| BIO | RADIO | EMAIL ME | |
 |
|||
|
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA |
|||
|
|
Refresh for today's content
v THE CLIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' --What the Times is reporting on climate change UN must investigate warming ‘bias’, says former climate chief In an interview with The Times Robert Watson said that all the errors exposed so far in the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) resulted in overstatements of the severity of the problem. --What the W Post is reporting Series of missteps by climate scientists threatens climate-change agenda SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2010 African crops yield another catastrophe for the IPCC (Booker ) --All you need to know about the prospects for US legislation Dana Milbank - Global warming's snowball fight Did D.C.'s blizzard bury climate change legislation? SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2010 --What the Guardian is reporting China's fears of rich nation 'climate conspiracy' at Copenhagen revealed Rich nations furthered their "conspiracy to divide the developing world" at December's UN climate summit in Copenhagen, while Canada "connived" and the EU acted "to please the United States", according to an internal document from a Chinese government thinktank obtained by the Guardian. The internal report acknowledges that unity among China's traditional allies in the developing world became harder to maintain in Copenhagen. "A conspiracy by developed nations to divide the camp of developing nations [was] a success," it said, citing the Small Island States' demand that the Basic group of nations - Brazil, South Africa, India, China - impose mandatory emission reductions. The paper is scathing about the US-led "umbrella group", which it says adopted a position of inaction. Canada, it says, "was devoted to conniving" to convince the world that its pledge of a 3% emissions reduction between 1990 and 2020 is significant, while having no intention of meeting its Kyoto protocol target of 6%. There are no comforting words for the European Union, which used to pride itself on playing a leadership role in climate talks. "Copenhagen was a setback for the EU", the authors say, in part because Europe "suggested the abandonment of the Kyoto protocol in order to please the US." The ministry has not responded to the Guardian's request for a comment on the leaked paper. The authors note that the Copenhagen accord which emerged from the summit was not legally binding and lacked a global target for emissions. But it says that overall the accord was a "step forward", noting progress on a consensus to limit global warming within 2C, progress on the funding by rich nations of climate change adaptation measures in poorer nations and a "last minute" compromise by developing nations on the verification of their carbon pledges…. The official US version about what happened at Copenhagen is also harsh. Todd Stern, the state department climate change envoy, said this week that the summit "a snarling, aggravated, chaotic event." But America attributes the difficulties to a central divide between those countries - led by China - insisting rich countries bear the entire burden of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the position held by the US that rapidly emerging countries must also take action. Stern suggested the divide had not been bridged. China, along with India, South Africa and Brazil, had been "ambiguous" in its follow-up commitments to the accord. --What Jim Prentice says about that Canada denies it was 'conniving'
--What the NY Times is reporting on climate change Arizona Pulls Out of Western Cap-and-Trade Program Citing financial worries, the State of Arizona has backed out of a broad regional effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the West through a cap-and-trade system. In an executive order issued last week, Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, said a cap-and-trade system — which would impose mandatory caps on emissions and allow pollution credits to be traded among companies — would cripple Arizona’s economy. The Western Climate Initiative is made up of seven Western states — Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington — and four Canadian provinces. Its regional cap-and-trade program is set to begin on a limited scale in 2012. --What the WSJ is reporting East Anglia Plans Review of Climate Data The U.K.'s University of East Anglia said it will launch an independent review of the science published by its scandal-hit Climatic Research Unit, an attempt to restore its credibility after the disclosure of thousands of its emails last year raised questions about the group's climate-change research. "To do an assessment of the scientific research ... is sort of beside the point," said Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "The main issue is to provide open access to the data and the metadata—which describes in detail how the analysis is conducted— ... and let the broader community assess the data sets." There was also some frustration that Sir Muir's review had given interested parties only 2½ weeks to make submissions. "They've already been working for more than two months—what have they been doing in that time?" said Steve McIntyre, a Toronto-based minerals consultant with statistics expertise who has been sharply critical of some of CRU's research and whose name came up numerous times in the leaked emails. --What the Guardian is reporting 'Climategate' review panellist quits after his impartiality questioned A member of an independent panel to investigate claims that climate scientists covered up flawed data on global warming has been forced to resign after sceptics questioned his impartiality. Philip Campbell, editor in chief of Nature, stepped down from the panel yesterday, just hours after its official launch, after an interview emerged in which he said there was nothing to suggest a cover-up by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010 Fabricated quote used to discredit climate scientist - Climate Change, --What the WS Journal is reporting Climate-Science Officials Seek Better Reports U.S. officials said they don't believe revelations of mistakes in IPCC reports undermine cause for concern about global warming. "It's not useful when mistakes are made, but the overwhelming body of evidence [on climate change] is not disturbed by those events," Todd Stern, the Obama administration's top international negotiator on climate-change policy, told an audience Tuesday at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning Washington think tank. "It's nothing short of crazy for us to put our heads in the sand and do nothing" about climate change. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 U.N. Climate Panel and Chief Face Credibility Siege Climate scientists hit out at 'sloppy' melting glaciers error | Environment MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 --What the WS Journal is reporting on climate change Panel on Climate Faces Challenges Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming called on Thursday for the independent investigation and for Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Geneva-based panel, to resign. The panel has so far declined to make Dr. Pachauri available for an interview, and officials didn't return phone calls or emails over the weekend seeking further comment. In Washington, the challenges are feeding opposition to proposals for a federal limit on greenhouse-gas emissions. The House approved a bill capping carbon emissions last year, but the Senate hasn't yet voted on the issue. Beyond Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to regulate those emissions. The questions about the IPCC are fueling calls for Washington to slow down. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 New errors in IPCC climate change report Think-tanks take oil money and use it to fund climate deniers Top British scientist says UN panel is losing credibility I thought of killing myself, says climate scandal professor Phil Jones SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 --What the LA Times is reporting Effort underway to suspend California's global-warming law - latimes.com Republican politicians and conservative activists are launching a ballot campaign to suspend California's landmark global-warming law, in what they hope will serve as a showcase for a national backlash against climate regulations. --What the Beeb is reporting BBC News - Climate scepticism 'on the rise', BBC poll shows The percentage of respondents who said climate change was a reality had fallen from 83% in November to 75% this month. And only 26% of those asked believed climate change was happening and "now established as largely man-made". Of the 75% of respondents who agreed that climate change was happening, one-in-three people felt that the potential consequences of living in a warming world had been exaggerated, up from one-in-five people in November. The number of people who felt the risks of climate change had been understated dropped from 38% in November to 25% in the latest poll. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 --We begin with a howler After 'goofs,' India forms breakaway climate body --What the Guardian is reporting in the final part of their investigtion Detectives question climate change scientist over email leaks One piece of information that led police to question Dennis was the discovery of emails between him and Stephen McIntyre, who runs a sceptic blog in Toronto called Climate Audit. Climate Audit was the first to receive an anonymous link to the leaked data. Dennis subsequently emailed McIntyre to alert him to a Norwich University message confirming that a leak had occurred. --What else the Guardian is reporting Climate emails: were they really hacked or just sitting in cyberspace? --What the Guardian still regards as climate change certainties Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising. Measured in parts per million (ppm), the figure stood at 280ppm before the industrial revolution and is now 387ppm, the highest for at least 650,000 years. It rises at about 2ppm each year. The rise is down to human activity, mostly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases such as methane, trap heat in the atmosphere. Known as the greenhouse effect, this principle was identified in 1824. The Earth is warming. The last decade was the warmest on record and 2009 the second warmest year, according to Nasa. The eight warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. Temperatures have risen by 0.2C per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have increased by 0.8C since 1880. The warming is unusual and not down to natural variation. Study after study has shown that warming over the last 50 years is unprecedented in the last few centuries, and probably longer. While the Earth’s climate has always warmed and cooled, the only plausible explanation for recent warming is human emissions of greenhouse gases. Some questions remain. While there is general agreement that human activity is warming the planet, exactly how this will continue is unclear. Last week scientists found that water vapour has a larger role than expected in buffering temperature rise. The scientific basis for political action is settled, the wider science of climate change is not. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 --We begin with a great moment in US journalism School to Probe Climate Scientist Researcher on Climate Is Cleared in Inquiry --What the Times is reporting IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri under pressure to go over glacier error The head of the UN’s climate change body is under pressure to resign after one of his strongest allies in the environmental movement said his judgment was flawed and called for a new leader to restore confidence in climatic science. John Sauven, director of Greenpeace UK , said that Dr Pachauri should have acted as soon as he had been informed of the error, even though issuing a correction would have embarrassed the IPCC on the eve of the Copenhagen climate summit. --What the Guardian is reporting Climate change researchers must be more open, says chief scientist John Beddington urged scientists to share data freely even though some sceptics sought to cherry-pick facts to fit a political argument. He said: "Scepticism and criticism is the way science grows. Where at all possible, data and analyses should be available so that people can do the challenging in an unhindered way." --The world needs more Canada Climate scientists contradicted spirit of openness by turning down FoI requests | Jones foresaw that his arch-inquisitor, the Canadian former minerals prospector and editor of the sceptic blog Climate Audit, Steve McIntyre, would be a thorn in his side. As long ago as 2005, before the incoming legislation had been tested in Britain, Jones was laying out his uncompromising views on protecting "his" data. In a note to the prominent US climate scientist Michael Mann in February that year, he noted that "the two MMs", McIntyre and his co-author the Canadian environmental economist Ross McKitrick, "have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the UK, I think I'll delete the file rather than send to anyone." WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 --What Le Devoir is reporting Pollution automobile - Prentice provoque la stupeur du Québec --What the WSJ is reporting on climate change Obama Says Cap and Trade Could Be Split from Green Jobs Measure President Barack Obama said for the first time Tuesday that legislation that would require industries to pay for emissions of greenhouse gases may need to be separated from a more popular "green jobs" bill in the Senate, a maneuver that could kill what once had been one of the administration's top policy priorities.… --What the NY Times/W Post are reporting from the same visit to NH
--What the WSJ is reporting on the Senate On Tuesday, two senior House Democrats—Reps. Ike Skelton of Missouri, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Collin Peterson of Minnesota, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee—introduced legislation to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. In a written statement, Mr. Skelton called for setting aside legislation already passed by the House to cap greenhouse-gas emissions, and instead passing "scaled-back energy legislation" that could command greater support in both parties. --What the Guardian is reporting No apology from IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri for glacier fallacy | Environment Pachauri spoke as the second day of the Guardian's investigation into the emails stolen from the University of East Anglia reveals how climate scientists acted to keep research papers they did not like out of academic journals. One UEA scientist, Dr Keith Briffa, wrote to a colleague to ask him for help rejecting a paper from a journal which he edited. "Confidentially I now need a hard, and if required, extensive case for rejecting." The request apparently broke the convention that the review process should be independent and anonymous. Briffa was not able to comment because of an ongoing independent review into the stolen emails. In another email, sent in March 2003, the leading US climate scientist Prof Michael Mann suggested ostracising a journal for publishing a paper that attacked his work. "I think we have to stop considering Climate Research as a legitimate peer-reviewed journal. Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues … to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal." Mann denies any attempt to "stifle legitimate sceptical views". The emails also reveal that one of the most influential data sets in climate science – the "hockey stick" graph of temperature over the past 1,000 years – was controversial not just with sceptics but among climate scientists themselves. "I know there is pressure to present a nice tidy story [in the forthcoming IPCC report], but in reality the situation is not quite so simple," wrote Briffa in September 1999…. In his Guardian interview, Pachauri defended the IPCC's use of so-called "grey literature" – sources outside peer-reviewed academic journals, such as reports from campaign groups, companies and student theses. --What the Times is reporting Phil Jones, scientist in climate data row, promises to be more open --What else the Guardian is reporting Climate change emails between scientists reveal flaws in peer review | Fred Pearce | Environment TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 --What the NY Times is reporting Countries Submit Emission Goals countries responsible for the bulk of climate-altering pollution formally submitted their emission reduction plans, meeting the agreement’s Jan. 31 deadline. 