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| Paris climate deal | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 14 Feb 2015, 12:20 AM (1,058 Views) | |
| skibboy | 14 Feb 2015, 12:20 AM Post #1 |
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13 February 2015 UN agrees draft text for Paris climate summit ![]() Work is continuing on text aimed at a new climate change agreement by the end of the year UN climate talks in Geneva have ended with agreement on a formal draft negotiating text for the summit in Paris in December. The document, which runs to 86 pages, builds on negotiations in Peru last year. The Swiss meeting set out to create a draft for consideration at the Paris talks. The aim is to have a new global climate agreement in place by the end of 2015. The latest climate talks, which started on Sunday, focussed on finalising a draft negotiating text for the Paris summit. The six-day conference in the Swiss city was the first formal gathering since the Lima climate summit in December. "I am extremely encouraged by the constructive spirit and the speed at which negotiators have worked during the past week," said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "We now have a formal negotiating text, which contains the views and concerns of all countries. The Lima Draft has now been transformed into the negotiating text and enjoys the full ownership of all countries," she added. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: Helen Briggs, BBC environment correspondent The draft text was agreed before the end of the session, in a mood described as "the spirit of Lima". But rather than being slimmed down, the document has more than doubled in size, to contain everything to be discussed in the run-up to Paris. Delegates acknowledge that the hard work is still ahead, with the real conflicts to come when negotiators seek to "streamline" the text and narrow down the options for limiting a damaging rise in temperatures. The key political test is the period from March to June, when individual countries announce their plans to reduce emissions. At the next climate talks in June, real progress will have to be made to resolve issues such as financing the Paris agreement and ensuring that poorer countries get the support they need to adapt to impacts such as flooding. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Three special sessions have been added to this year's schedule of climate meetings. They include talks about "intended nationally determined contributions", the commitments to reduce emissions that are meant to pave the way towards a low-carbon future. National plans Governments are expected to submit their national plans by an informal deadline of the period from March to June. China, the United States and the European Union have already given an indication of their plans. The UN seeks to limit the increase of the average global surface temperature to no more than 2C (3.6F) compared with pre-industrial levels, to avoid "dangerous" climate change. But scientists warn the Earth is on track for double that target. The World Meteorological Organization confirmed this month that 2014 had been the hottest year on record, part of a continuing trend. Fourteen out of the 15 hottest years have been this century. The UNFCCC, based in Bonn, Germany, has 196 parties - including virtually all of the world's nations - and grew from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol for cutting greenhouse gases. The next meeting will be held in Bonn in June. Source:
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| skibboy | 13 Dec 2015, 12:16 AM Post #76 |
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COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris 2 hours ago A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of negotiations. The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions. The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary. Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals. President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document. "Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted." As he struck the gavel to signal the adoption of the deal, delegates rose to their feet cheering and applauding. Nearly 200 countries have been attempting to strike the first climate deal to commit all countries to cut emissions, which would come into being in 2020. The chairman of the group representing some of the world's poorest countries called the deal historic, adding: "We are living in unprecedented times, which call for unprecedented measures. "It is the best outcome we could have hoped for, not just for the Least Developed Countries, but for all citizens of the world." Key points The measures in the agreement included: • To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century • To keep global temperature increase "well below" 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C • To review progress every five years • $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future. ![]() UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Hollande join in the celebrations ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: The BBC's Matt McGrath in Paris The speeches and the cliches at the adoption of the Paris Agreement flowed like good champagne - success after all has many fathers! The main emotion is relief. The influence of the COP president, Laurent Fabius, cannot be overstated. His long diplomatic career gave him a credibility seldom matched in this arena. He used his power well. The deal that has been agreed, under Mr Fabius, is without parallel in terms of climate change or of the environment. It sets out a clear long term temperature limit for the planet and a clear way of getting there. There is money for poor countries to adapt, there is a strong review mechanism to increase ambition over time. This is key if the deal is to achieve the aim of keeping warming well below 2C. More than anything though the deal signifies a new way for the world to achieve progress - without it costing the Earth. A long term perspective on the way we do sustainability is at the heart of this deal. If it delivers that, it truly will be world changing. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ahead of the deal being struck, delegates were in a buoyant mood as they gathered in the hall waiting for the plenary session to resume. Mr Fabius was applauded as he entered the hall ahead of the announcement. Earlier, French President Francois Hollande called the proposals unprecedented, while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on negotiators to "finish the job". However, the celebratory mood has not been shared among all observers. 'Almost nothing binding' Nick Dearden, director of campaign group Global Justice Now, said: "It's outrageous that the deal that's on the table is being spun as a success when it undermines the rights of the world's most vulnerable communities and has almost nothing binding to ensure a safe and liveable climate for future generations." Some aspects of the agreement will be legally binding, such as submitting an emissions reduction target and the regular review of that goal. However, the targets set by nations will not be binding under the deal struck in Paris. Observers say the attempt to impose emissions targets on countries was one of the main reasons why the Copenhagen talks in 2009 failed. At the time, nations including China, India and South Africa were unwilling to sign up to a condition that they felt could hamper economic growth and development. The latest negotiations managed to avoid such an impasse by developing a system of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). In these, which form the basis of the Paris agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise "well below" 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, nations outline their plans on cutting their post-2020 emissions. An assessment published during the two-week talks suggested that the emission reductions currently outlined in the INDCs submitted by countries would only limit global temperature rise by 2.7C. Nick Mabey, chief executive of climate diplomacy organisation E3G, said the agreement was an ambitious one that would require serious political commitment to deliver. "Paris means governments will go further and faster to tackle climate change than ever before," he said. "The transition to a low carbon economy is now unstoppable, ensuring the end of the fossil fuel age." ![]() ![]() Source: ![]() |
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| skibboy | 13 Dec 2015, 01:55 AM Post #77 |
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13 December 2015 Scientists welcome climate pact but still alarmed © AFP / by Marlowe Hood | A demonstrator wearing a mask of the Anonymous group holds a banner reading "For a climate of Peace" during a rally called near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on December 12, 2015 on the sidelines of the COP21, the UN conference on global warming LE BOURGET (FRANCE) (AFP) - Climate scientists Saturday welcomed a pact to battle global warming as a major political advance, but warned of a gaping hole -- the lack of a detailed roadmap for cutting greenhouse gases that cause the problem. The new accord, embraced by 195 nations, aims to cap warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, and to "pursue efforts" to limit the increase to 1.5C. "This is an historic agreement," said Steffen Kallbekken, director of the Centre for International Climate and Energy Policy. "But this ambitious temperature goal is not matched by an equally ambitious mitigation goal," he said, using the scientific term for the drawing-down of heat-trapping gases. To have a two-thirds chance of limiting warming to two degrees, emissions would have to fall by 40-70 percent by mid-century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's climate science body. And to reach the 1.5C target also embraced in the newborn pact, those mid-century cuts would have to be even deeper: 70 to 95 percent. Without these hard numbers -- dropped from an earlier draft -- the climate pact "does not send a clear signal about the level and timing of emissions cuts," Kallbekken cautioned. Many scientists highlighted the imbalance created by boosting the ambition of the temperature target on the one hand, while removing the yardsticks against which progress toward that goal could be measured, on the other. "How are we going to reach our objective unless we set out in the right direction?" asked Professor Bill Collins at the University of Reading in southern England, pointing to the need to slash CO2 output by 70 percent by mid-century. "Until governments accept this, we should restrain our optimism." Keveh Madani, a professor at Imperial College London, said international summits were better at setting aspirational goals than laying out a pathway for achieving them. "What matters more is how to get to the target," he noted. Some major emerging nations -- especially India -- were reluctant to include quantifiable milestones that could constrain their use of fossil fuels in growing their economies. But scientific reality is unyielding, said Miles Allen at Oxford University. Stabilising greenhouse gases "in the second half of this century will require net carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced, in effect, to zero," he said. "It seems governments understand this, even if they couldn't quite bring themselves to say so." Other scientists voiced concern about the fact that the new accord allows several years to pass before ramping up emissions reduction efforts. "For all that is encouraging in the agreement, the time scales -- or the lack thereof -- are worrying," said Ilan Kelman of University College London. "Little substantive will happen until 2020 whilst clear deadlines for specific targets are generally absent." Jean Jouzel, a leading French climate scientist and a former vice chair of the IPCC, said timing was critical. "Above all, we can't wait until 2020 -- acting before then is essential, we have to be very pro-active," he told AFP. - '1.5C tokenism' - Jouzel and others also questioned the feasibility of the 1.5C target, saying it could only be achieved by overshooting the mark and than pulling back, which could take decades or longer. The global thermometer has risen nearly 1C (1.8F) so far, they noted, and CO2 already lingering in the atmosphere will still push it up, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow. "1.5C is a dream," he added. "It's too ambitious, though I understand the position of the most vulnerable countries that fought for it." "Humanity would be better served by a greater focus on binding agreements and mechanisms to achieve the two degree target, rather than 1.5-degree Celsius tokenism," said Peter Cox,a scientist at the University of Exeter and a lead author on two IPPC reports. "This agreement is a turning point for a world transformation within a 1.5-2C safe operating space on Earth," said Johan Rockstrom, director of the Stockholm Resilience Center. "But now we need action consistent with science to reach decarbonisation by 2050." by Marlowe Hood Source:
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| skibboy | 15 Dec 2015, 12:33 AM Post #78 |
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14 December 2015 Begin climate change action today: UN's Ban © AFP/File | UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, pictured on December 10, 2015, will convene an action summit on May 5-6, 2016 to keep the pressure on the 195 governments that have pledged under a landmark deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions UNITED NATIONS (UNITED STATES) (AFP) - Calling the Paris climate deal "a health insurance policy for the planet," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged governments to waste no time in delivering on their commitments to fight global warming. "Now, actions should begin from today," Ban said after returning from Paris where the historic deal was reached Saturday, capping two weeks of tough negotiations. A formal signing ceremony will take place at the United Nations on Earth Day: April 22. Ban will then convene an action summit on May 5-6 to keep the pressure on the 195 governments that have pledged under the landmark deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "The Paris agreement is a victory for people, for the common good, and for multilateralism," Ban said. The accord sends a clear signal that the global economy is shifting to low-emission growth and contains strong accountability and transparency measures, he said. The UN chief described the deal as "ambitious", setting a target of containing global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels through a series of national measures. The agreement will come into effect by 2020, once at least 55 countries responsible for 55 percent of global greenhouse gases ratify the accord. Under the deal, there will be five-year reviews to take stock of implementation, and a first such assessment is scheduled for 2018. The UN chief recalled that reaching the deal had been a top priority of his tenure when he took over as secretary-general at the United Nations in 2007. Ban raised the climate talks at just about every meeting with world leaders. "I sent alarm bells consistently and repeatedly to world leaders," he said. UN climate envoy Janos Pasztor described the deal as a "monumental achievement" and said it sends a message to the financial markets that it's time to invest in low-carbon energy. Pasztor rejected suggestions that the agreement will be difficult to enforce. "The governments did not create a climate change police force," he said. "But the information will be available in a transparent manner," allowing the United Nations to quickly point the finger at those who fall short of their commitments, he said. Source:
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| skibboy | 5 Feb 2016, 01:02 AM Post #79 |
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Paris climate deal could 'displace millions of forest dwellers' By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 4 February 2016 ![]() Protecting forests is a major goal of the Paris climate agreement, but it may have a big impact on forest dwellers The Paris climate agreement could make millions of forest dwellers homeless, according to a new analysis. Many developing countries will try to curb carbon emissions by setting aside forested areas as reserves. But experts are worried that creating national parks often involves removing the people who live in these areas. The study indicated designating forest reserves in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo could displace as many as 1.3 million people. With funding from Norway, Liberia has proposed 30% of their forests become protected areas by 2020. DR Congo, funded by Germany and the Global Environmental Facility, aims to set aside 12-15% of their forested lands. Consultants TMP Systems concluded: - In Liberia, up to 335,000 forest dwellers could be affected - In DR Congo, it could be as many as one million "Governments have targets to expand their protected areas, and now with new climate funding being available the risk is they will use this to expand in a way that doesn't respect local rights," said Andy White, from the Rights and Resources Initiative, the campaign group that sponsored the research. "It could result in the displacement of millions of people." Making matters worse Analysts say that this type of displacement has already happened in sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and Latin America, and sometimes caused violent conflict. "I don't think the international community wants to displace rural dwellers in Liberia - but I think if we go about it in the way we are talking about it right now, that is going to be the result," said Constance Teague, from Liberia's Sustainable Development Institute. ![]() A Liberian points to an ancestral tomb, once surrounded by forest but removed for a palm-oil plantation "We need to recognise that indigenous communities respect the forest and they have worked on [it] for hundreds of years. "It may not look like what the international community may expect, but this effort to conserve the land does exist." Liberia had the largest forest space left in West Africa, largely because of the indigenous communities, she added. The report also looks into the costs of compensating people for the loss of their lands in both Liberia and DR Congo, which range from $200m (£137m) to more than £1bn. The main argument for setting up reserves is to: - protect the lands from deforestation - limit emissions - preserve the carbon in the trees And Mr White said: "We need to make evidence available that makes it clear that the woods are full of people, and it makes more sense to help them rather than kick them out. "Where indigenous peoples rights are protected, and they are able to use their forests for their own livelihoods, they have more carbon per hectare than protected areas. "They are active protectors, you don't have to pay a park guard, because they protect their forests, and that is what the world needs." Some 1.5 billion indigenous people inhabit or claim most of the land in the world - but, according to a study released last year, they have legal rights to just 10%. Source:
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| skibboy | 16 Feb 2016, 01:59 AM Post #80 |
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15 February 2016 French ex-FM Fabius says will quit as head of UN climate forum © AFP/File | French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, pictured on December 7, 2015, wrote to President Francois Hollande "to tender (his) resignation" as head of COP21 PARIS (AFP) - Former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius will step down as head of COP21, the UN's climate forum, after being appointed head of France's constitutional court, according to a resignation letter seen by AFP. Fabius wrote on Monday to President Francois Hollande "to tender (his) resignation" as head of COP21, a post in which he helped to steer the troubled UN climate talks to a successful conclusion last December. Fabius had expected to stay in the one-year post until November but drew flak in the French political arena for seeking to hold on to two demanding jobs at the same time. Source:
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| skibboy | 18 Feb 2016, 12:57 AM Post #81 |
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17 February 2016 French environment minister to head UN climate forum © AFP/File | French Environment Minister Segolene Royal says she will head the UN's COP21 climate forum after a long-time political rival, former foreign minister Laurent Fabius, stepped down from that role PARIS (AFP) - French Environment Minister Segolene Royal said Wednesday she would head the UN's COP21 climate forum after a long-time political rival, former foreign minister Laurent Fabius, stepped down from that role. French President Francois Hollande "offered me the opportunity yesterday to take on this responsibility, and I accepted," she told French television news channel iTELE. A spokesman for Hollande's office confirmed the appointment but said a date had not been set. COP21 is the acronym for the 21st conference of parties to the UN climate arena. Its president comes from the country who hosts the forum's annual high-level gathering, and usually plays a key role in brokering agreements in the complex negotiations. Fabius, appointed in November, was hailed for shepherding the 195 nations to a historic deal in Paris that involves curbing carbon emissions and channelling hundreds of billions of dollars to poor countries exposed to climate change. He was pressured to relinquish the job on Monday after he stepped down as foreign minister and was named to head France's constitutional court. Critics argued that he could not simultaneously be on the court, which is supposed to be above the political fray, and also in charge of the COP, where politics and powerful interests collide. Royal, Hollande's former companion and the mother of their four children, was among the first to raise objections, calling for "the rules to be clarified" on double postings. In her new role, Royal will guide the first steps for implementing the December agreement, which set the ambitious goal of capping global warming at "well under two degrees Celsius" (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The 32-page deal also calls on rich nations to muster at least 100 billion dollars (90 billion euros) a year in climate aid from 2020. Just how that will happen has yet to be worked out. "We can't let the momentum slip," Royal told AFP. "There's a lot to do. I have already started." Among her priorities, she said, are putting a price on carbon and climate action in Africa. "Africa can be a laboratory for transitioning away from fossil fuels using solar, geothermal, hydroelectricity," she said. "We need a systematic approach, and we have to get moving before the end of 2016." Royal will also seek to highlight a signing ceremony for the agreement on April 22 at the United Nations in New York. She has said Hollande will attend and encourage other heads of state to join him. France will hands on the climate baton to Morocco, which will organise COP22 in Marrakesh from November 7 to 18. Source:
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| skibboy | 18 Feb 2016, 11:53 PM Post #82 |
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'Consequences' for the US if it quits Paris climate deal 5 hours ago ![]() Negotiators agreed to a new international framework on climate change in Paris in December last year The US faces "diplomatic consequences" if a new President decides to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. American climate envoy Todd Stern said the reaction would be far greater than when the US left the Kyoto Protocol under President Bush. Many countries are worried that a Republican victory in November's presidential election would see the US walk away from the landmark Paris deal. But Mr Stern said he thinks this is unlikely given the global reaction. The recent decision by the US Supreme Court to stall President Obama's Clean Power Plan has raised concerns in many parts of the world that the US might not be able to live up to the carbon cutting commitments it made in the French capital in December. Faith in the law As US lead negotiator, Todd Stern has been visiting Europe as part of efforts to "reassure" countries that America will stick to its promises. "We anticipate that the Clean Power Plan will be upheld," he told reporters in London. "But if for whatever reason it is not, then we will have to use other means to get to our target, but we are not backing off our target." As well as worries over the Supreme Court ruling on the White House plan to limit emissions, many countries are also concerned about the impact of a new Republican administration on US climate policy, something highlighted by President Obama in recent days. "They're all denying climate change," the President said, referring to the Republican candidates seeking the party's presidential nomination. "This is not just Mr Trump," Mr Obama continued. "There's not a single candidate in the Republican primary that thinks we should do anything about climate change, that thinks it's serious." ![]() Climate envoy Todd Stern says that the US will stick to its commitments "come what may" Mr Stern recalled that the election of President George W Bush saw the US renounce the Kyoto Protocol, the world's first, flawed attempt to limit carbon emissions. He said that there was a clear record of what happened, and it was "diplomatically challenging" for the US. If they reneged on Paris, he said, it would be much worse. "There was a lot of blowback that the US got generally diplomatically across the range of diplomatic concerns and I have no doubt that it would be very significant if the US were to do that with regard to Paris, probably much, much more significant than what happened before." "There is a record there that you can look at to have a pretty good sense that there would be diplomatic consequences." The scale of possible repercussions would make it highly unlikely that a new President would pull out of the Paris deal, Mr Stern said. Sign and join UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked global leaders to come to New York in April for the official signing of the Paris agreement. To become operational, the treaty needs 55 countries representing more than 55% of global emissions sign and ratify it. Mr Stern said that the US would sign in April and join the agreement this year. The leaders of France, Peru and Morocco have already stated that they will attend the gathering. French President Francois Hollande is likely to be accompanied by his minister of environment, Segolene Royal, who has taken over from Laurent Fabius as president of the climate negotiation process. She will be in charge until the next meeting in Marrakech in November. Source:
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| skibboy | 20 Feb 2016, 01:43 AM Post #83 |
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UN climate chief Christiana Figueres to step down By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 8 hours ago ![]() UN climate chief Christiana Figueres played an important role in the Paris negotiations The UN's top climate diplomat, Christiana Figueres, has said she will leave her post in July. Ms Figueres said she would not accept an extension of her appointment which finishes this summer. As executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, she played a key role in the talks that lead to the Paris Climate Agreement. Her contribution to the negotiation process was praised as "really extraordinary". Ms Figueres became executive secretary in the wake of the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009, widely perceived to have been a failure. Over the past six years she helped rebuilt the momentum for a global compact, which saw 195 nations sign the Paris Climate Agreement after weeks of intense negotiations in the French capital last December. In her letter to the UN confirming that she was standing down, the 59-year-old Ms Figueres highlighted the importance of that deal. "The Paris Agreement is a historical achievement, built on years of increasing willingness to construct bridges of collaboration and solidarity. It has been an honour to support you along this path over the past six years," she wrote. Before taking the UN post in 2010, Ms Figueres had been part of Costa Rica's climate negotiating team since the mid 1990s. ![]() Christiana Figueres shows her lighter side at climate talks in Warsaw with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon Her contribution to the successful outcome of the talks in Paris was praised by climate economist Lord Stern. "Christiana's contribution to international climate negotiations over the [past] six years has been really extraordinary," he said. "She is gifted with an outstanding ability to see where we need to go as a world and to bring people together. "Christiana is one of the great leaders of our time. She no doubt has much more to contribute in the coming years. The challenge for everyone is to build on her achievements, and I am sure she will be part of that." Ms Figueres has announced her decision to stand down in the same week as the President of the Paris conference, Laurent Fabius, announced he was stepping aside from that role. He is being replaced by French environment minister Segolene Royal. Source:
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| skibboy | 11 Mar 2016, 12:16 AM Post #84 |
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CO2 data is 'wake-up call' for Paris climate deal By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 4 hours ago ![]() The Noaa atmospheric monitoring station in Hawaii has been recording CO2 levels since the 1950s Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere grew more in past 12 months than at any time in the past 56 years. Measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii went up by more than three parts per million(ppm) in 2015. Scientists say the spike is due to a combination of human activities and the El Niño weather pattern. They argue that the data increases the pressure on global leaders to sign and ratify the Paris Climate Agreement. Mauna Loa is the world's oldest continuous atmospheric measurement station, with records dating back to the later 1950s. It is regarded as the most important site in the global monitoring network, recording the see-saw, rise and fall of carbon in the atmosphere over a year. Plants and trees tend to absorb more CO2 during the spring and lose it as autumn approaches and leaves die off. Forest fires For the past decade the average increase in carbon dioxide at the station has been 2ppm. But in 2015 the level grew by 3.05ppm - In the year to February 2016, the level went up by 3.76ppm. The global climate phenomenon, El Niño, is believed to have played a role in the rise. Scientists at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) say that the previous biggest increase was in 1998, also an El Niño year. The weather event drives drought in many parts of the tropics and in 2015 this led to forest fires in Indonesia and other locations which pumped large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. ![]() Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere fluctuate with the seasons but the overall trend is upward "The impact of El Niño on CO2 concentrations is a natural and relatively short-lived phenomenon," said Petteri Taalas from the WMO. "But the main long-term driver is greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. We have the power and responsibility to cut these," he added. Pressure to sign The latest figures show that in January and February this year the levels of CO2 at Mauna Loa went through the symbolic 400ppm level. Prior to 1800, say the US National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), atmospheric levels were 280ppm. "Carbon dioxide levels are increasing faster than they have in hundreds of thousands of years," said Pieter Tans, lead scientist of Noaa's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. "It's explosive compared to natural processes." The scientists say the latest figures should encourage global leaders to make progress on the Paris Climate Agreement. The UN is hoping that prime ministers and presidents will turn up in large numbers at a signing ceremony in New York in April, and that the treaty will become operational this year. "This should serve as a wake-up call to governments about the need to sign the Paris Climate Agreement and to take urgent action to make the cuts in CO2 emissions necessary to keep global temperature rises to well below 2C," said the WMO's Petteri Taalas. Scientists will be closely monitoring atmospheric levels this year to see if there is any decrease as El Niño fades over the next few months. Source:
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| skibboy | 31 Mar 2016, 10:49 PM Post #85 |
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Paris Climate Treaty: 'Significant step' as US and China agree to sign 3 hours ago ![]() Presidents Obama and Xi at the Paris climate negotiations in December 2015 The US and China have issued a joint statement confirming that both countries will sign the Paris Climate Agreement next month. Both say they will take all the "domestic steps" necessary to join the agreement as soon as possible. They are encouraging other countries to sign the document at UN headquarters in April. At least 55 countries representing 55% of emissions have to sign to bring it into force. This is the third joint statement in the past two years from the world's two biggest emitters on the question of climate change. Back in November 2014 the two leaders outlined their plans to limit carbon emissions, a move that inspired other nations to follow suit. At the Paris talks late last year, the presence and support of President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama were critical factors in securing a comprehensive, longer term deal that agreed to keep global temperatures well below 2 degrees C. But while more than 190 countries agreed to the document in the French capital, the formal process of signing and entering into force begins next month at UN headquarters in New York. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders to the ceremony and says he expects about 120 countries to turn up and sign on 22 April. 'Powerful signal' The hope is that with the big two, representing almost 40% of global emissions, now committed to the agreement, it will be much easier to get other nations to sign as well. If the 55% or 55-country target is exceeded, then the agreement will become operational this year. "The joint statement that the United States and China will sign and join the Paris Agreement as early as possible this year sends an extremely powerful signal," said David Waskow from environmental campaigners World Resources Institute. "This joint statement cements the role that climate plays in the US-China relationship. It shows the confidence that both countries have in each other's ability to deliver on their climate commitments." President Obama's domestic plans to curb carbon emissions ran into serious difficulties earlier this year when the Supreme Court issued a stay on the Clean Power Plan, designed to cut emissions by 32% by 2030 and significantly boost renewable energy. But in their joint statement, the US and Chinese leaders re-emphasise their commitments to taking the necessary "domestic steps in order to join the agreement as early as possible this year". White House officials have repeatedly expressed confidence that the Clean Power Plan will be implemented despite the legal hold-up. The joint statement from the leaders also details the extra steps they now want to take on climate change. According to the document, they are both committed to tackling the question of airline emissions this year, something that many critics said was a key missing element from the Paris agreement. Source:
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| skibboy | 8 Apr 2016, 12:28 AM Post #86 |
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07 April 2016 Paris climate talks cut back on hot air: report © AFP/File | Excluding foreign travel, the near two-week COP 21 United Nations conference left a carbon footprint of 9,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) PARIS (AFP) - Last year's climate conference in Paris, which yielded a long-awaited carbon-cutting pact, emitted fewer planet-warming greenhouse gases than many predecessor events, host France said Thursday. Excluding foreign travel, the near two-week huddle left a carbon footprint of 9,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), chief event organiser Pierre-Henri Guignard told journalists in Paris. This was equal to the carbon footprint of about 800 French people over a one-year period, and less than half the 21,000 tonnes organisers had expected. "We went above and beyond what the United Nations expect of us," said Guignard. The Paris event, dubbed COP21 for the 21st Conference of Parties, fared better than many of its predecessors, including COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, which failed in its mission to yield a global climate pact. COP15 emitted an estimated 26,276 tCO2e, COP17 in Durban in 2011 25,048 tCO2e, and COP18 in Doha the following year 11,538 tCO2e, according to UN estimates. Paris' footprint grows to 43,000 tCO2e with transport emissions for getting everyone to Paris, added Guignard. Some 35,000 people were accredited as conference participants, with another 32,000 day visitors attending side events. Like previous conference hosts, France intends to "offset" or cancel out emissions by financing carbon-reduction programmes in the developing world, at a price of about 10 euros ($11) per tonne of CO2e, Guignard said. Much of the long-distance travel emissions had already been offset or cancelled out by delegates' countries of origin. Guignard said France had "prevented" some 6,800 tCO2e in emissions through projects that included issuing 26,000 free public transport cards to delegates, recycling 11 tonnes of paper and 20 tonnes of organic waste, and issuing reusable coffee and water cups. Under UN agreement, the host of the yearly climate COP (conference of parties) undertakes to make the event "climate neutral" by reducing emissions as much as possible. The nations of the world agreed in Paris in December to limit average global warming to no more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels. Countries submitted pledges to curb emissions from burning coal, oil and gas which are blamed for warming the planet -- already estimated to be about 1.0 C hotter. Source:
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| skibboy | 15 Apr 2016, 12:14 AM Post #87 |
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14 April 2016 After Paris climate deal, now the hard part © AFP/File / by Marlowe Hood | An historic global climate accord calls for global warming to be stopped in its tracks at "well under two degrees Celsius" (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial benchmark PARIS (AFP) - Five months after 195 nations sealed the world's first global climate deal, diplomats gather again in the French capital Friday to start translating good intentions into reality. The informal two-day meeting of negotiators from about 50 countries will kick off a flurry of diplomatic activity, including a formal signing of the Paris Agreement at the UN headquarters in New York next week. "April 22 is a key moment in terms of continuing what we saw in Paris," said David Waskow, a senior climate expert at the World Resources Institute, a Washington think tank. The historic accord calls for global warming to be stopped in its tracks at "well under two degrees Celsius" (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial benchmark. But national commitments to slash greenhouse gases far fall short of that hugely ambitious goal, and how to close the remaining emissions gap has yet to be worked out. Pledges to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars, euros and yen to poor countries greening their economies and bracing for climate impacts are likewise short on specifics. "Paris created momentum to start to grapple with some of these issues, but it doesn't mean that they are solved yet," said Alden Meyer, a veteran climate analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington DC. Fears that efforts would flag after the champagne was drained in December have proven unfounded, said French Environment Minister Segolene Royal, the current president of the UN climate forum. "One could have anticipated a slowdown in the pace, but in fact we've seen an intensification of commitments," she told AFP. There are, indeed, encouraging signs. The United States and China -- which together account for nearly 40 percent of global carbon pollution -- continued their "G2" climate leadership by promising to ratify the accord quickly after the signing ceremony. The Paris Agreement will only enter into force thirty days after 55 countries, representing at least 55 percent of global emissions, take this step. - US election wild card - Previous efforts have stumbled along this path. The Kyoto Protocol took seven years to ratify, and even then was crippled by the refusal of the United States to do so. This time small island states threatened by rising seas, the bloc of Least Developed Nations, and major emerging economies gathered under the BASIC umbrella have all indicated that they, too, will not drag their feet. One major wildcard looking ahead is the US election in November. Both leading candidates from the Republican Party have vowed to row back on President Barack Obama's climate initiatives, and could pull out of the Paris accord with the stroke of a pen. If that happened, "would other countries continue to honour the commitments they made in Paris? That's the real question," said Meyer. The UN's climate science panel, meanwhile, announced Thursday that its next major, three-volume report -- the sixth since 1990 -- will be published in 2020 and 2021. And in 2018, it will produce a much anticipated "special report" on the implications of trying to cap the rise in global temperatures at 1.5C (2.7F), a soft target that more than 100 climate-vulnerable nations fought hard to include in the Paris deal. The raison d'etre of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is to provide governments with the data needed to make informed decisions. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also poised to select a successor to current UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, who will step down this summer. Picking the right person for this recently upgraded position is critical, said Meyer. "It is a different role now that you have the framework in place," said Meyer. "There's a lot more nitty-gritty implementation to be done." by Marlowe Hood Source:
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| skibboy | 15 Apr 2016, 11:14 PM Post #88 |
