Doha Conference Negotiator: Carbon Cuts Talks Must Wait
The debate on whether the world needs stronger greenhouse gas cuts to keep the planet from warming by 2C should be deferred until next year, according to Brazil's lead negotiator at the upcoming talks in Doha, which begin Nov. 26 and run until Dec. 7, 2012. Ambassador Luiz Alberto Figueiredo says delegates at Qatar – the most important climate neg… Read More
Emissions Trading Used to Subsidize Overseas Rivals
Some of the companies that have complained loudest about the European Union's environmental measures are using the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) to give money to rivals in other countries instead of cutting their own greenhouse gas emissions, it has emerged. A report by Sandbag, a non-governmental organization that examines carbon trading, f… Read More
Report: Coal Plants Smothering Communities of Color
Coal plants place a disproportionate burden on poor and largely minority communities, exposing residents to high levels of pollutants that affect public health, according to a new report led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).… Read More
How Shale Will Reshape America’s Role in the World
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of China and the Arab spring, American energy independence looks likely to trigger the next great geopolitical shift in the modern world. U.S. reliance on the Gulf for its oil — and its consequent need to maintain a dominant presence in the Middle East to keep the oil flowing — has been one of the … Read More
Biotech Claims GM Trees are Fuel Industry ‘Game-Changer’
It's a timber company's dream but a horrific industrial vision for others: massive plantations of densely planted GM eucalyptus trees stretching across Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and China, engineered to grow 40% faster for use as paper, as pellets for power stations and as fuel for cars. The prospect is close, says Stanley Hirsch, chief … Read More
Obama Affirms Support for Action on Climate Change
Obama reaffirmed his view that manmade emissions of greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming, and stated his intent to continue to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions, he said, noting that “We have an obligation to f… Read More
Amid Energy Boom, Report Warns of Unsustainable Path
The oil and natural gas boom in the U.S. is having far-reaching effects on the global energy landscape, according to the “World Energy Outlook report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report shows that the U.S. is likely to become the largest global oil producer by about 2020, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia, although Saudi… Read More
Kyoto Protocol: Australia Signs up for Second Phase
Negotiations towards a new global treaty on climate change took a small step forward on Friday as the Australian government announced it would join up to a continuation of the Kyoto protocol beyond 2012. At the end of this month, governments will meet in Doha, Qatar, to discuss a new treaty that would be signed in 2015 and come into force from 202… Read More
