Everyone seems shocked and discouraged by the outcome in Copenhagen. They shouldn’t be. We must control emissions. So why wasn’t there a deal that made everyone happy? Because that’s the nature of multilateral negotiations, with scores of parties with scores of interests. They are always, always like this, as anyone who has studied them knows: […]
This is the document that has taken many years and much blood, sweat, tears and toil from thousands of people to produce. Yvo de Boer, head of the UNFCCC, described the accord as “politically important.” It provides an “architecture for a response to climate change.” The “LA Times” had this story this morning: Climate summit ends […]
The New York Times is reporting that three Malians have been arrested and charged with being part of an operation that smuggles drugs across West and North African routes into Europe. The money then goes to groups associated with Al Qaida, so the charge goes, and also involves “the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or […]
AP had this late tonight. The deal “…requires industrial countries to list their individual targets and developing countries to list the actions they will take to cut global warming pollution by specific amounts. Obama called that an ‘unprecedented breakthrough.’” AP further reported “German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a leading proponent of strong action to confront global […]
We’re in overtime in Copenhagen. ABC – that’s Australian Broadcasting Corp. for those Americans who might think otherwise – reports “US President Barack Obama has launched intense after-hours diplomacy with China, hoping to salvage a new world climate pact after warning that an imperfect deal would be better than no pact at all.” (See this.) […]
I’ll be away for the next couple weeks on holiday hiatus. For your special holiday surprise, click….. HERE! See you in 2010.
The year 2009 in public diplomacy was a year for re-branding America in the world. The first African-American in the White House, who also happened to be the most eloquent U.S. President since John Kennedy, would have made for an auspicious year for the international image of the U.S. in any event. In fact, however, […]
Former French President Jacques Chirac has been placed under investigation for a potential set of new corruption charges, in addition to those he faced in October connected to abuse of power when he was mayor of Paris. His alleged misuse of public funds and staff for personal or political gain are perhaps no more than […]
We’ll know the answer to that question later today. As I’ve said, though, we’re going to have REDD, certainly, and a fast start to funding for adaptation and mitigation for the developing nations. What else remains to be seen. See the “NY Times” this morning for a report that notes: “But the maneuvering and brinksmanship […]
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a […]
Overview: 2009 was the year of rising powers. Everyone – experts, analysts, leaders, and the media – is talking about the dawn of a new world order as the global balance of power begins to reflect the economic rise of China, India, Brazil, and others. Several rising powers proved surprisingly resilient during the financial crisis […]
This year has been rife with “law and security strategy” activity. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, infiltrating Gaza in an assault that later prompted the controversial Goldstone Report. Pakistan struck “Sharia law for peace” deals with the Taliban to stave off social unrest in Pakistani territory. The UN General Assembly debated the fate of the […]
* Is the war in Afghanistan moral? Patrick Frost of FPA Afghanistan and I have found ourselves debating the issue in the comments sections of one of his posts. Check it out. * Though maybe we could forgo this whole moral debate and simply seek the advice of robots. * And on an unrelated note, […]
US aid offer boosts deal at UN climate talks is the headline from the AP tonight. “Large pieces of a climate deal fell into place Thursday with new offers from the U.S. and China, but other tough issues remained before President Barack Obama and other leaders can sign off on a political accord to contain […]
Overview 2009 was all about China. Early in the year, when energy prices crashed due to disappearing demand, oil sank to slightly more than $30 barrel from its mid-2008 high of $147 and natural gas from $14 to around $3 per thousand cubic feet. China, flush with cash, for all practical purposes stabilized the market […]