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15 April 2016 Some 150 nations to attend UN climate signing: France's Royal © Pool/AFP/File | Dignitaries including French President Francois Hollande and United Nations Saecretary General Ban Ki Moon arrive to the COP 21, UN conference on climate change on November 30, 2015 WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nearly 150 nations plan to attend a signing ceremony for the global climate agreement at UN headquarters next week, France's environment minister Segolene Royal, the official overseeing the process, said on Friday. "We have 147 confirmed to sign on April 22, including about 50 heads of state," said Royal, president of the UN climate change process told reporters at a press conference in Washington. "That means that momentum for the Paris accord has not subsided," said Royal, referring to the international meetings last December where the agreement was hammered out by global leaders. Royal said the ceremony should afford world leaders the opportunity to issue "a strong declaration" on carbon pricing policy. The goal, she said, should be to set an "elevated, stable, discernible and coordinated" carbon price as a way to encourage the development of clear energy. Under UN agreement, the host of the yearly climate COP (conference of parties) undertakes to make the event "climate neutral" by reducing emissions as much as possible. At the Paris gathering -- dubbed COP21 for the 21st Conference of Parties -- almost 200 governments reached an agreement setting a target of limiting global warming to "well below" 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial levels. The historic agreement calls for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases, in a concerted effort to cap global warming at "well under two degrees Celsius" (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial benchmark. The deal only comes into force, however, if at least 55 countries responsible for at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions ratify the accord. US President Barack Obama, who travels next week on a fence-mending trip with ally Saudi Arabia, will not be in attendance at the New York signing ceremony. His surrogate at the ceremony has not yet been announced by officials in Washington. Source:
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| skibboy | 21 Apr 2016, 11:53 PM Post #89 |
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Race to ratify the Paris climate deal starts at the UN By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, New York 21 April 2016 ![]() UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Hollande join in the celebrations The first significant step to putting the Paris Climate Agreement into practice will take place on Friday. Around 155 countries are expected to formally sign the deal at the UN, setting in motion events that could see the treaty operational within a year. The UN says the expected record turnout for the signing shows overwhelming global support for tackling rising temperatures. But some environmentalists have dismissed the event as a "distraction". 55 and above Despite the absence of President Obama, around 60 world leaders are expected here at UN headquarters, including French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Trudeau from Canada. But their signatures alone will not be enough to make the Paris agreement operational. The legal requirements mean that each country will have to go through a process of ratification. For some this will require nothing more than the assent of the political leader as in the example of the United States. ![]() Others though, such as India and Japan, will have to take the document to their parliaments; some may need new laws. The European Union is expected to lag behind on this issue as it has not yet agreed with the 28 member states on how emissions cuts will be shared out. Each member state will also have to ratify the deal individually. Some countries, including the Marshall Islands, Palau, Fiji and Switzerland, have already completed this step and will be able to formally join the agreement on April 22. To become operational, the treaty needs at least 55 countries representing at least 55% of global emissions to complete all the steps. ![]() While this is a tough threshold to reach an unusual coalition of interests is making it possible. Firstly President Obama is keen to ensure the deal is operational before his successor takes office next January. If the next President wants to take the US out of an established treaty they will have to wait for four years - by which time they may no longer be in charge. Many of the least developed countries are pushing forward as well because a clerical error in the drafting of the new agreement means it becomes operational as soon at it hits the 55/55 mark, and not in 2020 as many people had supposed. Poorer countries fear that if the threshold is reached they could be left out in the cold if they haven't ratified, meaning they would not be able to influence the rules and organisation of the new deal. "There was a little buzz a few weeks back with someone suggesting that some of the smaller counties should refrain from signing, in order to get a better deal," explained Reid Detchon from the United Nations Foundation. "The fact that there is this large number of developing [countries] that are coming to the table here says that argument hasn't taken root and they really saw how deeply their own national self interest was bound up in success here." Scientists and analysts are also keen on a speedy implementation of the agreement for different reasons. According to a new study by researchers at Chatham House, leaving any increase in the level of carbon cutting ambition until 2025 as detailed in the Paris deal would make it nigh on impossible to keep temperatures below 2 degrees C, never mind 1.5. "For the Paris agreement to have any credibility we can't afford to wait ten years in order to increase ambition," said Shane Tomlinson, a senior research fellow at Chatham House. "Estimates suggest that the gap between where emissions will be and where they need to be, will be around 11 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide in 2025. That's more than the annual emissions of China," he added. Reid Detchon agreed on the need for urgency and increased ambition. But he was worried that global leaders didn't quite understand that getting agreement in Paris was, in some ways, the easy bit. "My biggest concern really is that we are only on the first step of a ladder of increased ambition. It is going to become clear to the world over the next 3 -5 years how much more we need to do to stabilise the climate." Some environmentalists and indigenous leaders believe the whole process is not worth the paper it is written on. According to the International Alliance of Frontline Communities, the Paris Agreement is a "dangerous distraction" from the real issues. "I started attending the UN climate meetings in 1999. Over the last 17 years I've witnessed corporate, Wall Street and other financial influence gut any real solutions coming out of the negotiations," said Tom Goldtooth, of the Indigenous Environmental Network, in a statement. "As a result, the Paris Agreement goal of stopping global temperature rise by 1.5 degrees C is not real because the pledges each country is making will allow emission levels that will increase global temperature 3 - 4 degrees. This will be catastrophic to the ecosystem of the world." Source:
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| skibboy | 22 Apr 2016, 10:36 PM Post #90 |
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Nations ink historic Paris climate deal By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, New York 3 hours ago ![]() UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said delegates were signing "a new covenant for the future" Amid hope and hype, delegates have finished signing the Paris climate agreement at UN headquarters in New York. Some 171 countries inked the deal today, a record number for a new international treaty. About 15 nations, mainly small island states, had already ratified the agreement. But dozens of other countries were required to take this second step before the pact came into force. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Paris will shape the lives of all future generations a profound way - it is their future that is at stake." Speaking at the opening ceremony, he said the planet was experiencing record temperatures: "We are in a race against time I urge all countries to join the agreement at the national level." "Today we are signing a new covenant for the future." As the world marked the 46th Earth Day, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres explained what now needed to happened. "Most countries, though not all, need to take the signed document and go back home and go to ratification procedures that in most countries requires parliamentary discussion and decision." ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis David Shukman, Science Editor, New York Only a few years ago the very idea of a global treaty to limit climate change seemed almost impossible. The ghosts of the failed Copenhagen summit in 2009 haunted the negotiations. Now, in a total transformation in morale, almost all of the world's governments are here in New York to support the new Paris Agreement. The sheer scale of the turnout is seen as a signal of political determination. The atmosphere is positive, up to a point. Tough challenges lie ahead. ![]() Hollywood actor and campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio also spoke at the ceremony Now, in a total transformation in morale, almost all of the world's governments are here in New York to support the new Paris Agreement. The sheer scale of the turnout is seen as a signal of political determination. The atmosphere is positive, up to a point. Tough challenges lie ahead. One is the task of ratification, another the continuing arguments over cash, a third the basic fact that the deal was only made possible because each country's actions are entirely voluntary. And then there's the awkward truth that, amid the celebrations, all eyes are transfixed by events beyond the UN buildings. Mention of the name Trump triggers nervous laughter. A Republican victory would presumably lead to America's withdrawal from the agreement. And that would risk undermining the entire process. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hollywood actor and climate change campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio said: "After 21 years of debates and conferences it's times to declare no more talks, no more 10-year studies, no more allowing the fossil fuel companies to manipulate and dictate the science and the policies that affect our future. This is the body that can do what is needed." France's president Francois Hollande said the agreement in Paris was an "emotional moment, rare in the lives of politicians and leaders". He added: "We need to go further than the pledges made there." Even though the US and China represent around 38% of global emissions, getting to the 55% figure will not be that easy. The European Union, which represents just under 10% of global CO2, will take a considerable amount of time as each of the 28 members has to ratify it themselves. That is unlikely to begin until the EU can agree how much of the carbon cutting each country will have to undertake. Small island states were upset with this approach. "That exercise is going to take too long, we should all join together and tell our friends in the EU they must move along more quickly than that," said the Marshall Islands Ambassador for climate change, Tony De Brum. "We did not expect that kind of distance in the process of ratification and approval." Indigenous rights campaigner Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim commented: "Climate change is adding poverty to poverty every day, forcing many to leave home for a better future." "If you do not increase finance for adaptation soon, there will be no one to adapt." President Obama is also keen to see the new agreement take effect before he leaves office next January. A little known clause in the treaty means it would take four years if a new leader, less committed to climate action, wanted to take the US out of the agreement. ![]() Map showing the countries signing the Paris agreement (blue) and those that aren't Other countries are also aware of this and are watching the US election process very closely. "We don't know who the next President will be and what stand the new administration will take," India's environment minister Prakash Javadekar told BBC News. "What happens in the US will have a definite bearing on how the world takes all these ideas and commitments and pledges in effect. So people are eagerly awaiting what happens in the US." China said it would "finalise domestic procedures" to ratify the Paris Agreement before the G20 summit in China in September. There is obvious delight here in New York at the record turnout of countries and leaders to sign the agreement. But some attendees are cautioning that this is merely the first rung on a very difficult ladder. If action to cut emissions isn't ramped up quickly, and the world warms by significantly more than 2C, there would be consequences. "If you have seen Syrian refugees, get ready to see climate refugees - it will be worse," said Tosi Mpan-Mpanu from the DRC, the chairman of the Least Developed Countries group in the UN talks. "If people have had decades of gaining assets and livelihoods which are completely depleted in season's dry weather - what do they have left?" "It is an open door to Boko Haram, it is an open door to Daesh, because people will be just desperate," he told BBC News. Source:
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| skibboy | 26 May 2016, 01:04 AM Post #91 |
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25 May 2016 Trump casts shadow over UN climate talks © AFP/File / by Marlowe Hood | Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by China to gain competitive advantage in manufacturing over the US BONN (AFP) - The talks in Germany to flesh out December's historic global climate deal are probably not at the top of Donald Trump's agenda this week. But the diplomats from 196 nations huddled in Bonn are keenly aware of the fact that the "The Donald" is now within spitting distance of the White House -- and it's making a lot of them nervous. It's not hard to see why. The last Republican standing in the US presidential race has described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by China to gain competitive advantage in manufacturing over the US, an eccentric theory even among climate sceptics. More recently, he said he was "not a big fan" of the Paris Agreement, the fruit of two decades of stop-and-go (but mostly stop) wrangling between rich and developing nations. "I will be renegotiating those agreements, at a minimum," Trump told Reuters in an exclusive interview last week, betraying an unfamiliarity with the UN's consensus-based process. "And at a maximum I may do something else." Under the Paris accord, 196 nations have pledged to hold global warming to well under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and to help poor countries cope with the impact of climate change while weaning their economies off fossil fuels. Sidestepping a recalcitrant Congress under Republican control, US President Barack Obama has used executive power to aggressively confront global warming at home and abroad. Especially during his second term, the US, along with China, has been a pillar of the tortuous -- and sometimes torturous -- UN talks. The prospect of a Trump presidency precisely at the moment when nations are inching towards ratification of the delicately balanced deal sends shivers down the spines of negotiators here. When asked what worried him most at this stage, Seyni Nafo, climate ambassador for Mali and president of the Africa Group, snapped: "Trump winning the election." It is at least reassuring, Nafo added, that -- according to the rules -- it would take four years for the United States to withdraw from a ratified treaty. - Locking in the US - France's top climate diplomat, Laurence Tubiana, agreed that Trump in the White House could do serious damage to the new climate regime. "If the US government is implacably hostile to the Paris Agreement, it won't help," she told journalists on the sidelines of the talks. "But I don't think it will derail it," she added. Historical precedent, however, is not especially reassuring. The Kyoto Treaty -- which dangled in limbo for seven years before entering into force -- was fatally weakened from the moment the administration of George W. Bush refused to ratify. Japan, Russia and Canada later pulled out. The Paris Agreement is on track to enter into force in record time, possible before the end of this year. Indeed, a lot of countries would like to see it locked in -- with the US on board -- before a new president is sworn in on January 20. In Bonn, some negotiators have sought solace in the idea that public opinion would discourage Trump from reneging on the US commitment. "There's election rhetoric, and there's the real world," said Elina Bardram, the European Union's top negotiator. "The US public has also been very pleased with the climate agreement." Trump is scheduled to address an industry energy summit in Bismark, North Dakota on Thursday. The fact that he has sought counsel from a known climate sceptic and fracking advocate, US Republican Representative Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, has not escaped notice here. But the danger for the global climate pact may be less what Trump does within the UN forum than at home, said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists. "I don't think a president Trump would necessarily pull the US out of the Paris Agreement," he told AFP. "It is more that he would not take the domestic actions needed to meet the US target." Under Obama, Washington has pledged to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Climate negotiators, however, may take heart in the news that an Irish golf course owned by Trump has cited global warming as the reason for erecting a protective sea wall. "The evidence for increased storm activity associated with climate change suggests that the erosion will accelerate," the permit applications reads. by Marlowe Hood Source:
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| skibboy | 27 May 2016, 11:30 PM Post #92 |
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Donald Trump would 'cancel' Paris climate deal 5 hours ago ![]() Mr Trump said the climate change deal is bad for business Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said he would "cancel" the Paris climate deal in his first major speech on energy policy. More than 195 countries pledged to reduce carbon emissions in a landmark agreement last year. The billionaire businessman has said before there is no evidence that humans are responsible for climate change. He called for more drilling, fewer regulations and the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. "Any regulation that's outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers or contrary to the national interest will be scrapped and scrapped completely," Mr Trump said. "We're going to do all this while taking proper regard for rational environmental concerns." ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: Matt McGrath, BBC News Environment Correspondent ![]() Power plants fuelled by coal are major contributors to greenhouse gas pollution Donald Trump's desire to see the end of US participation in the Paris climate agreement is increasing the pressure for a rapid ratification around the world. But that's not easy as the process can often get bogged down in national parliaments. The Obama administration and others believe they are well on the way to securing that level of support which they feel would then make a US withdrawal, in the face of global condemnation, much less likely. But they could be dead wrong about that. Mr Trump though doesn't have to go to such lengths to end US involvement. He could choose to ignore or reverse or delay Obama's initiatives on climate including the Clean Power Plan. The real strength of the Paris agreement is that it comes from the bottom up, countries decide for themselves what their emissions cutting commitments will be. But this could also be a huge weakness. If a President Trump doesn't put emissions cutting regulations into place, no one could force him to. Would China or India and others continue to cut their carbon while the US did not? Unlikely. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Before this speech, he had said he would "renegotiate" the global agreement involving nearly all countries, but this time he went further and said the US would pull out. The climate change deal is "bad for US business" and said the pact allows "foreign bureaucrats control over how much energy we use". Under the deal, countries set emission limits themselves, not an outside panel. Mr Trump has called climate change "a hoax" devised by the Chinese government. It is uncertain whether Mr Trump, if elected, could actually make any changes to the deal. The accord will have legal force once it is ratified by 55 countries that contribute 55% of global emissions. If the deal is ratified by January, a new American president would have to wait four years to withdraw from the deal. While the US is the second-largest greenhouse gas polluter, it has been instrumental in helping other countries such as India reduce emissions. Mr Trump said on Friday that the US would stop funding these efforts. Environmental advocates called Mr Trump's proposals "frightening". "Trump's energy policies would accelerate climate change, protect corporate polluters who profit from poisoning our air and water, and block the transition to clean energy that is necessary to strengthen our economy and protect our climate and health," Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmental activist, told Reuters. On Thursday, he officially became the presidential nominee for his party, surpassing the 1,238 delegates required. Source:
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| skibboy | 3 Jun 2016, 12:24 AM Post #93 |
