I wrote about how a number of participants in Cancún felt that some sense of faith had been restored in the UN process. The reviews are still coming in, but it appears that progress was indeed made, that some highly useful, indeed critical mechanisms have been advanced, and that ongoing negotiations are going to take […]
UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún delivers balanced package of decisions, restores faith in multilateral process is the official word. The UNFCCC delegates, without all the hoopla of Copenhagen, appear to have materially advanced the cause of saving the planet – and all its people, now and for the future – from the depredations of […]
We are six months out from Copenhagen and further talks in Bonn, where the UNFCCC is headquartered, have just concluded. The release from the UNFCCC says the recent talks made “progress on fleshing out specifics” for a global climate change regime. There were 5,500 participants, including government delegates from over 180 countries, and reps from […]
There’s plenty of sturm und drang coming from COP 15. The “FT” reports this morning that the African states first walked out then returned, having claimed “…that they had won some concessions.” The “Financial Times” front page this morning declared China signals climate funds shift. Apparently, the PRC “… abandoned its demand for funding from […]
There are all sorts of prognoses for what’s going to happen in a couple of weeks at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP15). Some are calling this the most important international meeting of minds since the Bretton Woods and San Francisco conferences created much of the political architecture for the postwar […]
I wrote last month about some exciting activities coming up, including the Brita Climate Ride. In Washington this week, the State Department is hosting meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). (See my posts related to the MEF.) US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern is leading the US delegation. […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is off to India to talk of many things, not the least of which is climate change. In a session at the Council on Foreign Relations earlier in the week, she said “We know that India and China have understandable questions about what role they should be expected to play […]
The past week of events – from a U.S. Senate hearing, to remarks by China’s State Council, to high-level talks in Beijing – have scattered a layer of rich soil from which robust US-China cooperation on climate change might spring forth. However, that soil is not uniform in content. The issue of quantifiable emissions reductions, […]
Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate – After the second of four meetings scheduled to take place among the world’s major economies – all major contributors to global warming – the participants announced progress on finance. The 2nd MEF meeting took place this week in Paris. (See my notes from April on the […]
I don’t know much about President Obama’s game, but I’m guessing, based on his aggressive moves on climate change and energy since just about the moment he took office, that he’s not shy about driving hard to the inside to make points. I’ve been writing here since November about his appointments and initiatives and I’ve […]