COP 18

If you wanted to design a global crisis that the world’s political systems would be particularly incapable of solving, it would be hard to do better than climate change. Unlike a meltdown of the banking system or an attack from the sky, climate change does not come upon us suddenly and command our sense of urgency. It creeps closer towards us year-by-year as record heat, decimating storms, and historic ice melt.[read more]

In an excellent presentation at COP 18, Myles Allan made that point that while the UNFCCC and others argue endlessly about the flow rate of CO2 into the atmosphere (i.e. the emissions at some point in time), that fossil carbon continues to add to the carbon stock in the biosphere and that this stock is linked directly with global temperature, ocean acidity and so on. At the current rate of accumulation, the 2 deg.C stock equivalent is passed in about 2043.[read more]

One seemingly minor and unreported component of the recent UN climate talks in Doha highlights the drawbacks of old-school scientific assessments and the need to modernize the IPCC process. It is especially relevant given last week's leak of draft IPCC reports and the ensuing discussion about changing the arduous and close IPCC...[read more]

In typical international climate summit fashion, COP18 ended in a last–minute marathon session complete with frustration, accusation, acrimony and a halting step forward in what is called the “Doha Climate Gateway” deal.One of the main features of the deal is breathing the last gasps of life into the Kyoto Protocol, the first commitment...[read more]

jps / Shutterstock.com

COP-18, which ended this past Saturday, would surely have been considered a failure if it had not extended Kyoto commitments. Advancing the Durban process, however, was potentially much more important. The Durban Platform, adopted at COP-17 in late 2011, calls for a new multilateral agreement to be completed by 2015 and to take effect in 2020. How did our national and international representatives do in advancing this goal?[read more]

Climate Negotiations via Shutterstock

Finally late on Saturday, COP18 came to an end. Two weeks of discussion and negotiation had barely moved the needle, so the challenge to bring the conference to a useful conclusion and at least move the agenda forward somewhat fell on the Qatari President of the COP, H.E. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah – which is what he did, despite the objections of some parties. The outcome could be described at best as administrative. But a final agreement on "loss and damage" may well shape the pathway ahead.[read more]

From many perspectives, China is a global powerhouse. China is the world’s second largest economy in terms of GDP, the world’s largest energy consumer, and a global leader in renewable energy investment. China is also the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter. It is no surprise, then, that when it comes to global climate change negotiations, many nations are looking for China to step up and play a role more in line with its global economic and emissions status.[read more]

This week in Doha, Qatar, world leaders are struggling with how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fast enough, and in amounts great enough, to protect people from the droughts, food shortages, rising sea levels, and severe weather events that climate change is likely to bring.Leaders are debating a range of solutions including carbon...[read more]

by Rebecca Lefton and Andrew Light: This year’s UN climate negotiations have once again deadlocked. Negotiators and observers in the hall are concerned that this meeting could end with no outcome, much like the long-stalled Doha trade negotiations. We’re tracking the major sticking points in the three tracks of the meeting and make recommendations on how to move forward. Those interested can tune in here, and look for which sessions are going on live in plenary room one or two.[read more]

After a week of talks in Doha at COP18, it is difficult to draw a clear conclusion about how the conference might conclude. Certainly there is an active discussion underway, but progress is slow and many of the historical divisions have resurfaced, despite the apparent progress made in Durban last year. Like many of these conferences, the last moments of the second week may well see a rapid push for concluding text.[read more]

Gangnam Style via Shutterstock

Most of us recognize certain behavior as inherently risky, and so we seek to avoid it. But the relationship of the three Rs - risk reward, and resources - matters. The Climate Conference now underway in Doha is a great example, redesigning our power supply is another, addressing our soaring national debt yet another - all are cases of overwhelming risks that push us into denial and risk tolerance over risk avoidance.[read more]

The UN climate talks currently taking place in Doha will decide the future of the Kyoto Protocol, which is the world’s only legally binding climate treaty.  Although the protocol’s impact on global emissions has been limited, it is still necessary to keep the policy infrastructure associated with it intact.  CAP has been...[read more]

The next high-level gathering of parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change started this week in Doha, Qatar, and will continue until December 7. In this column we provide an overview of the upcoming talks and discuss what the results of U.S. elections may mean for the Obama administration’s positions during these...[read more]

Doha Skyline via Shutterstock

This week sees the start of the 18th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP18 for short, in Doha, Qatar. This should be a busy transitional COP, with much on the agenda to resolve and important steps forward being taken toward a long term international agreement. But procedural issues, agenda disagreements and fundamental sticking points could still dominate, leading to a two week impasse. Let’s hope not.[read more]