55 developed and developing countries submitted emission reduction plans to Two major nations — Mexico and Russia — had not submitted plans as of Monday evening. United Nations officials said that the countries that have already filed plans account for 78 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally. --What the LA Times adds Many of the pledges are contingent: The United States, for example, refuses to set a concrete target until Congress passes a climate bill, and Canada’s pledge is linked to that of the U.S. --What the Guardian is reporting Leaked climate change emails scientist 'hid' data flaws Phil Jones, the beleaguered British climate scientist at the centre of the leaked emails controversy, is facing fresh claims that he sought to hide problems in key temperature data on which some of his work was based. A Guardian investigation of thousands of emails and documents apparently hacked from the University of East Anglia's climatic research unit has found evidence that a series of measurements from Chinese weather stations were seriously flawed and that documents relating to them could not be produced. Jones and a collaborator have been accused by a climate change sceptic and researcher of scientific fraud for attempting to suppress data that could cast doubt on a key 1990 study on the effect of cities on warming – a hotly contested issue. Today the Guardian reveals how Jones withheld the information requested under freedom of information laws. Subsequently a senior colleague told him he feared that Jones's collaborator, Wei-Chyung Wang of the University at Albany, had "screwed up". The revelations on the inadequacies of the 1990 paper do not undermine the case that humans are causing climate change, and other studies have produced similar findings. But they do call into question the probity of some climate change science. --What else the Guardian is reporting David King admits to speculation over source of climate science emails | The government's former chief scientist has backed away from his sensational claim that a foreign intelligence agency or wealthy US lobbyists were behind the hacking and release of controversial emails between climate scientists. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010 --What the Guardian is reporting Global deal on climate change in 2010 'all but impossible' Many of those contacted say only a legally binding deal setting "top-down" global limits on emissions can ultimately avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures. But a global deal at the next major climate summit in Mexico is impossible, says the former deputy prime minister John Prescott, now the Council of Europe's rapporteur on climate change. "I don't care if it's government ministers or NGOs, if they think you can get a legal agreement all signed up by November in Mexico, I don't believe it." Similar opinions are being expressed worldwide… An important factor cited is an impasse within the UN organisation charged with delivering a global deal… Last night's deadline for nations to submit their domestic targets is expected to have attracted about 25-30 responses, though De Boer had already fudged it. "You can describe it as a soft deadline," he said. --A great moment in Brit journalism Pachauri fails to get British support over 'unsubstantiated' climate report claims Britain protests over false melting glacier claims That has prompted the British Government to communicate formally its disquiet to the IPCC and its chairman, Dr Rajendra Pachauri. --What else the Independent is reporting 'Climate emails hacked by spies' Sir David suggested the email leaks were deliberately designed to destabilise Copenhagen and he dismissed the idea that it was a run-of-the-mill hacking. It was carried out by a team of skilled professionals, either on behalf of a foreign government or at the behest of anti-climate change lobbyists in the United States, he said. SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2010 --What the Observer is reporting Ed Miliband declares war on climate change sceptics --What the LA Times is reporting Mt. Rainier's melting glaciers create hazard --What the Telegraph is reporting (a great moment) UN climate panel based claims on student dissertation and magazine article --What the Telegraph is reporting (another great moment) In breathless prose that risks making Dr Pachauri, who will be 70 this year, a laughing stock among the serious, highminded scientists and world leaders with whom he mixes, he details sexual encounter after sexual encounter. The book, which makes reference to the Kama Sutra, starts promisingly enough for a climate expert with a lament for the denuded mountain slopes of Nainital, in northern India, where deforestation by the timber mafia and politicians has “endangered the fragile ecosystem”. But talk of “denuding” is the clue. By page 16, Sanjay is ready for his first liaison with May in a hotel room in Nainital. “She then led him into the bedroom,” writes Dr Pachauri. “She removed her gown, slipped off her nightie and slid under the quilt on his bed... Sanjay put his arms around her and kissed her, first with quick caresses and then the kisses becoming longer and more passionate. “May slipped his clothes off one by one, removing her lips from his for no more than a second or two. Afterwards she held him close. ‘Sandy, I’ve learned something for the first time today. You are absolutely superb after meditation. Why don’t we make love every time immediately after you have meditated?’” --What the Telegraph is reporting (a final great moment—for today) INFORMATION WAS quietly removed from an influential government report on the cost of climate change after its initial publication because supporting scientific evidence could not be found. The Stern Review, which was commissioned by the Treasury, contained dire predictions about the impact of climate change when it was published in October 2006. But it can be disclosed that when the report was printed by Cambridge University Press in January 2007 some of the claims had been watered down because the scientific evidence could not be verified. Among the claims that were removed in the later version of the report, which is available online, were statements that northwestern Australia has been hit by stronger tropical typhoons in the past 30 years. Another assertion that southern regions in Australia have lost rainfall due to rising ocean temperatures and air currents pushing rain further south was also taken out. Claims that eucalyptus and savannah habitats in Australia would become more common were also deleted. The claims were highlighted in Australian newspapers when the report was initially published, but the changes were never publicly announced. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2010 --What the NY Times is reporting on Copenhagen China Insists That Its Steps on Climate Be Voluntary As a Sunday target date approaches for countries to submit to the United Nations their plans for fighting climate change, China is banding together with other major developing nations to stress that only the wealthier countries need to make internationally binding commitments. --What the other Times is reporting Climate chief was told of false glacier claims before Copenhagen - Times Online Asked whether he had deliberately kept silent about the error to avoid embarrassment at Copenhagen, he said: “That’s ridiculous. It never came to my attention before the Copenhagen summit. It wasn’t in the public sphere.” However, a prominent science journalist said that he had asked Dr Pachauri about the 2035 error last November. Pallava Bagla, who writes for Science journal, said he had asked Dr Pachauri about the error. He said that Dr Pachauri had replied: “I don’t have anything to add on glaciers.” YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS YESTERDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010 --What the Globe is reporting on the climate at Steve’s Swiss holiday A statesman debuts in Davos as Harper defines his global doctrine Mr. Harper's call for enlightened sovereignty clashed with the response he earned from other world leaders on climate change: When he warned there are short-term costs to combatting climate change, the leaders of Mexico, Spain and South Africa said that shirking those costs would see the world bear greater harm in the future. --Say it ain’t so! China has called for sceptics’ views to be included in the next IPCC assessment, though it will be hard to find many reputable scientists who deny that human activities will have a big impact on climate in the near future. --What the W Post is reporting on climate change that your paper isn’t U.S. pledges 17 percent emissions reduction by 2020 The commitment states that the United States will cut its emissions "in the range of 17 percent, in conformity with anticipated U.S. energy and climate legislation, recognizing that the final target will be reported to the Secretariat in light of enacted legislation." It remains unclear if Congress will pass a comprehensive climate bill this year. Several key developing nations, such as China and India, have not yet indicated what they will commit to under the agreement. --Letter of the day --What the NY Times is reporting Less Water Vapor Slows Earth’s Warming Trends, Researchers Say --What the Financial Times is reporting (another great moment) Climate sceptics bask in warmth of bad news a movement to defend the IPCC and Mr Pachauri is developing in his native India, apparently motivated partly by national pride. Darryl D’Monte, who chairs the Indian environmental journalists forum, wrote in The Hindustan Times that “vested interests, using British media, are seeking to discredit the IPCC . . . A smear campaign is being launched to undermine Pachauri and ultimately the IPCC.” PREVIOUS EDITIONS --We bring you the latest on the Copenhagen accord E.U. Blames Others for ‘Great Failure’ on Climate “It was obvious that the United States and China didn’t want more than we achieved at Copenhagen,” Mr. Carlgren said at a news conference in Brussels. an official in Beijing shot back at criticism by a senior British official that China and a handful of other countries at Copenhagen had thrown up insurmountable barriers to a more far-reaching accord. In comments made to the state-run media, Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, suggested that Britain was seeking to “shirk the obligations of developed countries to their developing counterparts and foment discord among developing countries, but the attempt was doomed to fail.” In contrast to many Europeans, who were unhappy with the deal struck last weekend, Chinese leaders have been pleased by the outcome, which allowed them to walk away with their initial proposal — a 45 percent target for cutting the intensity of carbon emissions by 2020 — almost entirely intact. --What the Financial Times is reporting Climate change alliance crumbling Brazil, South Africa, India and China – backed the accord in a meeting with the US on Friday night, and it was also supported by nearly all other nations at the talks, including all of the biggest emitters. But on Tuesday the Brazilian government labelled the accord “disappointing” and complained that the financial assistance it contained from rich to poor countries was insufficient. South Africa also raised objections There was even harsher criticism from Andreas Carlgren, environment minister of Sweden, current holder of the rotating European Union presidency, who proclaimed the Copenhagen accord “a disaster” and “a great failure”. These responses contrasted with praise of the accord from India and China, and may presage problems for the United Nations in keeping the fragile alliances formed in Copenhagen together. --What the Globe is reporting Post-Copenhagen, carbon market in 'bit of a vacuum' --We follow with its first fruits of the accord Venezuela, China Sign Oil Deals --What the Times is reporting Copenhagen’s failure may leave plans for new nuclear power high and dry --A great moment in the fight against climate change Long hours blamed as Government's carbon footprint increases --Why all Canadians love our mother country despite the above John Hutton: I said Gordon Brown would be an ‘effing disaster’ --The UK needs more Canada? BBC defends $2.7M art installation TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009 --What the Guardian is reporting on Copenhagen Copenhagen treaty was 'held to ransom', says Gordon Brown Brown said it was important for the UK and developing countries such as the Maldives and Bangladesh that support a legally binding deal to form an "alliance" to persuade sceptical nations including China to sign up. British officials said they misjudged the attitude of the Chinese government, which took a harder line than expected in Copenhagen and vetoed efforts to introduce carbon targets and a deadline to make the deal legally binding. Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, said in yesterday's Guardian that China had led a group of countries that "hijacked" the negotiations. China's premier, Wen Jiabao, insisted his government had played an "important and constructive" role. --What the Telegraph is reporting China and America to blame for Copenhagen failure, says Brown --What the China Daily is reporting China played an “important and constructive” role in sealing the last-minute Copenhagen Accord, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday, even as he urged the international community to treasure the summit’s hard-won outcome. Observers tracking the progress of the climate change talks agreed with Wen’s assessment, saying China was making persistent efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. They also criticized the Western media for being unaware of the progress the country was making in this direction. --What else the Guardian is reporting Falling carbon price could result in higher bills, energy firms warn The price of carbon – paid by heavy polluters such as power plant operators – plummeted yesterday by almost 10% on Europe's emissions trading market. This was in response to the EU scrapping a planned commitment to cut emissions by 30% by 2020 because other countries failed to show similar ambition. --What else the Financial Times is reporting Carbon prices drop in wake of climate talks Mark C. Lewis, analyst at Deutsche Bank, said the Copenhagen Accord would cast uncertainty over the future of post-2012 carbon offset trading schemes under the Kyoto Protocol called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). “The development of new CDM projects is likely to slow over the course of next year, and perhaps significantly so,” said Mr Lewis. MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2009 --What the Globe is reporting Canada defends climate deal as ‘turning point' “I think this Copenhagen Accord will turn out to be the turning point in history,” Mr. Prentice said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “For the first time, we have a firm commitment from all the major carbon emitters to put themselves into an international treaty.” --What the Guardian says editorially speaking Beyond Copenhagen: Dialogue, not diktat | Guardian As the dust has settled on the "meaningful agreement" proclaimed late on Friday, it has become plain that it was scarcely an agreement at all. For one thing it was "noted" rather than adopted by the assembly, and for another it contains no commitments with real bite. The gaping hole where emissions targets should have been was immediately apparent, but it took a little longer to spot that seemingly firm pledges on aid were hedged with lawyerly language, and that passages dealing with supposed "easy wins" – such as on forestry – were devoid of all detail. But amid all the multiple omissions in the three pages of waffle that constitute the accord, the most damning of all was a lack of anything firm about what happens next. About the only action committed to at an earlier date is for the rich countries to come up with targets by the end of next month, an obligation which the big players could fully discharge by simply repeating the pledges each has already made. --What the Financial Times says editorially speaking Governments need to understand, even if they cannot say so, that Copenhagen was