Foreign Policy Blogs

Cancun Kick Off

“Fact:  The only sustainable path to growth is a low-carbon path.”  Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico

The last newsletter of the year from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has useful information on a number of subjects including adaptation, finance and technology.

Here is President Calderón in a clear, succinct message before the opening tomorrow of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UNFCCC.

The world knows that we will not have dramatic developments in Cancún during the next two weeks.  There will certainly not be any of the sturm und drang of Copenhagen.  But, as President Calderón notes, there will be important agreements finalized on fast-start financing, technology transfer, and REDD+ and there should be breakthrough developments on long-term financing as well as on Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of GHG mitigation.

 

Author

Bill Hewitt

Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs, has taught political science at Pace University, and has graduate and continuing education classes on climate change, sustainability, and energy and the environment at The Center for Global Affairs at NYU. His book, "A Newer World - Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis," will be out from the University Press of New England in December.



Areas of Focus:
the policy, politics, science and economics of environmental protection, sustainability, energy and climate change

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