -
More bad news on climate change is expected as more than 2,000 climate scientists gather in Copenhagen.
They will be trying to pull together the latest research on global warming ahead of political negotiations later in the year.
The scientists are concerned that the 2007 reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are already out of date. news.bbc.co.uk: 'More bad news' on climate change Copenhagen 2009
Carbon cuts 'only give 50/50 chance of saving planet'
London / Copenhagen, March 9 2009 -
The world's best efforts at combating climate change are likely to offer no more than a 50-50 chance of keeping temperature rises below the threshold of disaster, according to research from the UK Met Office.
The key aim of holding the expected increase to 2C, beyond which damage to the natural world and to human society is likely to be catastrophic, is far from assured, the research suggests, even if all countries engage forthwith in a radical and enormous crash programme to slash greenhouse gas emissions – something which itself is by no means guaranteed. www.independent.co.uk: Carbon cuts 'only give 50/50 chance of saving planet'
Top climate researchers meet in Copenhagen
Copenhagen, 9 March 2009 -
Tomorrow, one of the world?s largest ever interdisciplinary conferences on climate change commences when more than 2,000 participants from around 80 countries meet in Copenhagen. The Congress is the result of a unique cooperation between ten of the world's leading universities; the International Alliance of Re-search universities (IARU), which consists of Austra-lian National University, ETH - Zürich, National University of Singapore, Peking University, University of California - Berkeley, University of Cambridge, University of Copenhagen, University of Oxford, University of Tokyo and Yale University. climatecongress.ku.dk: Top climate researchers meet in Copenhagen
An atlas of climate impacts and adaptation priorities
Copenhagen, 23 February 2009 -
(The University of Copenhagen hosts The International Scientific Congress on Climate Change on 10-12 March in Copenhagen. This is the third in a row of climate research stories that will be released up to and presented at the conference.)
Ever wondered where climate change might hit hardest? Where people are most vulnerable to changed rainfall patterns, rising seas, droughts or a combination of these and possibly more of the detrimental effects of climate change?
As the number of analyses of the impacts of climate change grow, it can get increasingly difficult to get an overview of where the effects are most severe and thus where efforts to adapt to the new conditions of a changing climate should be focused and coordinated. climatecongress.ku.dk: An atlas of climate impacts and adaptation priorities
Healthy diet could help climate tremendously
Copenhagen, February 16 2009 -
The University of Copenhagen hosts The International Scientific Congress on Climate Change on 10-12 March in Copenhagen. This is the second in a row of climate research stories that will be released up to and presented at the conference.
An area the size of Russia and Canada combined would be freed from use as pasture and croplands, if people switched from meat to plant-based protein starting in 2010 and completed in 2030. A part of this abandoned area would grow back to forests and could soak up huge amounts of CO2,, thereby cutting the cost of handling climate change at a manageable level by 70%. climatecongress.ku.dk: Healthy diet could help climate tremendously
Global warnings
London, February 15 2009 --
The Copenhagen protocol will not succeed unless China and India sign up, but bribing these nations to take part is counterproductive.
This December, global leaders will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate a new climate change pact to reduce carbon emissions. Yet, the way that it has been set up, it will inevitably fail. The best hope is that we use this lesson finally to deal with this issue in a smarter fashion. > www.guardian.co.uk: Global warnings
Climate catastrophes might be foreseen
Copenhagen, February 13 2009 -
The University of Copenhagen hosts The International Scientific Congress on Climate Change on 10-12 March in Copenhagen. This is the first in a row of climate research stories that will be released up to and presented at the conference.
There may indeed be a quiet before the storm, when it comes to drastic changes in the climate system shows new research from the Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group at Wageningen University, Holland.
"We have found, that abrupt climate change in the past have been preceded by a period, where the natural fluctuations of the climate slow down," says Marten Scheffer, leader of the research group. climatecongress.ku.dk: Climate catastrophes might be foreseen
Scientists plan emergency summit on climate change
London, February 9 2009 -
Scientists are to hold an emergency summit to warn the world's politicians they are being too timid in their response to global warming.
Climate experts from across the world will gather in Copenhagen next month to agree a stark message to policy makers, which they hope will break the political deadlock on efforts to curb rising temperatures. The meeting follows "disturbing" studies that suggest global warming could strike harder and faster than expected. www.guardian.co.uk: Scientists plan emergency summit on climate change
UN Secretary-General and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Emphasize Accelerating Action on Climate Change in Statements at Delhi Sustainable Development Summit
Delhi, February 6 2009 -
During the 2009 Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, which is organized around the theme “Towards Copenhagen: an equitable and ethical approach” and is taking place from 5-7 February 2009, in New Delhi, India, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that ignoring or underestimating the threat of climate change would lead to increased poverty and hardship.
Ban, who received the Sustainable Development Leadership Award at the Summit, underlined that tackling this challenge requires “all our leadership, all our commitment, all our ingenuity,” but that it also provides an “opportunity to make progress on a wide range of sustainable development issues.” www.climate-l.org: Accelerating Action on Climate Change needed
EU Outlines Perspective for the Copenhagen Agreement
Washington, (DC/US) January 28, 2009 -
Today, the European Commission released proposed outlines for the EU's negotiating position for the agreement to be reached in Copenhagen (Dec. 2009)-in EU parlance a "Commission Communication". It outlines the Commission's proposal for an EU position going into the international negotiations that begin in earnest the end of March. switchboard.nrdc.org: EU Outlines Perspective for the Copenhagen Agreement
The EU passes climate change burden to world’s poorest
London, January 28 2009 -
Europe’s refusal to commit money to help poor people cope with climate change could derail the chances of reaching a fair climate deal in Copenhagen, warned Oxfam International today.
“Unless developing countries see hard cash on the table, there is a real danger they will simply walk away.” www.oxfam.org: The EU passes climate change burden to world’s poorest
Briefing paper on the European Commission ‘Copenhagen communication’
Brussels, January 27 2009 -
On 28 January 2009, the European Commission will present its ‘Copenhagen communication.’ This communication puts forward proposals ahead of international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. It is expected to focus on how to reduce emissions worldwide and how to generate a flow of climate funds from the European Union and other industrialised countries to developing nations. The overall ambition of global emission reductions will depend heavily on the adequacy and credibility of this funding. Briefing paper on the European Commission ‘Copenhagen communication’
UN Climate Conference: The countdown to Copenhagen
London, January 9, 2009 -
Three hundred and thirty-one days, plus a final frantic fortnight: not very long, really, to put together the most complex and vital agreement the world has ever seen. But that's all the time there is: in 331 days from now, on 7 December, the UN Climate Conference will open in Copenhagen and the world community will try to agree a solution to the gravest threat it has ever faced: global warming. www.independent.co.uk: www.independent.co.uk
Negotiations in 2009 leading to Copenhagen
New York -
2009 is a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change, culminating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7-18 December. In 2007, Parties agreed to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed at Copenhagen. unfccc.int: Countdown to Copenhagen