worse than useless. If you draw the world’s attention to an event of this kind, you have to deliver, otherwise the political impetus is lost. To declare what everybody knows to be a failure a success is feeble, and makes matters worse. Loss of momentum is now the danger. In future, governments must observe the golden rule of international co-operation: agree first, arrange celebrations and photo opportunities later. --What else the Financial Times says editorially speaking One wonders how a conference to conclude two years of detailed negotiations, building on more than a decade of previous talks, could have collapsed into such a shambles. It is as though no preparatory work had been done. Consensus on the most basic issues was lacking. Were countries there to negotiate binding limits on emissions or not? Nobody seemed to know. From the start, the disarray was total. In this, at least, the attention to detail was impressive. --What the Financial Times is reporting Copenhagen: A discordant accord the full formal decision-making body of the UN conference took a much weaker “decision to note” the accord’s existence. This leaves countries free to sign up if they wish, but requires a consensus at a fresh general meeting to make the accord the basis of a new UN treaty on climate change. By Saturday morning Su Wei, China’s chief negotiator, was distancing his country from the deal. “This is not an agreed accord, it is not an agreed document, it is not formally endorsed or adopted,” he said. “It is prepared or discussed by a group of people who have been specially invited.” His point was that the accord was not a formal UN decision but a voluntary agreement. He went on to suggest countries that sign up might have reservations, and might resign from it at any point. His words cast a pall over the remainder of the conference. Some felt betrayed, though others optimistically put it down to “cultural misunderstanding”. Some supporters of the accord insisted that China, having signed up, could not back down. --What the WS Journal is reporting Summit Leaves Key Questions Unresolved The global effort to combat climate change is stuck in essentially the same place after a massive United Nations summit that it was before the confab: with major emitters deadlocked over how much each of them should have to do to curb the rising output of greenhouse gases. --What else the Financial Times is reporting In the months before the conference, everyone had given up on the idea that a legally binding treaty could be signed there. But the UN and leading countries hoped a world leaders’ “declaration” – which could be made legally binding within six months – on the central elements of emissions curbs and financing would be enough. --What the Globe is reporting The countries also agreed to submit their domestic climate-change plans to the United Nations by Jan. 31, 2010 --What the WS Journal is reporting Mr. Ban noted that the pact gives countries until Jan. 31 to list, in an annex to the accord, voluntary pledges to curb their emissions. --What the Financial Times is reporting Business chiefs hit at climate agreement Countries are supposed to fill in details of planned cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, left blank in the accord, by the end of next month. --What the Times is reporting How a voice for everyone led to stalemate and a lot more hot air (Webster) The Copenhagen accord reads like the opening statement of a climate change summit, not its outcome. It sets reasonable objectives — such as the need to keep the temperature increase below 2C — but fails to explain how it will achieve them. The summit’s most important task was to set emission targets and on this it utterly failed. Delegates spent two weeks debating a range of numbers, some representing modest ambition and others based on wishful thinking. Yet the accord contains no targets, only an agreement for each country to submit more suggestions by the end of next month. --What the Financial Times is reporting As published, the section intended to show commitments to curb emissions by big economies is blank, but by February it is supposed to have been filled in. If leading economies repeat the offers made in public, the agreement will not be far from the political declaration the UN was looking for. The real problem with the accord, however, is that it has not been formally accepted by the Copenhagen conference, which means it can easily be sidelined, an impression reinforced by China’s words. That leaves the UN with a further six months of tough and possibly hopeless negotiations to win acceptance, to be followed by the nearly impossible task of turning any such acceptance into a treaty. It also leaves the world without a global framework to tackle climate change. --What the Globe is reporting Copenhagen fell victim to a world divided For the first time, leading developing countries such as China, India and Brazil have agreed to rein in emissions as part of an international treaty aimed at battling climate change. --What the Guardian is reporting Ed Miliband: China tried to hijack Copenhagen climate deal | Environment The climate secretary, Ed Miliband, today accuses China, Sudan, Bolivia and other leftwing Latin American countries of trying to hijack the UN climate summit and "hold the world to ransom" to prevent a deal being reached. --What the Guardian is reporting on Angela Angela Merkel’s commitment to the environment once earned her the media moniker of “climate chancellor”. But her return from Copenhagen has met with accusations that she betrayed her principles. “She made minimal offers which turned out to be a flop. She did not put Germany on the frontline,” said Claudia Roth, head of the Green party, labelling the talks a “tragedy”. Merkel, left, while owning up to “mixed feelings”, told Bild am Sonntag yesterday that Copenhagen had been “a first step towards a new world climate order. No more, but also no less,” she said. However, her measured optimism was drowned out. “The world was watching Copenhagen. The world has been sorely disappointed,” said Hubert Weiger, head of Germany’s association for environment and nature protection, Bund. Sigmar Gabriel, former environment minister and chairman of the opposition SPD party, described the summit as a “catastrophe. The way state and government heads have put at risk the future of their own children and grandchildren is a disgrace.” One other leader singled out for particular criticism was Barack Obama. “It may have been Hollywood, but what we saw was a bad film,” remarked Roth. “It was not enough just to come, put nothing on the table and then go away again and criticise the conference.” --What the Guardian is reporting on Sarko Before he jetted into Copenhagen last week, Nicolas Sarkozy publicly warned that “failure would be catastrophic”. But the French president emerged from the talks chastened. “It is not perfect,” he told journalists, “[but] it is the best possible agreement”. His ecology minister, JeanLouis Borloo, insisted “absolute disaster” had been averted. That, though, was not the consensus among France’s green activists or opposition leaders. Nicolas Hulot, the popular ecologist, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper: “We have sold off our children’s future and compromised that of millions of citizens.” Blame for the “fiasco” focused chiefly on Beijing and the US. “But Europe also sinned in its disunity and absence of leadership,” said Djamila Sonzogni, for the French Green party. The result, she added, was “as desperate as the stakes were high”. The media verdict media was unanimous. An editorial in Le Monde was entitled simply: “A disappointment.” “China is at the heart of Copenhagen’s failure,” it said. --What the W Post is reporting on a subject of interest to Canada Hope and funding for saving forests around the world In the months leading up to the U.N.-sponsored climate talks, there was one thing observers said with confidence: Any final outcome would establish global guidelines for paying poor countries to preserve their tropical forests. That almost happened. The fact that it didn't may pose a slight glitch, but is unlikely to halt the proliferation of such projects around the world. --What the NY Times is reporting on Copenhagen A Grudging Accord in Climate Talks Yvo de Boer, the United Nations official who manages the climate negotiations, said that though the Copenhagen accord was “politically incredibly significant,” it hardly moved the treaty process from where it was in 2007, when the world’s countries pledged to complete a binding agreement here this year. “We have a lot of work to do on the road to Mexico,” he said, in a reference to the next climate meeting to be held in Mexico City next year. --What the W Post is reporting Copenhagen climate deal shows new world order may be led by U.S., China What Obama heralded as a "breakthrough" -- after getting India and other rising powers to sign on -- was decried by some nations as too little, too late. The leaders of Europe, Japan and other countries at the summit were largely left to rubber-stamp the deal. The Swedish prime minister's office dubbed it "a disaster." --What the Observer is reporting on the blame game Rich and poor countries blame each other for failure of Copenhagen deal --What the Observer is reporting Copenhagen: The last-ditch drama that saved the deal from collapse Around 8pm, after the second of these bilateral meetings, Obama returned to the negotiating room saying he had secured an agreement from Wen on the key issue of how promises to cut emissions would be verified by the international community. But a new fight then erupted in which China bizarrely insisted that Europe lower its targets for greenhouse gas emissions. Merkel wanted to set a target for developed nations to cut emissions by 80% by 2050, but in the last gasp, China declared this unacceptable. This astonished many of those present: China was telling rich nations to rein back on their long-term commitment. The assumed reason was that China will have joined their ranks by 2050 and does not want to meet such a target. "Ridiculous," exclaimed Merkel as she was forced to abandon the target. --What the Independent is reporting China stands accused of wrecking global deal the key element of the agreement, a timetable for making its commitments legally binding by this time next year, was taken out at the last minute at the insistence of the Chinese, who otherwise would have refused to agree to the deal. Also removed, at Chinese insistence, was a statement of a global goal to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, and for the developed world to cut its emissions by 80 per cent by the same date….The European official said: "China thinks that by 2050 it will be a developed country and they do not want to constrain their growth." "The Chinese were happy as they'd win either way. If the process collapsed they'd win because they don't have to do anything and they know the rich countries will get the blame. "If the deal doesn't collapse because everyone is so desperate to accommodate them that they water it down to something completely meaningless, they get their way again. Either way they win. I think all the other world leaders knew that by that stage and were just furious that they couldn't do anything about it. "It was extraordinary to see, and incredibly worrying for what it bodes for the future of our planet in this century. China is not going to get less powerful, and if this is the way that it's going to behave, then we have problems." --What the NY Times is reporting Twice during the day, Mr. Wen sent an underling to represent him at the meetings with Mr. Obama. To make things worse, each time it was a lower-level official. --What the Observer is reporting China blamed as anger mounts over climate deal Asked by the Observer who was to blame for blocking the introduction of controlled emissions, the director general of the Swedish environment protection agency, Lars-Erik Liljelund, replied: "China. China doesn't like numbers." At the same time, others have criticised the Americans for pushing China too hard. "President Obama's speech blaming China didn't help," says John Prescott, writing in today's Observer. --What the Observer is reporting Miliband returned to the conference centre in time to hear Sudanese delegate Lumumba Di-Aping comparing the proposed agreement to the Holocaust. He said the deal "asked Africa to sign a suicide pact, an incineration pact, in order to maintain the economic dominance of a few countries". A furious Miliband intervened and dismissed Di-Aping's claims as "disgusting". This was "a moment of profound crisis", Miliband told delegates. --What the W Post is reporting Friday's climate agreement reflected the domestic political realities in Washington and Beijing. Both nations, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, remain more cautious than, say, the governments of Europe about establishing a strict set of international rules to combat global warming. Not coincidentally, the agreement allows nations to set their own emission reduction targets and provides no deadline for signing a binding international accord. --What the W Post is reporting At one point in Friday's tense talks, for instance, China's top climate change negotiator exploded in rage at U.S. pressure after Obama walked in on the Chinese while they were holding talks with the Indians, South Africans and Brazilians. After Obama asked whether the Chinese could commit to listing their climate targets in an international registry, Xie Zhenhua launched into a tirade, pointing his finger at the U.S. president….When Xie erupted again, Wen, who was chairing the meeting, ignored him. After Wen handed Obama a draft text of an agreement that included verification language Obama couldn't abide by, the two men led a lengthy debate that ended in a working compromise, sources said. --What the W Post is reporting The fate of any future global climate change treaty will now effectively rest in the hands of the two largest emitters. For at least the next several years, the lack of a binding international treaty may result in a piecemeal response to the problem, with action being taken largely on a national and regional level. --What the Times is reporting the Chinese propaganda machine was yesterday reporting an entirely different summit from the rest of the world’s media. It was a version of events in which China was universally applauded and the whole event hung on the words of Wen. “International organisations have spoken highly of China’s strong commitment on greenhouse gas emissions, saying China will make great contributions to global efforts to combat climate change,” declared Xinhua, the state news agency, in a report from Copenhagen. --What the W Post is reporting The Post asked experts whether the Copenhagen climate conference was a success. … contributions from Elliot Diringer, Kenneth Green, Fred Krupp, Christine Todd Whitman, Robert Shrum, John Kerry, Jim Inhofe and Douglas E. Schoen. