“The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” With words and images as pointed as these, on Thursday Pope Francis I infused his Church–and all the world’s faiths–with the prevailing view of environmental scientists and heads of state: we should waste no … [continued]
Although negotiations on a draft text for December’s Paris climate talks have stalled, with very little of the 89-page document having been pared, and calls for the UN climate secretariat to winnow it further increasing, the results are in for the largest ever citizen consultation on climate change. More than … [continued]
A ten-day meeting to hone the draft text of the Paris 2015 universal climate agreement has begun in Bonn, Germany. Presidents of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Lima COP20 (Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the deft and diplomatic Environment Minister of Peru) and the upcoming Paris COP21 meetings (Laurent Fabius, who is … [continued]
Six of the world’s major oil and gas companies have called for national or regional carbon pricing. They also propose that governments and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change work on creating “clear, stable, ambitious policy frameworks that could eventually connect national systems.” These actions would reduce global … [continued]
As close observers have long suspected, governments historically underestimate the cost subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, development, and production. By far. The International Monetary Fund has just calculated far in a study distributed by its Fiscal Affairs department: How Large Are Global Energy Subsidies? (IMF working paper 15/105). Here’s IMF’s basic … [continued]
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) have all agreed today on the world’s critical need to corral quickly worsening climate change. The G7 energy leaders have met for two days in Hamburg, Germany, the second … [continued]
Ask almost anyone about the main national priorities of the US, and you’ll probably hear “democracy” and “continuing economic growth.” You might also hear “security concerns,” especially since the rise of terrorism after 9/11. But from now on you’ll hear a lot more about a fourth target. “Climate change.” Last … [continued]
Just two hours ago, California Governor Jerry Brown raised the bar for the rest of the US, Mexico, and yet-uncommitted Canada on limiting climate change. Brown issued an executive order to reduce California GHGs by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Over four terms as governor, Brown has occupied the forefront of … [continued]
Last week brought agreement at the Geneva climate talks on the draft of a comprehensive world treaty for ratification at the end of this year. Held just two months after adoption of the Lima Call for Climate Action, and three weeks after the US Senate’s final resolution that climate change is … [continued]
About two weeks back, the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil producers’ cartel decided not to cut output at its meeting in Vienna. Since then, oil prices have plummeted to a record five-year low. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and OPEC’s most influential member could potentially support … [continued]
