un posts, articles, and infographics

Evaluating Durban

December 13, 2011 by Dan Bodansky
with 246 views

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

The Durban Climate Deal Inkblot Test

December 13, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 265 views

After going into sudden-death overtime, the UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa wrapped up this weekend with an agreement that only a climate diplomat could love. Constituting in effect an agreement to agree to some future agreement, the outcome is open to interpretation. Is this the failure that was widely predicted, the... [read more]

Making Sense Out of Durban

December 13, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 175 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]

Are Durban Outcomes Historic or Hollow? (1)

December 12, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 200 views

This is the first of two posts on COP17, the Durban-based UN climate change talks: this summarises the accords reached and others' reactions; the next post following immediately is the Low Carbon Kid's assessment of the accords. After the longest conference in the history of UN climate summits, a "historic" agreement was reached, that... [read more]

What COP17 Must Accomplish To Matter

November 21, 2011 by Jake Schmidt
with 177 views

Nelson Mandela famously said: “I am fundamentally an optimist…Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” ... [read more]

Earth: Ground Zero For The Permafrost Bomb

August 16, 2011 by Lou Grinzo
with 467 views

I’ve long been a proponent of the carbon budget way of viewing our climate change predicament. By focusing on the total amount of CO2 (or CO2 equivalent other greenhouse gases) we can emit from this point forward, I think it greatly simplifies the “feeds and speeds” without introducing any inaccuracies or openings for misunderstanding... [read more]

A Critique of the 2011 IPCC Report on Renewable Energy

August 9, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 1,005 views

Below is a critical discussion of the recent IPCC Working Group 3 Report on Renewable Energy. It is being referred to as a report from many experts showing that the world can be running mostly on renewable by 2050. However I think it is a remarkably unsatisfactory document. Following are some of the main points I detail. [read more]

House Committee to Gut Funding Supporting International Action on Global Warming

July 27, 2011 by Jake Schmidt
with 310 views

The House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for outlining US international global warming funding has just released their bill detailing the amount of money that will support these efforts. This comes on the heels of a House authorization bill passed out of committee with an amendment from Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) that would... [read more]

Governments Must Work Harder to Avoid Global Catastrophe

June 25, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 201 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]

Gas Helps (Not Hurts) Renewables And 7 Other Reasons Gas Can Be Green

June 16, 2011 by Matthew Van Dusen
with 297 views

Last week was a good one if you happen to own a natural gas well. Two reports on the outlook for natural gas, gave a glowing assessment of the fuel’s future prospects but one predicted dire consequences for the planet if gas becomes a dominant fuel. Here are eight reasons that view is overly pessimistic, at least in the short run. [read more]

Renewable Energy – What Is The IPCC Telling Us?

May 13, 2011 by David Hone
with 371 views

Later this month the IPCC will launch a very substantial report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change. In advance of that, a “Summary for Policy Makers” was released early this week following the 11th Session of Working Group III of the IPCC, held in Abu Dhabi on 5-8th May. In tandem with the Summary document was a press release, which starts out with the words - "Close to 80 percent of the world’s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if backed by the right enabling public policies a new report shows." Not surprisingly, this key phrase was repeated in headlines the world over, with much media enthusiasm for the report. But it isn’t what the Summary is actually about, nor does the Summary give any details into how this may come about. [read more]

Summary of IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources

May 12, 2011 by Karen Street
with 1,313 views

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report, Special Report Renewable Energy Sources (SRREN), is due out soon. The summary for policymakers (pdf) is available now. The questions this report addresses are important: how much electricity and other energy can be supplied by renewables? At what cost? This report (more so the... [read more]

Justifying $15 Trillion for Renewables

May 11, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 711 views

Yesterday I received a joint press release from a group of renewable energy trade associations. It touted a new report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the potential growth of renewable energy by 2050. The report has already garnered an impressive array of headlines, such as "Renewable Energy Can Power the... [read more]

All Change – CDM Awaits Much Needed Attention

March 15, 2010 by Climatico Analysis
with 152 views

The body charged with the administrative oversight of the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is showing signs that a critical transition in the technical framework may be coming. The CDM Executive Board (EB); currently the judge, juror and executioner of the Kyoto Protocol’s cornerstone carbon offsetting mechanism, could... [read more]

Is the UN climate chief abandoning a sinking ship?

February 26, 2010 by Dave Rochlin
with 236 views

By Dave Rochlin - originally posted on care2.com The controversial former UN ambassador John Bolton famously said "If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." Now Yvo de Boer, the UN's executive secretary of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, is resigning, saying in a... [read more]