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2009 --What the Globe is reporting from Copenhagen The outcome of the Copenhagen talks is a three-page document called the Copenhagen Accord. It is a broad political framework, not a binding international treaty like the Kyoto Protocol (which remains in place), and it leaves a lot of work unfinished. It also still needed approval from the majority of the nations gathered here. --What the Star is reporting For now, the Kyoto Protocol, which was forged in 1997, is still in effect. The accord binds only industrialized countries, with the exception of the United States. --What the W Post is reporting Climate deal falls short of key goals The accord sets no goal for concluding a binding international treaty, which leaves the implementation of its provisions uncertain. It is likely to undergo many months, perhaps years, of additional negotiations before it emerges in any internationally enforceable form. --What the Star is reporting Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada, the United States, China and several other countries reached a "comprehensive and realistic" agreement, while Obama hailed it as "a meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough." But the deal is not legally binding. It sets no date for a fully binding treaty that was supposed to come in 2010, and leaves numerous issues to be worked out. The richest countries didn't boost their ambition on emissions-reduction pledges as the developing world demanded throughout this two-week conference. --What else the Globe is reporting U.S. observers said the failure to “internationalize” the climate commitments of major developing countries would make it harder to get a bill through Congress. Mr. Harper has also insisted that developing countries submit their emissions-reduction plans to international monitoring and verification. And despite the absence of such a commitment in the Copenhagen accord, the Prime Minister repeated that demand in a statement last night, raising the possibility that there will be further pressure on China and other developing countries for more concessions on the issue as negotiators work toward a final text. --Steve says Canada's strategy: Promise now, implement later (McCarthy) “What will be most critical for Canada in terms of filling out the details of our regulatory framework will be the regulatory framework of the United States,” Mr. Harper said after the agreement was announced. “If the Americans don't act, it will severely limit our ability to act. But if the Americans do act, it is essential that we act in concert with them.” --Iggy says Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff rejected the Tory policy of linking Canada's climate-change plan with the U.S. plan. “We cannot allow Canadian environmental policy to be entirely dependent on American politics,” he said in a statement Friday. “We need an aggressive, made in Canada climate-change plan now. And we're willing to work with Mr. Harper on this if his government brings forward a serious plan that treats our provinces fairly and includes pollution reductions for all sectors.” --What the Times is reporting on Steve’s Brit counterpart Copenhagen deadlock wrapped up as emissions deal It was a humiliation for Gordon Brown, who has spent longer working on it than any other world leader. He admitted the conference had only taken the first step towards tackling climate change and said that he hoped that progress would be made at a conference in Germany next summer or one in Mexico at the end of the year. --What the Globe is reporting on the Peace Prize Prez If there was one moment when the near-moribund climate-change negotiations began to revive, it was yesterday at 12:30 p.m. in Copenhagen. That's when the leaders of the two countries at the centre of the impasse - U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao - retreated to a room in the Bella Center, the airport-size convention hall that has played host to the near round-the-clock climate negotiations since Dec. 7. --What the NY Times is reporting Mr. Wen did not attend two smaller, impromptu meetings during the day that Mr. Obama and United States officials conducted with the leaders of other world powers, an apparent snub that infuriated administration officials and their European counterparts. --What the Globe is reporting Mr. Obama went into the meeting with Mr. Wen after delivering a hard-hitting speech to some 120 heads of state and government. --What the Independent is reporting on the very same speech Obama's climate accord fails the test The day's most remarkable feature was a direct and unprecedented personal clash between the US President, Barack Obama, and the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, in which Mr Wen took deep offence at Mr Obama's insistence – in public – that the Chinese should allow their promised cuts in greenhouse gases to be internationally verified. When the President, in an unyielding speech, said that without international verification "any agreement would be empty words on a page", that was too much for Mr Wen. He left the conference in Copenhagen's Bella Centre, returned to his hotel in the city, and responded with a direct snub of his own – he sent low-level delegates to take his place in the talks. A high-level source told The Independent that the US President was amazed when he found who he was negotiating with, and clearly regarded Mr Wen's absence as a major diplomatic insult. He snapped: "It would be nice to negotiate with somebody who can make political decisions" although last night urgent diplomatic efforts were underway to try to bring the two leaders face to face for a second round of talks, to patch up the disagreement. --What the WS Journal is reporting The president "would not have come here if he didn't have assurances that he could have gotten an interim agreement. There was a critical breakdown at some point along the way in which countries who had expressed their inclination toward doing this agreement" -- chiefly China and India -- "backed away," said Andrew Light, an expert on climate agreements from the Center for American Progress, a think tank close to the White House, who witnessed events in Copenhagen. --What the NY Times is reporting Mr. Obama said before he left Copenhagen that he was confident that a final accord would be reached here. He looked weary and his eyes were bloodshot as he left the conference center for his motorcade to the airport. --What else the Independent is reporting on the leaders Venezuela's firebrand Marxist President, Hugo Chavez, fired off a string of insults at Mr Obama from the podium, saying he had been awarded "the Nobel Prize for war" and referring to his "Yankee Empire". Subsequently Mr Chavez said he was leaving the meeting, along with his fellow Marxist Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, and leaving the talks to junior negotiators. --What else the NY Times is reporting dropped from earlier drafts was language calling for a binding accord “as soon as possible,” and no later than at the next meeting of the parties, in Mexico City next November. The deal presented Friday evening said only that the agreement should be reviewed and put in place by 2015. --What CP is reporting on the Charest adoucit le ton face à Ottawa Après avoir sévèrement critiqué le gouvernement Harper cette semaine, le premier ministre du Québec s'est montré plus conciliant hier en dressant le bilan de son passage à l'importante conférence sur les changements climatiques. «La position fédérale a évolué dans la dernière année, il faut le noter pour être équitable», a déclaré M. Charest, citant des décisions qui datent de plusieurs mois. Le premier ministre, qui sermonnait le gouvernement Harper au point de lui rappeler «la dure réalité canadienne» sur le partage des compétences moins de 48 heures plus tôt, a eu de bons mots pour l'allocution du ministre de l'Environnement, Jim Prentice, devant les délégués de la conférence. «Sur l'émergence d'une économie qui sera décarbonisée, c'est exactement la vision du Québec», a-t-il indiqué, ajoutant du bout des lèvres qu'«on est moins d'accord» quant à l'alignement du Canada sur la position des États-Unis. M. Charest a aussi minimisé le fait que le Canada ait maintenu sa cible de réduction des GES de seulement 3 % en 2020 sous les niveaux de 1990. «Sur les objectifs, nous ne sommes pas d'accord, mais le Canada, c'est plus que le gouvernement fédéral», a-t-il dit, avant de se défendre d'avoir modéré ses propos. «Non, notre discours n'a pas changé, même pas sur le ton. Nous demeurons constants sur le partage des compétences et sur le fait que le gouvernement fédéral n'en fait pas assez», a-t-il argué dans un soudain regain de combativité. --What the preem of Alberta says Climate clash rekindles separatist grumblings in Alberta (Cal Herald) --What Le Devoir is reporting on Iggy Ignatieff sera ferme sur la question des sables bitumineux «Je ne suis pas d'accord [avec cette position], affirme Michael Ignatieff au cours d'une entrevue accordée hier au Devoir. Il ne faut pas faire des exceptions pour les sables bitumineux. Un plan canadien veut justement dire ça. Il faut que ce soit bien équilibré. Le Québec ne doit pas payer pour son avance. L'Alberta et les endroits qui produisent beaucoup d'énergie doivent collaborer.» À propos des crédits gratuits, il répond: «Je ne suis pas pour les crédits gratuits, je préfère un système de vente de crédits.» Selon M. Ignatieff, «il faut trouver des limites qui sont absolues, mais aussi raisonnables, et par là, j'entends qui ne causent pas la cessation totale de l'activité économique et des investissements». --What the W Post is reporting on the accord Climate deal falls short of key goals President Obama helped broker a climate deal with a group of leading nations that provides for monitoring emission cuts by each country but sets no global target for cutting greenhouse gases, and no deadline for reaching a formal international climate treaty. Although the agreement included some major players -- China, India, Brazil and South Africa -- it was not universally agreed upon by the 193 nations attending the summit. In fact, some leaders left early Friday in apparent frustration. In fact, there was almost no deal in Copenhagen at all. --What the WS Journal is reporting President Obama and Secretary Clinton suggested in the meeting that the agreement specify countries agree to subject their emission-reduction progress to examination by other countries, said Brazil's Mr. Serra. But China objected to that language, Mr. Serra said. So, in the end, the parties agreed to call for "provisions for international consultations and analysis under clearly defined guidelines that will ensure that national sovereignty is respected." "The Chinese were very reluctant to accept any kind of international analysis of the performance of their actions," Mr. Serra said. "The wording the Americans had proposed was considered unacceptable." The stalemate left some on the American side fuming that the Chinese had gone back on statements made when Mr. Obama visited Asia last month. In Beijing, during that trip, Mr. Obama and Chinese leaders said they would seek a transparent nonbinding political agreement in Copenhagen limiting emissions. Even that was seen as half a loaf by many participating nations. But once in Denmark, the Chinese raised new issues, and dug in against U.S. proposals for strong monitoring. Chinese officials reject suggestions that they backpedaled on agreements with the Obama administration. Such suggestions "are groundless," said Xie Zhenhua, head of China's delegation at Copenhagen. --What the NY Times is reporting Many Goals Remain Unmet in 5 Nations’ Climate Deal The three-page accord that Mr. Obama negotiated with the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa and then presented to the conference did not meet even the modest expectations that leaders set for this meeting, notably by failing to set a 2010 goal for reaching a binding international treaty to seal the provisions of the accord. Nor does the plan firmly commit the industrialized nations or the developing nations to firm targets for midterm or long-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The accord is nonetheless significant in that it codifies the commitments of individual nations to act on their own to tackle global warming. “For the first time in history,” Mr. Obama said, “all major economies have come together to accept their responsibility to take action to confront the threat of climate change.” The accord provides a system for monitoring and reporting progress toward those national pollution-reduction goals, a compromise on an issue over which China bargained hard. It calls for hundreds of billions of dollars to flow from wealthy nations to those countries most vulnerable to a changing climate. And it sets a goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2050, implying deep cuts in climate-altering emissions over the next four decades. --What the Financial Times is reporting Marathon turns into merely ‘a first step’ On almost every significant measure of whether a Copenhagen deal was strong or weak, the accord was clearly a weak one. On the central issue of emissions targets, there was a glaring failure to go any distance beyond commitments that had already been made. Countries have been given ”a few weeks” longer to set out their emissions reduction plans, giving them scope to promise deeper cuts. Mr Brown said he hoped the European Union would move from its commitment to a 20 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020 to a 30 per cent reduction, which would be possible if other countries also made deeper cuts. Yet if other leading economies did not make those offers of deeper cuts at Copenhagen, it is hard to see why they should do so over the next few weeks. Rich country leaders proclaimed as a success the agreement’s commitment to limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. Yet that objective had already been agreed by the leading developed and developing economies back in July. The commitment was undermined by the fact that the emissions reductions agreed would probably not, in the opinion of scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, be enough to keep the rise in temperatures within that limit. On other issues, there was at least some progress. The idea that developed countries should by 2020 be paying $100bn per year to developing countries, which was backed by the US on Thursday, has been accepted as an objective, although there is no detail at all on how that money will be provided. More than half of it will probably have to come through the private sector, with no more than half provided by governments. The US and the European Union also made some progress in their bid to monitor the actions taken by China and other developing countries to curb their carbon dioxide emissions, to make sure they are living up to their commitments. Again, however, the details of the compromise, involving international ”consultation and analysis”, are sketchy. Perhaps most strikingly, there was no commitment to turn anything agreed in Copenhagen into a legally binding treaty. A meeting to be held in Germany in the next few months, promised late on Friday by Angela Merkel, the country’s chancellor, and the next scheduled ministerial meeting in the United Nations’ process, in Mexico next November, will not necessarily deliver a treaty. --What the WS Journal is reporting CO2 Pact Leaves Businesses Feeling Up in the Air The agreement achieved at the Copenhagen climate summit leaves business leaders around the world close to where they began, facing uncertainty about how environmental policy will affect their costs and decisions about investments. A legally binding treaty on emission cuts would have created a level playing field for clean energy, allowing it to compete on an equal footing with fossil fuels. No such deal emerged from the summit. regulatory uncertainty in sectors like power generation has driven down the carbon price on Europe market, and it had its biggest fall in six months on Thursday -- nearly 5% -- and stayed at that level Friday. And now it is falling even lower. EU Allowances for December 2010, The benchmark contract fell 70 cents per tonne of CO2 Thursday, settling at 13.66 euros. They stayed at the same level Friday. It was the biggest fall in six months. --What Canwest is reporting Up in the air (Cit) "I see this as a further delay and further uncertainty for business in terms of making investments," said Robert Page, who chairs the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. --What the Globe is reporting on the reaction The accord was condemned as vacuous and disappointing by many environmental groups. But the Sierra Club, and some of the most cynical climate-change negotiators, conceded it was better than nothing. --What the Star is reporting Greenpeace Canada dubbed the climax of the Copenhagen summit a "climate crime scene." --What La Presse is reporting « Il n’y a rien de contraignant pour les États-Unis, pas de cibles de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre et pas de date de plafonnement des émissions mondiales, a tonné Steven Gui lbeault , au nom du Réseau action climat Canada, qui regroupe les principaux groupes écologistes du pays. --What the LA Times is reporting Obama hails Copenhagen deal as 'unprecedented breakthrough' Hopes that Copenhagen would be the site of a legally binding treaty evaporated long ago. It appeared unlikely this morning that the framework agreement would meet even reduced expectations and emerge from the summit as a consensus product of all 193 members. Instead, it seemed the deal, which rescued the negotiations from the brink of collapse, would garner support of the world's largest and fastest-growing emitters, which account for most greenhouse gas pollution. --What the Financial Times is reporting Brazilian representatives said negotiators in Copenhagen would continue their work over the weekend, and into next year in the hope of having a legally binding document that can be