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5 Reasons Countries Can Agree to Action on Climate Change by 2015
It is critical that countries agree in 2015 to significantly reduce their climate pollution and secure a global agreement to address climate change. There are at least five reasons that should drive countries to agree to such action (as I discussed...
Climate Change and 5 Reasons We Need a New Global Agreement by 2015
In December 2011 countries agreed in Durban, South Africa to secure a new international legal agreement by 2015. This is not the first time that countries agreed to finalize such an agreement. Cynics point out that countries continually agree to...
Obama Budget Request for International Climate Action Falls Short
Under the Obama Administration, the United States has invested internationally in addressing climate change. These investments have helped developing countries speed up the deployment of clean energy reduce the loss of forests around the world, and...
Dear World Bank: Stop Funding Climate Change
World Bank President Dr. Kim has spoken repeatedly about the damages that climate change will inflict on our children and grandchildren and the poorest throughout the world. This is a welcome signal that he understands the consequences of climate...
Secretary Kerry: Secure Global Agreement to Reduce Aviation Pollution
Aviation is a major contributor to global warming with its pollution projected to grow significantly if left uncontrolled. With devastating droughts, floods, fires, and storms devastating communities around the world, we need all the global warming...
Aviation Global Warming Pollution Will Rise Without New Action
Aviation’s contribution to climate change is projected to almost triple by 2050 without any new action. Even with all the expected measures in the aviation sector, aviation’s contribution is still expected to grow and fail to meet the industry’s own...
Clean Energy Investments Top $250 Billion in 2011
In 2011, new clean energy investments rose to a record $263 billion – a 6.5 percent increase from last year. The United States rose to the top in 2011 after having fallen behind China and Germany last year. But the 27 countries that make...
South Africa to Introduce Carbon Tax in 2013
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced in his budget speech that a carbon tax will be implemented in the next financial year that runs from 2013-2014. The proposal is to implement the carbon tax at a fairly low level, and then...
UN panel urges phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies
Twenty-two high level representatives have just released their report – Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing—which sets out specific recommendations to “put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into...
Canada Withdraws From Kyoto & Continues Developing Tar Sands
Literally one day after the global warming negotiations ended in Durban, South Africa the government of Canada formally notified the world that they were withdrawing from the global warming pollution targets they had taken on under the Kyoto...
Important Progress at Global Warming Negotiations in Durban; Major Work Ahead
As Nelson Mandela famously said*: “It always seems impossible, until we are done.” That is exactly how it seemed at the United Nations COP-17 climate negotations over the past two weeks – extremely difficult (and even impossible at times...
Do Countries at COP17 Have a Mandate to Negotiate a Climate Agreement?
For the last two global warming negotiations – in Copenhagen and Cancun – there were serious efforts by countries to get a “mandate” to negotiate a new legal agreement that would strengthen international efforts to address global warming. ...
