unfccc posts, articles, and infographics

The Platform Opens a Window: Durban's Unambiguous Consequence

January 2, 2012 by Robert Stavins
with 406 views

In my previous essay – following the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which adjourned on December 11, 2011 – I offered my assessment of the Durban climate negotiations, addressing the frequently-posed question of whether the talks had “succeeded.” I took... [read more]

Was the Kyoto Protocol a Failure?

December 29, 2011 by Silvio Marcacci
with 832 views

Almost 15 years ago, the world gathered in Japan to negotiate the Kyoto Protcol, a landmark international treaty to limit greenhouse gases. As the expiration date of the world’s first carbon cutting treaty draws closer, energyNOW! asks – was Kyoto a success or a failure? [read more]

A Tweet to Change the World

December 23, 2011 by David Hone
with 149 views

Anyone who followed COP 17 in Durban would have noticed that the UNFCCC and its Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres, are active Tweeters. But one Tweet in particular opens up a key issue facing the UNFCCC – what exactly is its remit? [read more]

Evaluating Durban

December 13, 2011 by Dan Bodansky
with 377 views

Was the Durban climate conference a success or failure? As always, the answer depends on one’s frame of reference. [read more]

Making Sense Out of Durban

December 13, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 200 views

So what the heck happened in Durban? Is the world closer to dealing with the problem of global warming? Or not? If, like me, you aren’t a devotee of the UN climate negotiations, reading the headlines isn’t much help. From the glass-half-full crowd: Progress at end of Durban Cop17 climate talks (LA Times). Reason to smile about Durban climate conference (Eugene Robinson in the WPost). Climate deal salvaged after marathon talks (The Guardian). From the pessimists: How the world failed to address climate change–again (Michael Levi at The Atlantic.com). The Durban climate deal failed to meet the needs of the developing world (The Guardian, again). COP out (South Africa’s Cape Times). [read more]

Can Global Emissions Be Reduced At All?

November 25, 2011 by David Hone
with 373 views

As society grapples with the issue of climate change, the merit of various technologies and emission reduction approaches arises. Some advocate for a rapid switch to renewable energy, others favour nuclear and most argue that unless the efficiency of energy use is robustly tackled then there cannot be a solution. But a closer look at the current state of the global energy system reveals a very different reality. [read more]

With Cabinet Reshuffle, is India Taking a New Approach to Climate Policy?

July 27, 2011 by Joseph Romm
with 283 views

There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of the major transition taking place on the international climate negotiation scene – but it has major implications for the future of the world’s second-biggest country, India. [read more]

Governments Must Work Harder to Avoid Global Catastrophe

June 25, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 207 views

Governments of developed countries must work harder to secure a climate pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, and avoid an approximately 3.2 degrees rise in average global temperatures this century.Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, made this call last Friday, at the end of two weeks of fraught and only... [read more]

Getting Down to Business At Bonn Climate Talks

June 8, 2011 by David Hone
with 175 views

Over the next two weeks the national negotiating teams to the UNFCCC will meet in Bonn to continue the discussions on a global agreement and to review a number of technical issues relating to the negotiations. In parallel with this process, there is an active business community seeking a say and a role in what could become the major investment of the 21st Century, the reshaping of the global energy system. [read more]

A Wave of the Future: Linking National and Intl Climate Change Policies

March 31, 2011 by Robert Stavins
with 365 views

The latest rage in Washington policy discussions these days (that’s relevant to climate change) is renewed interest in renewable electricity standards, this time in the form of so-called “clean energy standards.” I’ve written about this policy approach recently at this blog (Renewable Energy Standards: Less Effective, More Costly,... [read more]

China’s Energy Consumption Cap and America’s Gridlocked Democracy

March 11, 2011 by Emily McGlynn
with 495 views

With the most recent announcement that China is committed to peaking its total energy use by 2015, in addition to its energy and emissions intensity reduction goals, China’s ability to swallow the bitter pill of aggressive environmental policy seems unprecedented. Skeptics may ask, “But is it enough?” The answer from the Chinese... [read more]

Cancun: Spending the money

January 12, 2011 by David Hone
with 864 views

What started in Copenhagen as an aspiration for $30 billion in fast-start financing and up to $100 billion per annum by 2020 in North-South financing flow has been translated into the Cancun agreements as the beginnings of long term arrangements for specific funding purposes. Although the intention is to provide the necessary funding, the reality of doing so through a Green Climate Fund to facilitate the delivery of the 2020 pledges is very challenging. [read more]

COP16: Conclusions from Young Trackers

December 20, 2010 by Solana Larsen
with 574 views

By Andrea ArzabaYoung “trackers” from the Adopt a Negotiator Project blogged throughout the United Nations Climate Change Conference; these are some of their concluding statements and thoughts on what happened at COP16 in Cancún, Mexico. (Read the first Global Voices article on this tracking team here) COP16 Negotiator Trackers from... [read more]

Cancun: A reason for optimism?

December 17, 2010 by David Hone
with 738 views

Looking at a set of newspaper headlines earlier this week one might get the impression that nobody was quite sure whether progress had been made in Cancun or if it was another UN standoff. Certainly the various texts that were adopted, thanks to the diplomacy skill of the Mexican hosts, have moved the debate forward and opened up a number of new work streams. The next twelve months could see proposals for new market mechanisms, the design of a future structure to support technology transfer and the creation of a measurement, reporting and verification framework for emission reduction activities. But all of this is peripheral to the core issue of emission reduction targets, timetables and responsibility. In that regard the various texts are non specific and the issue has been largely deferred. So should we just be pessimistic about what is to come? [read more]

How are the Cancun Agreements different than the Copenhagen Accord: Q&A

December 15, 2010 by nrdc switchboard
with 505 views

Following from the Cancun climate negotiation session you might be asking: “how is this agreement different than the one agreed in Copenhagen just one year before”. Besides the quick answer—length of pages—there are some important differences in terms of substance and process. Each of these gives the Cancun agreements more... [read more]