signed by the end of 2010 and then ratified by national parliaments before the end of 2012. --What else the LA Times is reporting The chief Chinese climate negotiator said the meeting "had a positive result, everyone should be happy. After negotiations, both sides have managed to preserve their bottom line. For the Chinese, this was our sovereignty and our national interest." Obama gave no indication of what he gave up to win China's support for the transparency measure. --What the W Post is reporting "This is a sort of 'incomplete, I didn't turn in my term paper,' when it should have gotten a failing grade," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It's fill in the blanks, fill in the numbers." --What the Financial Times is reporting Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese head of the G77 group of developing countries, said the US-backed proposals represented the “lowest level of ambition” and would be devastating for the world’s poor. “This is an idea not a deal,” he told reporters. “If any country rejects the deal, then there is no deal. Sudan will not be a signatory to a deal that destroys Africa.” Venezuela described the accord as a “coup d’etat” by wealthy countries. --What the NY Times is reporting Climate deal falls short of key goals Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and lead author of the Senate’s climate change bill, said the accord would drive the Congress to pass climate change legislation early next year. “This can be a catalyzing moment,” he said. “President Obama’s hands-on engagement broke through the bickering and sets the stage for a final deal and for Senate passage this spring of major legislation at home." --What the WS Journal is reporting Congress, Democratic aides said, is more likely to set the cap and trade bill aside during the 2010 election year. Instead, Congress and the White House could craft an energy bill that includes green-job creation measures like tax credits and standards for increasing the use of renewable energy. --What Le Devoir is reporting Entente timide pour sauver la mise «Très déçu», a déclaré Steven Guilbeault au petit matin. Il pense que le président Obama a voulu «forcer le jeu» pour des questions de politique interne, ce qui explique que certaines ONG étatsuniennes adoptaient hier un ton plus conciliant. Mais la vérité, dit-il, c'est qu'on est devant «un faux départ» pour la deuxième phase de la bataille du climat parce que cet accord ne prévoit aucune date pour plafonner les émissions humaines. --What CP is reporting Harper leaves Copenhagen as climate talks end in confusion "They tell us it's over but it's not," said Kim Carstensen of the World Wildlife Fund. "Copenhagen produced a snapshot of what leaders already promised before they arrived here." FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009 --What the WS Journal is reporting Plan Counts on Private Funding to Curb CO2 Much of the money to fund a $100-billion-a-year effort to help poor nations deal with climate change tentatively endorsed Thursday by the U.S. would be put up by private companies and investors, not taxpayers, according to a senior Obama administration official familiar with the proposals. But whether the private investments materialize will depend on decisions both at the United Nations climate summit and well beyond it. A large chunk of this money would likely come from companies in the developed world buying "carbon credits" to offset greenhouse-gas emissions from their own factories, said the administration official. the sale of carbon credits from preserving trees could generate about $5 billion by 2015, most of it from U.S. firms. --What the W Post is reporting U.S. pledges aid, urges developing nations to cut emissions In a private meeting, Clinton told Brazilian officials that a climate change bill that was passed by the House would set aside billions to help preserve tropical rain forests in developing countries. U.S. negotiators also labored to distinguish themselves from George W. Bush's administration, which did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol. In fact, U.S. officials added, the new administration is taking steps with or without Congress to reduce carbon emissions through new fuel standards and other measures. "They are saying, 'Trust us that we can do better,' " said Brazil's climate change ambassador, Sergio Serra, who attended the meeting with Clinton on Thursday. --What the W Post is reporting Rather than a formal new treaty, most are expecting a political agreement that would form the basis for a broader, more detailed accord perhaps by mid-2010. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009 --What the NY Times is reporting from Copenhagen Poor and Emerging G-77 States Stall Copenhagen Climate Talks If the United Nations climate talks here are entering their final two days in virtual deadlock, it is in large measure because of delays and diversions created by a group of poor and emerging nations intent on making their dissatisfaction clear. --What the Times is reporting Africa lowers sights to boost hopes of doing cut-price deal in Copenhagen Getting African countries to lower demands for finance is the first of three sequential “dominos” in Britain’s negotiating strategy, a source said. The second is to ensure that the EU raises its offer to cut emissions from 20 per cent by 2020 to as close to 30 per cent as possible. “This will be difficult, we can’t pretend otherwise,” a source said. Britain will then turn to the US and China to encourage them to make additional concessions. --What the W Post is reporting At Copenhagen, both rich and developing nations offer concessions there were signs Wednesday of a break in the impasse between rich and developing nations. The United States and Japan agreed to make major contributions to the developing world to keep prospects of a deal alive. And the leader of a bloc of African nations said they would accept a smaller -- though still sizable -- package of financial aid, in return for going along with an agreement. On other questions -- including to what extent industrialized and major developing countries should reduce emissions, and how to include these pledges in a global pact -- the talks only inched forward. --What Le Devoir is reporting Impasse à Copenhague | Le Devoir La direction onusienne et la présidence danoise auront ainsi deux cartes en main: celle de déposer comme base de discussion le rapport du nouveau groupe de sages, ce qui garde en réserve la possibilité d'une intervention extraordinaire de la présidence comme base du sprint final de négociations demain, un scénario utilisé avec succès dans d'autres conférences antérieures, expliquait une source proche des pourparlers stratégiques. --What else the W Post is reporting Greater sea-level rise from warming predicted --What the Financial Times says editorially speaking Leaders must now agree climate deal The greatest stumbling block has turned out to be the question of financial assistance. Developing countries have been making increasingly strident calls for money on the table – on the basis that they need help to adapt to a low-carbon economy and that they did not cause the problem. It is politically impossible for rich country governments to write cheques for any significant amount of money with their finances in as parlous a state as they are today – especially in the US, which has turned its back on a global climate agreement before. This is exasperating, since a vastly superior solution is available. If a global system for tradeable carbon emissions permits is agreed, poor countries with low emissions stand to make much more than they can ever hope for in government-to-government aid. If caps along the lines of current proposals are agreed, the market value of global CO2 emissions could easily top half a trillion dollars yearly in the next decade, perhaps much more as caps tighten and prices rise. --What else the LA Times is reporting Most throw cold water on China warming theory The proposition that global warming might actually be good for China, or at least a mixed blessing, has been quietly discussed -- and largely dismissed -- in academic circles here. Those who see possible good in global warming for China rarely speak about it publicly, fearing that they will be seen as being out of step with the scientific mainstream. But beneath the surface, the theory is not completely discounted. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2009 --What the NY Times is reporting of interest to Canada that your paper isn’t Climate Talks Near Deal to Save Forests The agreement for the program, if signed as expected, may turn out to be the most significant achievement to come out of the Copenhagen climate talks, providing a system through which countries can be paid for conserving disappearing natural assets based on their contribution to reducing emissions. For poorer countries, the payments will provide a much-needed new income stream. For richer nations, the lure of the program is not cash but carbon credits that can be used to cancel out, in part, their industrial emissions under a carbon trading system, like the cap-and-trade plan currently under consideration by Congress. --What the Financial Times is reporting from Copenhagen Climate deal in balance over aid The chief of the United Nations has conceded that a deal in Copenhagen on climate change might not include promised financial aid for developing countries, an admission that will infuriate poorer nations and potentially scupper a broad-based agreement. Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the UN, told the Financial Times in an interview that countries could sign a deal at Copenhagen without a firm commitment from developed nations on long-term financing for poorer countries to combat global warming. “We can start next year discussing this matter,” Mr Ban said. Developing countries have long insisted that any Copenhagen deal must include assurances that they would receive finance flows of at least $100bn a year by 2020. --What the Guardian is reporting Gordon Brown flies in to deliver financing deal on global warming With the UN talks balanced on a political knife edge, the prime minister issued an immediate call to arms to fellow heads of state, saying they had three days to "shape the future of humanity". --What else the Guardian is reporting As the high-level political part of the summit began, its Danish president, Connie Hedegaard, said: "In these very hours we are balancing between success and failure. Success is within reach. But I must also warn you: we can fail." --The column I’m glad I didn’t write We're in the climate doghouse, but we can spend our way out (Reguly) While time is running out, Canada's sorry fate at the summit is not necessarily sealed. The country has a long and proud history of providing financial and development assistance to poor countries. Perhaps the biggest outstanding issue at the summit is long-term funding – as much as $100-billion (U.S.) a year – to help the developing world fight the effects of climate change. Some rich country needs to write the first cheque. Why not Canada? Only one man can make that commitment on the spot – Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who arrives in Copenhagen today. Several delegates, among them John Drexhage of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, thinks a funding commitment would yank Canada's reputation out of the Copenhagen gutter. “To repair its image, Canada needs to put a number on the long-term financing plan,” he said. --What the W Post is reporting that the Globester is not At climate talks, key decisions unresolved Delegates from poorer countries and from major emerging economies such as China have charged that wealthy nations have not put enough money on the table to persuade developing nations to sign on to any deal that would force them to curb their greenhouse gas emissions; industrialized nations counter that they cannot embrace any agreement that does not bind major emerging economies to emissions-monitoring procedures that can be verified from outside the country. --The column I wish I’d written --What the Independent is reporting on the deal Climate conference: 'Make bankers pay for deal' Mr Zenawi, who arrived in Copenhagen last night to represent the 53 member states of the African Union at the talks, suggested that much of the money could be raised by new taxes on aviation and shipping and an innovative global tax on all financial transactions – known as a "Tobin tax". Research has suggested that such a tax could raise up to $100bn a year. Mr Zenawi also wants a commitment to long-term finance, to 2020, above and beyond the $30bn "fast start" money for the next three years which the conference is likely to approve, and a further commitment to "additionality" – a guarantee that any promised climate cash will not come out of existing aid budgets. Mr Brown, who worked with Mr Zenawi when he was Chancellor on the Commission for Africa, accepted the plan with alacrity and issued a statement supporting it just before he left for Copenhagen himself, where he is to have talks with other world leaders over the next three days. President Sarkozy, who also was presented with the plan by Mr Zenawi, also accepted it at once. In a joint statement, the French and Ethiopian leaders officially backed targets to limit the rise in global temperatures to C and to offer financial aid to help poor countries adapt. "Such stakes for the planet are so important that an alliance between Africa and Europe is absolutely crucial, and that is the message I will give to [the US President] Barack Obama," Mr Sarkozy said. --What the WS Journal is reporting on the generous EU The euro tumbled as debt woes spread around the euro zone from Greece, where pledges of austerity and fiscal rigor failed to stem growing fears that the Continent's economic recovery could be derailed. The euro fell as low as $1.4505 on Tuesday, its lowest level since early October. New worries about Austrian banking also roiled markets, with rumors of trouble at an Austrian lender with shaky investments in Eastern Europe following Monday's surprise nationalization of another Austrian bank at the behest of the European Central Bank. Greece is just "the tip of the iceberg," said Norbert Barthle, budget spokesman for the ruling Christian Democratic Union of German chancellor Angela Merkel. The exploding budget deficits of weaker economies have forced Germany and other financially stronger countries to think about how to shore up other members of the euro zone against a potential financial-market rout. Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, a group traders have disparagingly dubbed "PIIGS," all have huge budget deficits and very low growth prospects, which means their debt is on course to rise further, fast. "It's hard to see how Italy, Spain and Portugal are going to generate enough growth" to rein in their debts, says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Center for European Reform, a London think tank. --What the Times is reporting Brown warns of failure as US refuses to raise target Gordon Brown last night raised the possibility of the Copenhagen summit failing to reach a deal as the US said that it would not improve its weak offer on cutting emissions. President Obama is expected to make a significant financial commitment to a global climate protection fund when he joins the conference on Friday rather than improve on his provisional offer of cutting emissions by 4 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. --What the LA Times is reporting on China Developing nations hold the key to Copenhagen climate agreement Goldmark thinks China will ultimately hold its line and reject international emissions-pledge monitoring in any form, a move U.S. officials insist would kill hopes for a deal. Other groups say China, the world's largest emitter, does not want to risk blame if the talks fall through. "They really want a deal," Keya Chatterjee, director of the U.S. climate change program for the World Wildlife Fund, said of the Chinese. "They really care what the world thinks of them." --What the NY Times is reporting China’s Rapid Reactor Expansion Raises Safety Concerns China is preparing to build three times as many nuclear power plants in the coming decade as the rest of the world combined, a breakneck pace with the potential to help slow global warming. --What else the NY Times is reporting Arms Sales to Taiwan Will Proceed, U.S. Says TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009 --What the Globe is reporting from Copenhagen How U.S. pranksters hoaxed the world at Canada's expense To top off a bad day for Mr. Prentice, Canada yesterday won yet another "Fossil of the Day" award handed out by a coalition of environmental groups to the countries "doing the most to obstruct progress in the global climate change talks." The award brings Canada's tally so far to six. --What Le Devoir is reporting Un canular révèle à la face du monde les dissensions intérieures Canada was again awarded third place in the Fossil of the day award --What the WS Journal is reporting on the negotiations Tensions Increase as Poor Nations Stage a Protest the talk in Copenhagen is increasingly about scaled-back expectations. One possibility is a very general agreement in which developed countries promise to try to reduce their collective emissions by some amount and to provide a pot of money to help pay for a cleanup in the developing world. But such an agreement would leave the toughest questions -- how much each country would cut, and how much each would pay -- up in the air. --What the W Post is reporting Walkout by poor nations stalls talks in Copenhagen on climate change Tim Wirth, president of the U.N. Foundation, said the delay would not undermine the possibility of a deal, which is supposed to be finalized Friday when more than 110 world leaders convene in Copenhagen. "They can't come here and say, 'This didn't work,' " said Wirth, a former senator and undersecretary of state for global affairs in the Clinton administration. "We always get down to the last minute . . . and at the end of this, you end up with a package." One delegate from a major developing country, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said there was no longer time for open-ended discussions. "Now is not the time for consultation," he said, adding that none of the major countries had shifted their positions since negotiators arrived a week ago. "We wasted a whole Sunday exchanging the same rhetoric. I've heard it all before. I'm bored to death." The U.S. special climate envoy, Todd Stern, said in a briefing "that there are legitimate concerns, that people have anxiety about how the process runs, about transparency and inclusiveness and all of those things." But, he said, "the clock is definitely ticking, sort of like a big hourglass that's running down right now, so any time that's lost, it is unhelpful." --What the Globe is reporting African countries stage three-hour boycott in Copenhagen Developing countries, including China, India and Brazil, want Kyoto left intact – it is due to expire in 2012 unless it is extended – because it commits 37 rich countries to substantial emission cuts. Poor countries are not under the same obligation. The rich countries' position is that Kyoto should be replaced with a new agreement that covers all 192 countries at the summit, notably China, whose carbon-dioxide output now exceeds that of the United States. Canada has been one of the most forceful proponents of replacing Kyoto, partly because it has no chance of meeting its Kyoto reduction target. --What Le Devoir is reporting on Kyoto Le Canada, l'Australie et le Japon s'opposent de leur côté à toute prolongation du protocole. Dans le cas du Canada, les motifs sont on ne peut plus évidents, disent écologistes et pays en développement: le retard du Canada par rapport à ses obligations dans le protocole de Kyoto pourrait lui valoir à la fin de 2012 une dette allant de 40 à 75 milliards au bas mot, selon le prix de la tonne de carbone. Le Canada devra acheter dans les six premiers mois de 2013 des crédits suffisants pour atteindre son objectif quinquennal, plus une pénalité de 30 %. Quant à l'Australie, son nouveau gouvernement a bien tenté de hausser la barre des réductions, contrairement à l'ancien, mais son Sénat a fait échec au plan de réductions ambitieux qu'avait préparé le gouvernement. Ce dernier veut donc calmer le jeu en évitant toute référence à Kyoto. --What the Guardian is reporting on Kyoto’s loopholes 1 Hot air The most serious loophole. Countries like Russia and Ukraine were set targets to reduce emissions in 1997 when the Kyoto treaty was signed. They were also awarded carbon pollution permits for some of their expected emissions, to trade with nations that could cut carbon more cheaply. But since then their heavy industries have crashed, meaning their target reductions reduction have been surpassed and they have billions of unused carbon credits which they want to carry over into the next round of target targets. “Russia could be allowed to emit 30% more than today, Ukraine over 50%, and they could still meet their targets. In addition, they can sell the surplus credits to another country, allowing the country that buys them to emit more,” says the report. In the worst case, this loophole could result in 15% more greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere than if the loophole was closed. 2 Forestry accounting The second loophole allows rich countries to “creatively account” for emissions from forestry and land use changes. If a country can show that its forestry activities emit more carbon than they store away, UN rules allow it not to account for these emissions. But if their forestry activities do store away carbon, they can account for this sequestration and receive carbon credits. “It’s like claiming that building a coal-fired power plant every year was a planned development and that the resulting emissions increases should not be accounted for,” said the report. 3 Carbon offsets The third loophole is carbon offsetting. This allows rich countries to exceed their greenhouse gas targets by paying for emission reductions in other countries. The report estimates the use of offsets would lead to up to 9% of the cuts offered by rich countries being wiped out. 4 Aviation and shipping A further 5% of emission cuts could be avoided if no agreement can be reached on international aviation and shipping. These sectors were left out of Kyoto due to the difficulty in pinning the emissions on a single country. --What USA Today is reporting on what Americans think Most back a treaty on global warming By 55%-38%, those surveyed endorse a binding accord to limit the gases tied to global warming. By a lopsided 7-1, however, Americans say the administration should put a higher priority on improving the economy than reducing global warming. And they are split on the likely economic impact of enacting new environmental and energy laws to address climate change: 42% say they will hurt the economy; 36% say they will help. --What the Brit minister says The developing world wants a continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty signed in 1997 that commits most of the developed world to cutting carbon output. However, the United States refused to sign the treaty and other developed countries including Australia, Japan and Sweden also think it is no longer relevant. Mr Miliband said he recognised the poor nations’ fear that the one legally binding treaty that forces the rich world to cut emissions could be dropped. But he insisted it would remain in place until a new, legally binding deal was agreed that would force all countries to cut emissions. “I have spent a lot of time reassuring developing countries that there is no intention on the part of the EU and the UK to get rid of the Kyoto Protocol before a new legal treaty is in place,” he said. --What the Globe is reporting on the Brit minister “What we cannot do is leave a whole slew of issues to the leaders,” Ed Miliband, Britain's climate change secretary, said at a news conference. “Leaders always have a very important role in this. But frankly it's also up to negotiators and ministers to get our act together and resolve outstanding issues.” --What the Globe is reporting on China The developing countries (represented by the G77 and China) are fighting hard to keep Kyoto alive. “When you have a train moving on a twin track and you remove one of the rails, you have catastrophe,” Victor Fodeke, head of the special climate-change unit at Nigeria's Ministry of Environment, told reporters. “It is an injustice to change the rules at the end of the game.” --What the WS Journal is reporting The Chinese delegation closed a scheduled news conference Monday to all but Chinese media, because it wanted "to urge the domestic population to support our endeavor" at the climate conference, said Lai Xing, a Chinese delegation spokesman. "We have a message for the domestic audience." --What the Financial Times is reporting on China Rich nations step up pressure on Beijing wields great influence among developing countries and is often regarded as the de facto leader. At the talks, China calls press conferences billed “the G77 and China”, but no Chinese representatives turn up and the floor is left to poorer members. many of the developing countries lining up behind China – such as Sudan and other African nations – have also benefited from Chinese trade deals . When African countries briefly walked out on Monday, forcing a suspension of the talks, it was about an issue China also views as vital: the continuation of the Kyoto protocol. For developed countries, it comes down to one inescapable fact: China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is under no international obligation to curb its emissions. --What else the WS Journal is reporting The G-77 showed signs of disunity as well. Saudi Arabia and Brazil sparred Monday over carbon capture and storage, technology that the kingdom is pushing to shore up in its own emission-reduction efforts, said an official from a G-77 nation familiar with the matter. Brazil is concerned that carbon capture could dent its biofuels industry, as nations opt to burn more fossil fuel and bury emissions underground, rather than use clean-burning biofuels such as ethanol, of which Brazil is a leading producer. --What the NY Times is reporting China and U.S. Hit Strident Impasse at Climate Talks China, which last month for the first time publicly announced a target for reducing the rate of growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, is refusing to accept any kind of international monitoring of its emissions levels, according to negotiators and observers here. The United States is insisting that without stringent verification of China’s actions, it cannot support any deal. “They’re going to wait until the last hour of the last day and just as the other side is walking out they’ll say, ‘Hey, come back.’ Just as they do every day in every market in China,” Ms. Finamore said. “That’s why they’re the best negotiators in the world.” --What the NY Times is reporting In Exxon’s Deal for XTO, Signs of Rising Interest for Hard-to-Reach Natural Gas The acquisition extends Exxon’s bet that fossil fuels will remain a critical part of the nation’s energy supply for decades. At the same time, Exxon expects the demand for natural gas, which emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal when burned, will rise as the United States looks to pare its global warming emissions and the world seeks greener sources of energy. --The world needs more Canada? World's Top Polluter Emerges as Green-Technology Leader Xu Shisen put down the phone and smiled. That was Canada calling, explained the chief engineer at a coal-fired power plant set among knockoff antique and art shops in a Beijing suburb. A Canadian company is interested in Mr. Xu's advances in bringing down the cost of stripping out greenhouse-gas emissions from burning coal. MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2009 --Mirabile dictu! Paul Martin and Jim Prentice agree CTV News | U.S. should share oilsands environmental costs: Prentice --What Alberta’s minister says to Canwest Ontario, Quebec say they won’t shoulder oilsands burden Renner said there is no reason to single out Alberta’s oil activity over development in Venezuela or California. "Alberta is committed to do our share and we’re not asking (for) any kind of special concessions or any kind of exemptions for the oilsands," he said. "We’re simply saying that if there are going to be . . . targets established for the oil and gas industry on a worldwide basis, let’s ensure that Alberta’s oilsands are not singled out." --What the Hill Times is reporting on a former Grit minister Feds have yet to pass any climate change legislation Mr. Anderson's predecessor, former environment minister Christine Stewart, signed the Kyoto Accord on behalf of Canada, in 1997. She said the government faced pushback from the public, the provinces, and industry in the lead up to signing the accord, but while it took courage to enter into the agreement to reduce Canada's GHG emissions, the government was not as brave in implementing it, and emissions continued to rise. Ms. Stewart, who doesn't believe the Alberta tar sands development should be allowed to exist, said while the Canadian people are more "informed and engaged" than they were in 1997, they still don't understand the myriad benefits of transitioning to a greener economy. --What the Globe is reporting on Central Canada Ontario, Quebec assail emissions targets The environment ministers of Ontario and Quebec used a press conference to declare Canada's emission-reduction targets inadequate and wholly unambitious compared with the two provinces' own targets. “It's absolutely imperative that Canada take a tougher position regarding greenhouse-gas emissions,” Ontario's John Gerretsen said. --What the Star is reporting (today’s idiocy) --What CP is reporting on chatty Charest Ottawa under fire from Quebec and Ontario for its stance at Copenhagen "Commercial sanctions are a real danger for countries refusing to put in place tough targets," he said. "We could be vulnerable." The premier said Quebec's export-based economy could be an early victim should the European Union act on its threat to impose a carbon tax on products coming from delinquent countries. Further, the World Trade Organization declared last summer it would be acceptable to impose taxes on imports coming from countries that fail to address climate change or renege on international engagements. "We have to be on the lookout because we're so dependent on foreign markets," said Charest. "We should have stricter targets in Canada. They're too low." Charest was backed by Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen, who says he doesn't want his province's efforts to allow the rest of Canada to get a free ride. "We are obviously concerned that the good work we have done may in affect be used by the federal government to allow others not to have such strong targets as we have," he said. "We want fairness." --What a former Preem says to CTV Canada's Ambassador to the U.S., Gary Doer, said following the Americans' lead "makes sense." "Certainly it makes sense for Canada and the U.S. to be working in harmony, whether it's the acid rain agreement a number of years ago, or the new tailpipe emission standards across our two borders, it makes sense to work together," he told Question Period. He said that it is not clear yet if regional, ideological, and other differences in the U.S. senate could hamper a proposed U.S. cap and trade deal and whether this could affect Canada's position. "There may be an agreed upon target and there may be different ways to get there. I think that's still an unknown question," he said, explaining Canada also needs to watch what initiatives developing nations like China and India take, and not just the U.S. He also said that coming up with a deal will likely be the easier part of the process. "It won't be just a manner of signing something," he said. "It'll be a lot of effort in implementing it." --What the Hill Times is reporting on another Grit minister Canada's longest-serving environment minister says the federal government's decision to mirror the U.S.'s approach to climate change is "the height of irony," because at one time Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the loudest voice calling for a "made-in-Canada" solution. "Canada is now in this business of following the American lead, which is Mr. Harper's approach. This is the height of irony because Mr. Harper quite incorrectly accused the measures that we were proposing at the turn of the millennium as being not made-in-Canada. He is the man who insisted that we had to have a made-in-Canada policy. Ironically, we did then, and now he's saying we're not going to have a made-in-Canada policy at all, we're just going to do what the Americans want. He's a man who's been marvelous at switching positions, but this is one that's not been