COP15 | Grist

Get ready for CO!

December 19th 0
Posted 11 hours, 4 minutes ago
Wen the climate is willing, but the action is weak

EU pushes China further after pledge to slow carbon intensity 2
Posted 12 hours, 5 minutes ago The European Union said Monday that cataclysmic climate change cannot be averted without Chinese leadership, but China's lead climate delegate, Wen Jiabao, stood firm in pushing for the rich world to take the lead. Beijing said last week that by 2020 it would curb emissions per unit of GDP by between 40 and 45 percent compared to 2005 levels.
Fasts, Sit-Ins, Die-Ins, Protests for Climate Justice Today

Prologue to Copenhagen 0
Posted 13 hours, 48 minutes ago
Novels, Exposes, Histories, Poems, Calls to Action!

Climate Hope: Inspiring 2009 Books for Clean Energy 0
Posted 2 days, 10 hours ago
Don't Miss Climate Change Ground Zero Showdown

Copenhagen, U.S.A. December 7 2
Posted 1 week ago On Dec. 7, the opening day of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Americans from around the country will converge for a historic protest at climate change ground zero for our nation -- the Appalachian coalfields.
Timeline goes by so slowly

Climate talks timeline: From 350 to Kyoto to Copenhagen and beyond 1
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago Whether you've been hitting snooze each time a global climate conference rolls around or you're looking for a refresher before the Copenhagen climate talks next month, Grist has an interactive timeline to bring you up to speed.
A Walk Through the Week's Climate News

The Climate Post: You heard it here first—Copenhagen a success 0
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago A week of anticlimaxes saw President Barack Obama conducting a less-than-exuberant swing through China, the international community conceding a binding climate treaty at the COP-15 negotiations in Copenhagen, and U.S. lawmakers postponing to the spring of 2010 consideration of climate policy -- even as talk of a legislative "plan B" surfaced.
False Alarm

Copenhagen panic is premature 5
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago There's a chance that, with luck and skill, a climate-saving deal can be reached at the Copenhagen climate talks. And a salvageable deal, even if it's far from perfect, is still is a lot better than the doom that was so widely pronounced at the start of the week.
It ain't over yet

Rumors of Copenhagen’s demise have been greatly exaggerated 3
Posted 2 weeks ago Is a "politically binding" climate treaty really the best we can hope for out of Copenhagen? Is it over before it's begun? Despite what you may have read in the U.S. media, the answer is "No."
Courage to fail

Copenhagen calamity: Now what? 5
Posted 2 weeks ago There were plenty of hints over the past month that world leaders would down-shift expectations for drafting a new, international climate treaty in Copenhagen next month. Still, when news broke over the weekend that key nations, including the United States, were planning to push a final treaty into 2010, it came as shock to climate activists and commentators world wide.
Extending the runway

Delaying an international climate treaty: not as bad as it looks 28
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago The big news this weekend was that a coalition of world leaders made it official: there will be no full-fledged, legally binding agreement out of the Copenhagen climate talks. Instead there will be what's being called a politically binding agreement, pledging to work out a full agreement in 2010 -- "one agreement, two steps." This was Denmark PM (and Copenhagen host) Lars Lokke Rasmussen's way of salvaging a half-win from what was threatening to be a total loss. Of course opponents of climate action are portraying it as a disaster that augers the death of UNFCCC process; they do that with every setback or delay. Climate activists don't seem to have decided quite yet what to think about it. My take: it's not as bad as it looks.
Letter From Europe

From hopeful climate to climate of despair 12
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago Barack Obama's 2008 election victory sparked real hope in international circles that the United States would again be a leader on addressing climate change. Less than a year later, the mood has shifted as it becomes increasingly clear that Obama's hands are tied by an intransigent Congress.
A Walk Through the Week's Climate News

The Climate Post: Where there’s a Will there’s a fray 0
Posted 2 weeks, 4 days ago No prominent columnist spends more energy prying climate rhetoric and understanding farther apart than Newsweek and Washington Post columnist George Will.
Wyoming uber alles

How 7.4% of Americans can block humanity’s efforts to save itself 9
Posted 2 weeks, 5 days ago A couple weeks ago I wrote a piece on what's really killing climate legislation: the absurd procedural chokepoints in the U.S. Senate, coupled with an unprincipled minority devoted to obstruction. I'm happy to report there's been an uptick lately in people trying to draw attention to this problem. One thing to add to the discussion is that it will take 67 U.S. senators to ratify an international treaty out of Copenhagen. That means representatives of a tiny minority in America can scuttle the entire undertaking.
EU ewww

Europe places outcome of Copenhagen squarely on Obama 2
Posted 3 weeks, 4 days ago Europe now predicts that a legally binding treaty is impossible to expect in Copenhagen, and that it could take up to a full year beyond the global summit this December in order to reach a binding deal.
Letter From Europe

Copenhagen reality check: Gov’ts concede new climate treaty unlikely until 2010 3
Posted 3 weeks, 5 days ago Now it's out in the open. Key government leaders and U.N. officials are finally, publicly admitting what they have long privately believed: there is no chance of concluding a new climate treaty in Copenhagen next month.
Africa returns to Barcelona talks, while U.S. resists giving up the numbers 0
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago Climate negotiators are terribly frustrated with the United States for not taking two momentous steps -- defining the quantity of carbon it is ready to remove from the atmosphere, and putting on the table a definite dollar amount to help developing nations make the transition to cleaner and economically greener economies.
pressure cooker

Obama urges climate action as Europe ups pressure on U.S. 3
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago President Obama on Tuesday said it was "imperative to redouble our efforts" to combat global warming, as European leaders pressed Washington to take action on climate change ahead of next month's summit in Copenhagen.
Congress gets walled in

German leader likens the struggle against global warming to the Berlin Wall 1
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday urged the U.S. Congress to take action on climate change.
common but differentiated despondencies

Rich countries halt Barcelona climate talks with inaction; Africa walks out 4
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago African negotiators at the U.N. climate talks in Barcelona refused to continue formal discussions about all other issues until wealthy countries live up to their legal and moral responsibility to commit to deep emissions reductions.