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02 June 2016 EU states to be asked to ratify climate deal in June © AFP/File | "1.5 Degrees" in white neon is lit on the Eiffel Tower in the French capital during the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015 BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU member states will be asked collectively to ratify the landmark Paris agreement to fight climate change within two weeks, French environment minister Segolene Royal said Thursday. Experts say the world's fast-track ratification of the Paris Agreement clinched in December would help push the UN forum sponsoring the deal to flesh out the rules and procedures needed to move forward. The European Commission, the EU executive, will ask environment ministers from the 28 member states to ratify the climate deal when they meet in Luxembourg on June 20, Royal said after talks with Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. She expected a proposal to be submitted next week for the meeting's agenda. The European Parliament will then have to ratify it. "The ratifications will accelerate. There is an extremely positive realisation that is being expressed today," according to Royal, the co-chair with Morocco of the negotiating process. Royal also urged the member states to present a timetable for ratification in their own national parliaments. The EU negotiated the Paris agreement on behalf of its member states, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. But intense negotiations are now expected among member states to decide how each country will realise the overall objective. The Paris Agreement will take effect after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. These countries will then be legally bound by it. The Paris pact calls for capping global warming at well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible. The accord -- which could enter into force later this year, far sooner than expected -- sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing an onslaught of climate damage. Source:
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| skibboy | 20 Jul 2016, 01:12 AM Post #94 |
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19 July 2016 UN gathering to push for climate deal ratification © AFP/File | United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, pictured on December 10, 2015 during the COP 21 conference at Le Bourget, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris UNITED NATIONS (UNITED STATES) (AFP) - With only 19 countries having ratified the Paris climate deal so far, the United Nations is hosting a special event to push more nations to get fully onboard the agreement to fight global warming. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will host the gathering on September 21 on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting. The Paris climate deal will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, have ratified the accord. While 175 countries have signed the agreement, only 19 including France and many island-states threatened by rising sea levels, have actually ratified it. The new UN climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, said the September gathering "will provide a focus and an opportunity for many more nations to step forward so that early entry into force of the agreement can occur sooner rather than later." The Paris pact calls for capping global warming at well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible, compared with pre-industrial levels. The accord -- which could enter into force later this year, far sooner than expected -- sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing an onslaught of climate damage. Source:
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| skibboy | 21 Jul 2016, 01:02 AM Post #95 |
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20 July 2016 France wants climate deal to take effect by November © AFP | France's Segolene Royal, President of COP21 and Minister of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on July 20,2016 UNITED NATIONS (UNITED STATES) (AFP) - France's ecology minister Segolene Royal said Wednesday she wants to see the Paris climate deal take effect by November, just before a new round of climate talks opens in Morocco. Royal called for "accelerating the ratification" of the accord after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York to discuss the international deal aimed at curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. "I would like the agreement to be in force in time for the Marrakech conference" that opens on November 7, Royal said. Only 19 countries including France and island-states threatened by rising sea levels have so far ratified the agreement, which cannot become effective until 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions have fully approved it. The United Nations is hosting an international gathering on September 21 to push countries to present their ratification of the Paris deal. Royal said countries will be asked to provide "proof" of their intention to fully adopt the agreement. "We should no longer be satisfied with statements of intent," she said. At a UN signing ceremony in April, 177 countries and parties signed the agreement, including the United States and China, the world's biggest polluters. Washington and Beijing have pledged to ratify the climate deal this year. The Paris pact calls for capping global warming at well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible, compared with pre-industrial levels. Source:
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| skibboy | 30 Jul 2016, 12:48 AM Post #96 |
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Debate needed on 1.5C temperature target By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 29 July 2016 ![]() Scientists are calling for a "thoughtful debate" about the wisdom of attempts to keep a global rise in temperatures under 1.5C. At the Paris climate summit last December, governments agreed that they would "pursue efforts" to keep warming below this figure. But a new study shows the limit will be breached over land, even if emissions of warming gases ceased immediately. The research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. High ambition coalition Around 180 countries have so far signed the Paris climate agreement in which they pledged not only to limit the global temperature rise since pre-industrial times to "well below" 2C but to do their very best to keep them to 1.5C. The lower target was crucial in gaining the support of small island states and the poorest developing countries. Rallying around the slogan, "1.5 to stay alive," they have argued their very survival is at stake with the rise in sea levels and the increase in storms that this amount of warming would bring. But as recorded temperatures this year have edged above 1C, scientists believe we are already "dancing" with the 1.5 degree target. This new study suggests that it will "almost certainly be surpassed", at least over land, based on the amount of CO2 already in the atmosphere. "Even if we just had a planet where we could prevent greenhouse gases going up any further, there would be an additional warming over land, in many places if not most it would 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels," said lead author Dr Chris Huntingford from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The researchers say there are two reasons behind the finding. The first is the fact that much of the heat created in the Earth's greenhouse is currently subsumed into the oceans. The authors argue that this sea sink will decline as the world cuts emissions of CO2 and other warming gases, putting more heat into the air. This will combine with the second reason, namely that warming rates over land are far higher than those over the oceans. "At the moment the oceans are drawing down a vast amount of heat from the atmosphere," said Dr Huntingford, "but as you stabilise the climate you get to the position where these net fluxes of heat actually become zero, and that would correspond to a higher temperature." Other researchers agree that keeping temperatures at the 1.5 figure is going to be a significant, if not impossible, challenge. "In my opinion we should work for as low a target as possible," said Dr Gavin Schmidt from Nasa, who was not involved with the study. "But we should be prepared for worse." The authors of the latest paper say that it was a good idea to have an "aspirational" 1.5 degree target in the Paris agreement. Emissions are going down they say and the uptake of renewable and green sources of energy is happening more quickly than expected. But if the world is to take the 1.5 target seriously, then a serious discussion needs to be held about the implications of that goal. "I think there needs to be a very thoughtful debate about what's to be gained at these different temperature levels, if approaching the lower levels meant severely damaging the economy," said Dr Huntingford. "Every climate scientist realises that when you write that we have to get emissions down to hit this target that could potentially push the world into a global recession - so we need to be really clear about what's to be gained by aiming for 1.5 that might be extremely difficult for society rather than 2 degrees." Source:
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| skibboy | 3 Sep 2016, 11:16 PM Post #97 |
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Paris climate deal: US and China formally join pact 7 hours ago ![]() Signing up to cut emissions means China will have to move away from coal power The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - have both formally joined the Paris global climate agreement. After arriving with other leaders of G20 nations for a summit in the city of Hangzhou, Mr Obama said: "History will judge today's effort as pivotal." CO2 emissions are the driving force behind climate change. Last December, countries agreed to cut emissions in a bid to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2C. The Paris deal is the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. It will only come into force legally after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, which between them produce 55% of global carbon emissions. Members of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee adopted "the proposal to review and ratify the Paris Agreement" on Saturday morning at the end of a week-long session. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: BBC environmental analyst Roger Harrabin This is a big step towards turning the Paris climate agreement into reality. Other nations will still tussle over their own ratification, but this will put pressure on G20 nations over the weekend to move faster with their pledge to phase out subsidies to fossil fuels. But even if enough other players step forward to make the Paris deal law, huge challenges lie ahead. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Before China made its announcement, the 23 nations that had so far ratified the agreement accounted for just over 1% of emissions. The UK has yet to ratify the Paris deal. A spokesman for the prime minister told BBC News that the government would ratify as soon as possible - but gave no date. The White House issued a statement on Saturday morning announcing the US move. In a speech in Hangzhou, Mr Obama said the Paris deal was the "single best chance that have to deal with a problem that could end up transforming this planet". He praised US and Chinese leadership on the climate issue, saying: "We are moving the world significantly towards the goal we have set." ![]() The Paris deal struck last December was seen as a major breakthrough UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised Mr Obama for what he called "inspiring" leadership. Mr Ban said Mr Obama and China's President Xi Jinping had both been "far-sighted, bold and ambitious". However, analysts warn that the target of keeping temperature rises below 2C is already in danger of being breached. For 14 consecutive months meteorologists have recorded the hottest month on record, and the UK's Met Office has forecast that 2016 is likely to hit temperatures 1.1C above pre-industrial levels. Average temperatures worldwide are likely to increase more in the coming years as the effect of previous carbon emissions makes itself felt. Environmental campaigning group Friends of the Earth welcomed the move by China and the US. But spokesman Asad Rehman added: "The Paris agreement is a step in the right direction, but the reality is it's too weak and delays action to the next decade. "What's needed is comprehensive and urgent action now to slash emissions and build a low-carbon future." The G20 summit in Hangzhou starts on Sunday. This is expected to be Mr Obama's last trip to Asia as US president. However, as he arrived there was a security dispute on the tarmac at Hangzhou airport as White House officials, including National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and reporters tried to get closer to the president. A Chinese official shooed them away shouting: "This is our country! This is our airport!" ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Paris agreement: Key points - To keep global temperature increase "well below" 2C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C - To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century - To review progress every five years - $100bn a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future - Once the deal comes into force, countries that have ratified it have to wait for a minimum of three years before they exit ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Source:
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| skibboy | 5 Sep 2016, 11:49 PM Post #98 |
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Pressure grows on UK to ratify Paris climate change deal By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst 5 September 2016 ![]() A spokesman for Theresa May did not commit to a date to ratify the Paris agreement Pressure is growing on the UK government to ratify the Paris climate change deal immediately. A spokesman for the prime minister told the BBC the UK would ratify "as soon as possible", but did not suggest a date. But Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and the Greens say the UK has lost its long-term leadership on climate after the US and China jointly ratified the deal at the weekend. They say there is no good reason for the UK to delay. Labour warns that unless ministers start the ratification process right away they will attack the government's "failures" on climate policy in an opposition day Commons debate on Wednesday when a motion will call for immediate action. It is supported by the Lib Dems, SNP and the Greens. Some analysts believe ministers are delaying the process until they have their long-awaited low carbon plan in place. This plan was due last year but postponed until late this year following the chancellor's sweeping cuts to subsidies for clean energy. ![]() China (pictured) and the US have already ratified the climate change agreement The Commons environmental audit committee last week warned that plans for expanding the use of electric cars were failing. The government has not yet replaced its failed Green Deal scheme to insulate homes - a problem green groups say ministers appear unable to solve. The opposition parties say they want a return to the long-term cross-party consensus on climate policy, which they say was ended by former chancellor George Osborne. Labour's shadow climate change minister Barry Gardiner says he has offered an "olive branch" to Business Secretary Greg Clark, who has previously expressed great concern for the climate. Mr Gardiner says he will turn the opposition day debate into a co-operative policy exercise if Mr Clark begins ratification beforehand. ![]() Shadow climate change minister Barry Gardiner said parties should work together to tackle climate change Mr Gardiner told BBC News: "The normal procedure for domestic ratification would see the government issue a Command Paper, which would be discussed by a small committee of MPs. "The government has not indicated it is ready to do this to allow the UK to be one of the founding parties to the agreement when it comes into force - most likely by the end of this year. "We need to re-establish common ground on this vital issue. I am holding out an olive branch to the government. "Their acceptance would be a welcome acknowledgement that climate change is not just one of the most important challenges we face but is one where all politicians must be seen to be working together." 'Hugely important' Many observers at the Paris climate conference judged that former prime minister David Cameron's speech, urging collective action on climate change, was one of the finest - and the UK has played a long-term leadership role on climate change. Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Lynne Featherstone told the BBC: "Now America and even China have ratified the Paris Agreement, Britain must move as swiftly as possible to sign. "This is a hugely important example of where Britain should be working with our European partners to set an example for the rest of the world." Source:
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| skibboy | 2 Oct 2016, 10:27 PM Post #99 |
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India ratifies Paris climate agreement 4 hours ago ![]() India, one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, has ratified the Paris global climate agreement. Under the deal, India has committed to ensuring that at least 40% of its electricity will be generated from non-fossil sources by 2030. CO2 emissions are believed to be the driving force behind climate change. Last December in Paris, countries agreed to cut emissions in a bid to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2C. The Paris deal is the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. It will only come into force legally after it is ratified by at least 55 countries which between them produce at least 55% of global carbon emissions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last month that India would ratify the agreement on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the struggle for independence from Britain. "India has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement with the United Nations," the UN said in a statement on Sunday. The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - both formally joined the Paris global climate agreement earlier this month. India accounts for about 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and became the 62nd country to ratify the agreement. The European Union is expected to do so in the near future, taking approvals past the 55% of emissions threshold. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Paris agreement: Key points - To keep global temperature increase "well below" 2C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C - To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century - To review progress every five years - $100bn a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future - Once the deal comes into force, countries that have ratified it have to wait for a minimum of three years before they exit ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Source:
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| skibboy | 2 Oct 2016, 11:07 PM Post #100 |
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02 October 2016 Paris climate deal: Where are we now? © AFP/File | India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter with its population of 1.3 billion people, has ratified the Paris climate agreement PARIS (AFP) - India's ratification of the Paris climate agreement on Sunday brings the ambitious global warming deal a big step closer to coming into effect. The accord, sealed last December in the French capital, is aimed at keeping global warming below two degrees celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. To come into force the deal must be ratified by at least 55 countries that account for at least 55 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. The first of the two criteria has already been achieved, with 61 countries ratifying the deal ahead of India. India, the world's third-largest carbon emitter with its population of 1.3 billion people, has brought the second criteria within sight. Now a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 percent of emissions have ratified the agreement to tackle rising temperatures worldwide, according to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) website. Canada, which accounts for 1.95 percent of global emissions, is expected to ratify the Paris agreement soon while on Friday the 28 European Union nations agreed to fast-track the ratification procedure. The process for the EU is more complicated as each individual member state must ratify the deal under its own system. Some have already done so; Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia. The two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, ahead of India -- China (20.09 percent) and the United States (17,89 percent) -- formally joined the party together last month. US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping handed ratification documents to UN chief Ban Ki-moon at a ceremony in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The Paris accord should come into effect "before the end of the year," Ban said last week. French Environment Minister Segolene Royal, who hosted the COP21 Paris climate talks, hopes the deal will come into effect before COP (Conference of the Parties) 22 gets underway in Morocco on November 7. The Paris accord was formally signed, though not ratified, by 75 countries in New York in April. The deal requires all countries to devise plans to achieve the goal of keeping the rise of temperatures within two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and strive for 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible. Climate change experts estimate that it will require overall emissions cuts of 40-70 percent from 2010 to 050 to achieve the two degrees goal. Source:
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