noted," said David Anderson, who was environment minister under former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien from 1999 until 2004. Mr. Anderson oversaw the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, in 2004, and like his successor in the Environment portfolio, Stéphane Dion (Saint-Laurent-Cartierville, Que.), he also has a dog named Kyoto. --What else Canwest is reporting Canada ranks poorly in climate change study --What Tony Blair says in the Globe In a speech Sunday in Copenhagen, Mr. Blair pleaded for a global deal, even if whatever emerges on deadline day – Dec. 18 – is flawed. His comments came as the divide between the rich and poor countries over emission targets and funding to fight climate change in the developing world had widened after a week of negotiations. “We should not make the best the enemy of the good,” he said. Mr. Blair said any deal is better than none because businesses need certainty if they are to invest in technologies to reduce their carbon footprint. After his speech, he told reporters that even if the 192 countries at the climate-change summit cannot agree to 25-per-cent to 40-per-cent reductions in carbon emissions, a smaller, though still significant cut “will get people adjusting their investment decisions. You'll get the process under way.” --What the very same Tony Blair says in the Guardian Tony Blair urges leaders to secure deal in Copenhagen as time runs short "Kyoto was a treaty that aimed at making a point, but less successful at making a policy. Copenhagen is where we need to make a policy. It is time to lift this issue firmly within the framework of a credible, achievable policy for change." --What the Times is reporting Copenhagen stalls decision on catastrophic climate change for six years World leaders will not agree on the emissions cuts recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and are likely instead to commit to reviewing them in 2015 or 2016. The Times has learnt that negotiators from developed countries are planning to use the idea of a review to justify failing to agree the 25-40 per cent cut in the 1990 level of emissions by 2020, recommended by the IPCC. --What the WS Journal is reporting Summit Is Seen as U.S. Versus China the U.S. and China, which together account for some 40% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, are the countries that matter most in the U.N. climate debate. So far, the Copenhagen summit has served mainly to illuminate their profound disagreements over climate policy. The arguments between the U.S. and China reflect the two countries' broader contest for economic power in the decades ahead. Many business leaders in the U.S. worry that efforts to dramatically cut fossil-fuel consumption could raise their production costs and put them at a disadvantage to rivals in a China that is becoming more efficient, but not limiting its carbon-fueled growth. --What the Guardian is reporting by contrast Poor nations threaten climate deal showdown at Copenhagen summit The Copenhagen climate talks hit trouble tonight as a number of African countries indicated their leaders would refuse to take part in the final summit unless significant progress was made in the next three days. The showdown between rich and poor countries came as ministers began arriving in Copenhagen to take over negotiations. High level Chinese and Indian representatives indicated they would be in Copenhagen, but they made clear they wanted key points agreed before they arrive. They also appear desperate to avoid a situation where western leaders jet in and steamroller the main points on the last day of the conference. --What the Financial Times is reporting on China China signals climate funds shift China signalled on Sunday that it had abandoned its demand for funding from the developed world to combat climate change, the first apparent concession by one of the major players at the Copenhagen climate talks. However, in the same interview with the Financial Times, the most senior Chinese negotiator accused rich countries of preparing to blame a failure at Copenhagen on Beijing. We don’t need developing countries to guarantee the outcome of their measures [to cut emissions], but we need the measures to be [verifiable],” one developed country official said. Mr He, in a sign of the tensions still surrounding the negotiations, insisted this could not be done. “This is a matter of principle,” he said, and China would not bend them --What the WS Journal is reporting on the US Obama Efforts Face Diplomatic Hurdles The president's immediate challenge is convincing 60 senators to support a proposal to require sharp cuts in U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, and institute a system that requires businesses to pay for the right to emit such gases. Most Republicans oppose the cap-and-trade bill, as do some members of Mr. Obama's own party. Sen. James Webb (D., Va.), whose state depends on coal for 45% of its electricity, says legislation backed by Mr. Obama to require companies to pay for their greenhouse-gas emissions would lead to a "huge bureaucracy." Mr. Webb drove home his concerns about the Copenhagen summit in a public letter warning Mr. Obama not to commit the U.S. to a nationwide emission-reduction program. "As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country," Mr. Webb wrote. --What else the Guardian is reporting Copenhagen summit: How major blocs have fared and what they want --What the NY Times is reporting U.S. Offers $85 Million to Promote Efficiency The secretary, Steven Chu, in Copenhagen for the climate negotiations, was also expected to announce that he was inviting his counterparts from around the world to the United States next year to a first-ever “clean energy” meeting at the level of minister or cabinet secretary. --What the Independent is reporting Sunspots do not cause climate change, say scientists COLUMNS/EDITORIALS HERE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2009 --What the W Post is reporting on the negotiations Tens of thousands protest at Copenhagen climate-change talks Several key factions, including the European Union and Japan, joined the United States in objecting to language in a draft U.N. proposal that requires developing countries to cut emissions only if those actions are funded from overseas. Citing the emerging economies' rising carbon output, the industrialized nations want them to commit to binding reductions as part of a political deal. China's chief climate negotiator, Su Wei, told reporters Saturday that his country was simply sticking to the Bali Action Plan that negotiators agreed to in 2007, calling it "quite clear." But Daniel M. Price, who as the White House's international economics adviser helped lead climate negotiations under President George W. Bush, said in an e-mail that rich nations "are well within the bounds of the Bali Action Plan in pressing for binding commitments from a small number of large emerging countries with very high greenhouse gas emissions. That this issue remained open for consideration was well understood at the time of Bali, immediately after, and then reinforced by all of the G-8 Leaders in their 2008 declaration in Hokkaido when they made clear their expectations that the mitigation actions of major developing countries would need 'to be bound' in a new international climate treaty." --What the Independent is reporting A proposal from Klimaforum09 – representing 70 organisations from 92 countries – calling for a "system change" to a carbon-free economy by 2040 will be presented to government delegations on Tuesday. It rejects "false solutions" such as nuclear energy and argues for the "safe, clean, renewable and sustainable use of natural resources". --We bring you a great moment in political oratory World protests urge green deal “They marched in Berlin, and the wall fell. They marched in Cape Town, and the wall fell,” South African cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu told a candlelit vigil of protesters. “They marched in Copenhagen – and we are going to get a real deal.” --What else Canwest is reporting on the negotiations After meeting with protesters, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said countries are likely to come out of Copenhagen with a set of decisions that launch immediate action on adaptation, preserving forests, industrialized emission targets and financial support for developing countries. For that, they should be proud, he said. “Given the state of play, and given the amount of remaining time, we cannot cast that all in a legal binding agreement here in Copenhagen,” de Boer said. “We do need to do that within the next six or 12 months in 2010 to really capitalize on what comes out of Copenhagen and turn it into strong legal text.” --What the Independent is reporting on what the Brits think a poll this weekend shows dwindling support for environmental issues. A survey by YouGov for the Labour-leaning Left Foot Forward website will make difficult reading for political leaders trying to take voters with them on climate change. Just 24 per cent believe global warming is an "urgent issue" needing "immediate and radical steps", compared with 38 per cent in a previous YouGov poll in November 2006. And 18 per cent agree that "there is not yet enough clear evidence of global warming and therefore there is no need currently to consider any major steps to change the way we live" – double the 9 per cent in the 2006 poll. --What the W Post is reporting on the demos and the negotiations Tens of thousands protest at Copenhagen climate-change talks the protest did not seem to draw the attention of key officials such as Wei. Asked whether he thought the demonstration was having a constructive impact on the international deliberations, he replied in English, "Actually, that is something that I was not aware of." --We bring you a great policing moment Hundreds of Protesters Arrested at Climate Talks “We saved the demonstration from being disturbed totally,” said Per Larsen, chief coordinator for the Danish police. “There were some hard-core protesters that we have neutralized.” --What CP is reporting on the demos in Canada Canadians sing carols, strip to their underwear at country-wide climate rallies - --What CP is reporting about the Alberta's oilsands: well-managed necessity or ecological disaster? – --What PM2 says about ‘em U.S. bears oilsands burden, ex-PM says The United States should shoulder some of the “burden” for Canadian greenhouse gas emissions as the chief recipient of energy from Alberta’s oilsands, former prime minister Paul Martin says. Martin, who describes himself as a lifelong environmentalist, said he is fully in favour of the continued extraction of oil from the oilsands of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, which is the economic lifeblood of the prairie provinces. But there should be a "rational pace" to the development and the resulting environmental burden should be shared by the U.S., where the bulk of Canada's energy is sent. --Also in the T Star, a great moment in Canadian politics Martin said he has been approached by reporters from other countries to speak about Canada's climate change stance, but he turned them down because of an unwritten agreement among politicians that you don't knock your national government in the foreign press when it's standing on the world stage. He seemed initially reluctant to do so when speaking to the Star, but he ultimately didn't hold back his criticism. Chief among his complaints is that the Harper government cancelled the environmental policies Martin's government had in place in 2005 under environment minister Stéphane Dion, who later succeeded Martin as leader. Yes, the Liberals had failed to live up to their international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, he said, but there was a momentum building when the Liberals were shunted to the opposition benches in January 2006. "Canada lost momentum, but the world didn't lose momentum," Martin said. Other leaders who have come to office are taking action on emissions. U.S. President Barack Obama is risking his popularity to get a bill passed in Congress and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hasn't ruled out going to an election early next year in his bid to pass strong climate laws. --Today’s idiocy --What the NY Times is reporting on the very same Prez What’s Rotten for Obama in Denmark Without Senate action — and, down the road, Senate concurrence in any climate treaty he negotiates — Mr. Obama’s promises are merely that, almost certainly not enough to persuade other nations to commit to greenhouse gas reductions. when Mr. Obama and other world leaders met last month, they were forced to abandon the goal of reaching a binding accord at Copenhagen because the American political system is not ready to agree to a treaty that would force the United States, over time, to accept profound changes in its energy, transport and manufacturing sectors. So the leaders said they planned to leave Copenhagen with an interim political deal and work toward a binding treaty next year. Delay, it turns out, was the only option. --Who’s not coming to Denmark Health Care to Keep Democrats From Copenhagen Conference Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told colleagues on Saturday that Democrats could not send a delegation to the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen. “It doesn’t look like we’re going -– not as a delegation,” Mr. Kerry told colleagues as a he left the Senate chamber after a vote on a package of spending measures. “Harry needs the people here on health care.” --What the AP is reporting on climate-gate Science not faked, but not pretty --What the Independent is reporting that you can look forward to this week Tens of thousands stage world's largest climate march in Copenhagen - Climate health experts will warn this week of the potentially dire consequences of failure. The lives of hundreds of millions worldwide are being put at risk by climate change, with impacts escalating into the foreseeable future, warns a new report by the World Health Organisation being presented to delegates at the climate talks on Thursday. COLUMNS/EDITORIALS Canada should be comfortable with Copenhagen pact (MACDONALD) Canada is no climate villain | Lorrie Goldstein Is a deal in Copenhagen crucial to Canadians? ( Anderson)Australian politics are not for the faint-hearted (WEBSTER) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 --What the Globe is reporting from Copenhagen Canada fiercely opposes proposal to extend Kyoto Canada's Copenhagen nightmare may be coming true. A draft proposal published at the climate-change summit Friday for the countries in the Kyoto Protocol, the only international greenhouse-gas reduction treaty, calls for five years to be added to Kyoto, taking it to 2017. Canada fiercely resists any extension of the treaty. --What the Star is reporting Under the proposed text of a future Copenhagen climate change deal, compiled Friday with the intent of pushing progress on the talks, Canada and other countries that signed the Kyoto accord in 1997 would need to accept tougher emissions cuts than the United States, which didn't implement Kyoto. Ottawa has long insisted such obligations would devastate the Canadian economy. --What Canwest is reporting Canadian negotiator uneasy with climate pact proposals Japan threatened on Friday to drop a pledge to cut greenhouse emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 if the Kyoto Protocol is extended without setting emission reduction goals for the United States and China. --What else Canwest is reporting The two new Fossils were handed to Canada a day after Prentice said he was fed up with the antics of the Climate Action Network. --What the Gaz is reporting The rift is wider than ever (Gazette) the weak LCA text won the support of China, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. --What else the Globe is reporting A second draft proposal published Friday calls for the wealthiest countries to make far steeper emissions cuts than they have already pledged. The plan proposes that those countries, including Canada, the United States, Britain and Japan, jointly reduce greenhouse gases by at least 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020. Current proposed reductions range from 10 per cent to 17 per cent, with deeper reductions by 2050. --What the WS Journal is reporting U.N. Sets High Bar On Emissions Cuts The U.S., however, has proposed pegging greenhouse-gas reductions to 2005, which would make it easier for the U.S. to achieve its proposed target of cutting 2020 emissions by 17% from 2005 levels. --What the Times of London is reporting Copenhagen climate change summit in deadlock over rival texts The US refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol has forced negotiators to work on two separate texts and there is now little chance of the twin-track process producing a single document. Mr Miliband said that he wanted the summit to set a six-month deadline for agreeing a single, legally binding treaty. Some negotiators, however, are privately expressing doubt that this will even be possible by the next climate change summit in Mexico in a year’s time. --What else the Globe is reporting Separately, France and Britain have floated the idea of a small tax on international financial transactions, called a “Tobin tax,” named after the American economist who proposed the idea in the 1970s. --What the Guardian is reporting Brown and Sarkozy move to fund climate aid with global banking tax --What the Gaz is reporting Yesterday's announcement that the European Union will contribute 7.2 billion euros over the next three years to a climate change fund did little to satisfy demands from poorer countries that contend industrial nations owe reparations for climate change damage. --What else the WS Journal is reporting U.N. Sets High Bar On Emissions Cuts Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said Friday that he was "shocked" by remarks earlier this week by Todd Stern, the chief U.S. climate negotiator, that China -- with $2 trillion in currency reserves -- shouldn't expect climate subsidies from the U.S. Mr. Stern "lacks common sense when he makes such a comment," Mr. He said during a news conference on Friday. He said industrialized countries have a responsibility to provide financing and technology to limit the effects of global warming and an increase in greenhouse-gas emissions in developing nations. --What Mr. Stern said one hour later, according to the Washington Post U.S. special climate envoy Todd Stern rejected language requiring binding cuts of greenhouse-gas emissions for industrialized countries compared with voluntary ones by major emerging economies if they were not funded by the developed world. The move signaled that the Obama administration is taking a harder line with China than Bush administration officials did just two years ago. "The United States is not going to do a deal without the major developing countries stepping up and taking action," said Stern, who also complained that the text did not do enough to make sure the cuts could be verified by outside observers. --What the NY Times adds Europe Pledges Billions in Climate Aid for Poor Nations Still, he struck a note of optimism. He said that after months of one-on-one discussions with counterparts from China, he was confident that there was “language we could both agree to, if we can get to the serious stage.” --What the W Post environment reporter observes U.N. group drafts greenhouse-gas plan The current battle is as much about saving individual economies as saving the planet, with China and the United States feuding over their respective obligations while poorer nations insist that the world's two dozen most influential countries are ignoring the scientific imperative to take bolder action. --What the NY Times says editorially speaking Editorial - This Week in Copenhagen there is no chance of even an interim agreement without the enthusiastic participation of China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China’s absence would give other developing countries — and the United States Senate — an excuse to do less than needed. --What else the NY Times is reporting on China China Indicts Liu Xiaobo, an Author of Charter 08 --What the Star is reporting on Jack's trip to Denmark Layton blown away by Copenhagen --Why Jack is heading to Copenhagen in La Presse Harper will have to fight with Layton “I want to ensure that everyone understands that the position of the Harper government is not the position of the majority of Canadians, nor the position of the majority of MPs,” he told La Presse in an interview. --What else the Globe is reporting from Copenhagen Premiers get chance to be good guys compared to federal government Mr. Miller, the Toronto mayor, yesterday accepted – on behalf of Canada – the fifth consecutive “Fossil of the Day” award, presented by a coalition of environmental groups. “It's extremely embarrassing that Canada repeatedly wins,” Mr. Miller said. --What the Star is reporting Denmark cycles into future, while Toronto `lags behind' Toronto cyclists are casting an envious eye on the host city of the international climate change summit. In Copenhagen, 36 per cent of commuters travel on bikes, half of all trips are made on two wheels and 70 per cent of cyclists pedal through a winter similar to ours. "As places like Copenhagen move forward, Toronto continues to lag behind," said cycling activist Albert Koehl. While Mayor David Miller is touting Toronto's green city status in Denmark, Koehl has a list of grievances that Toronto's cycling community would like addressed, starting with the slow progress on building bike lanes on Bloor-Danforth. --What the Post is reporting on the very same mayor Toronto mayor: 'i'm embarrassed for Canada' "Like most Canadians, I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed that our government continues to be one of the biggest obstacles to reaching agreement," Mr. Miller said moments before accepting two new "Fossil of the Day" awards on behalf of Canada. "I chose to come here to tell people that Canadians are acting despite the fact that Canada isn't. They're acting through their cities. The mayor of Copenhagen and I have convened a summit of mayors here next week. We have over 100 mayors. Cities are doing incredible things. Calgary's rapid transit is all powered by wind, and Canadians themselves, are acting in their own lives as well, and so are many provinces." --What else Canwest is reporting Canadian oil companies say they're getting rotten deal from delegates --What the Star is reporting Portrait of a local climate skeptic COLUMNS/EDITORIALS Albertans on a high horse (Aubin) The myth of global warming (Warren) We can afford a carbon cut, we just need the will (Gorrie) Peter Foster: The Goracle speaks on Climategate Real scientists should care more about fraud (Corbella) Richard Muller: Naked Copenhagen A media gone carbon-cuckoo (Fulford) FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2009 --What the WS Journal is reporting Soros Proposes Way to Fund CO2 Cuts Financier George Soros proposed that rich nations tap into special currency reserves issued by the International Monetary Fund to finance developing nations' efforts to combat climate change. Developing countries expressed support for the idea, while European Union negotiators responded with skepticism. The IMF declined to comment. --What the Globe is reporting on the very same proposal Success in Copenhagen hinges on Obama's ability to settle debts Washington has said nothing about a long-term contribution to the costs of adapting to climate change in the developing world, and President Barack Obama, who joins the summit late next week, is unlikely to formally commit to a financing package that delivers a fortune to China, whose carbon-dioxide emissions now exceed those of the U.S. The proposal will probably go nowhere because, as Mr. Soros noted, Congress would have to approve it and Congress is focused on its own climate-change legislation, not finding work for the International Monetary Fund. That, Mr. Meyer said, leaves the success of the financing package, and the Copenhagen summit itself, up to Mr. Obama. “He has to say, ‘I'll pay you later,' and get the other rich countries to believe him,” he said. --What the Star is reporting --What Gilles Duceppe says in La Presse Battle brewing over future of Kyoto National unity for who? We have to pay for them so they won’t be hurt? And those who made an effort to limit carbon won’t benefit? In other words, they’re saying that Québec will have to swallow it so that Albertans won’t be hurt. OK, if that’s what it’s about, they can keep their national unity. It’s one more reason for Québec to become sovereign. --The Star serves up today’s idiocy --What the Guardian is reporting Vulnerable nations at Copenhagen summit reject 2C target More than half the world's countries say they are determined not to sign up to any deal that allows temperatures to rise by more than 1.5C - as opposed to 2C, which the major economies would prefer. But any agreement to reach that target would require massive and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions combined with removal of CO2 in the atmosphere. An extra 0.5C drop in temperatures would require vastly deeper cuts in carbon dioxide and up to $10.5 trillion (£6.5tr) extra in energy-related investment by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. --What the LA Times is reporting Enforcing reduction pledges an obstacle at climate talks --What Le Devoir is reporting Trois Canadiens sur quatre veulent qu'Ottawa soit plus ambitieux --What else Le Devoir is reporting For the first time since the conference began, Canada did not receive a fossil award…. The first went to Poland, which is opposed to the EU adopting more stringent reductions; the second to Germany, which wants to include its foreign aid in adaptation funding to developing countries; and the third to New Zealand for insufficient reduction targets. --Today’s dishonesty --What Canwest is reporting Canada gets faint praise at climate conference Canada lags on green tech sales --What the WS Journal is reporting Senators Unveil New Climate Bill Draft A trio of senators seeking to break a congressional deadlock on climate legislation unveiled a proposal Thursday that combines caps on greenhouse-gas levels with new offshore oil-and-gas exploration and nuclear power plant incentives. The outline offered by Sens. John Kerry (D., Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) won praise from President Barack Obama who called it a "positive development." But it's unclear whether the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman proposal will win over Democrats from heartland states and Republicans opposed to adopting caps on U.S. carbon emissions. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has put off consideration of a climate bill until spring and is focusing attention on health care and jobs. Asked if there were any other Republican senators close to joining the three-senator group, Sen. Graham laughed and said, "No." --What the W Post is reporting 3 senators propose cutting greenhouse gas emissions about 17% by 2020 The trio of senators who are trying to write a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions released a "framework" Thursday that they had agreed to. It showed they had not agreed to very much.
COLUMNS/EDITORIALS With willing provinces - Globe and Mail Jack Mintz: Our costly climate plan Kim Strassel: The EPA's Carbon Bomb Fizzles Whose war on science? (Gerson) Charles Krauthammer on the new socialism Michael McCarthy: Kyoto clash threatens to be a deal breaker Fools, rogues and Copenhagen (Robson) Yes, we can cut emissions (BAGNALL) Never trust a PR firm (Selley) Prentice 'hot air' awards justified (Ivison) Climategate's not evil. It's just unhinged (Salutin) THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009 --What Canwest is reporting from Copenhagen "Canada has been negotiating very constructively in this process," de Boer said yesterday. "Canada has a tough period behind it in terms that Canada did rise and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, but its main trading partner the United States, did not, which left it in a very unbalanced situation." But de Boer added he hopes the global talks result in a "strong and ambitious Canadian target." --What the Globe is reporting National unity at stake in climate strategy, think tank says --What else Canwest is reporting just a few hours after de Boer made his remarks, environmental groups in Copenhagen released a new pamphlet-like report saying "the Canadian government has emerged as an obstacle to international climate negotiations, ignoring science, challenging arguments around equity, and advocating for an end to the Kyoto Protocol." The report, Tarnishing the Maple Leaf, was released with dozens of young delegates rallying in a public area of Copenhagen's Bella Centre. The reason for this behaviour is clear, says the report from the Tar Sands Group and Climate Action Network Canada -- "a massive deposit of thick hydrocarbons in northern Alberta that is now the site of an oil company frenzy." Clare Demerse of the Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank, didn't read much into de Boer's comments. "Mr. de Boer is a professional diplomat," she said. He wouldn't "casually critique a country" in public. --Who’s coming to Copenhagen Canada sending new ambassador to the U.S. to climate talks: sources --Who else is going Prentice to bring 'top-drawer' team --What the Globe is reporting on a sell-out (fooled you, eh?) VW deal with Suzuki takes aim at India (Globe) --What the Preem of BC says in the Canwest report In B.C., Campbell said it's important for provincial leaders to be at the Copenhagen conference. "We can give national leaders a sense of confidence that this (commitments on reducing climate change) can be accomplished and that they've got willing partners who are trying to accomplish these things," he said this week. "One of the lessons from Kyoto is you don't get very far in Canada if you don't include the provinces." --What the Globe is reporting on the US U.S. outlines dual path to cutting greenhouse gas --What the WS Journal is reporting that the Globe/Star aren't Envoy Says U.S. Won't Pay China to Cut Emissions The Obama administration's chief negotiator at the United Nations climate summit said the U.S. doesn't plan to give money to China to subsidize its efforts to curb greenhouse emissions, and said developing nations can't get "a pass" from demands to burn less fossil fuels. Michael Levi, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in climate diplomacy, said Mr. Stern's remarks put China in an awkward position. "If they want to demand part of the $10 billion, they'll be doing that at the expense of the poorest countries. That's not a position that anyone who wants to call themselves a champion of the poor wants to be in," he said. In effect, China and the other nations embracing this approach are promising to make their economies more energy efficient -- but not to cut overall emissions. The EU and the Obama administration are proposing cuts in their overall emissions, although each has offered a different formula. --What the W Post is reporting In Copenhagen, U.S. pushes for emissions cuts from China, developing nations "Emissions are emissions. You've just got to do the math," Stern told reporters, citing estimates that 97 percent of future emissions growth will come from the developing world. "If you care about the science, and we do, there is no way to solve this problem by giving the major developing countries a pass." Responding to Stern, China's climate change ambassador, Yu Qingtai, suggested that the United States needed to reexamine its negotiating stance. "What they should do is some deep soul-searching," Yu told reporters. --What the NY Times is reporting U.S. Negotiator Dismisses Reparations for Climate “I actually completely reject the notion of a debt or reparations or anything of the like,” he said. “For most of the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution, people were blissfully ignorant of the fact that emissions caused a greenhouse effect. It’s a relatively recent phenomenon.” --What else the NY Times is reporting “China has $2 trillion in reserves,” said Mr. Stern, whose arrival in Copenhagen on Wednesday suggested that the talks, which run through Dec. 18, were moving into a more significant phase. “We don’t think China would be the first candidate for public funding.” --What the W Post is reporting on the negotiations The small Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, threatened by rising sea levels, tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to get delegates to consider a legally binding new protocol that would have included a more ambitious climate target and mandatory greenhouse gas cuts for both industrialized and major emerging economies. "This is a moral issue," said Tuvalu's delegate, Ian Fry. While China and India joined Saudi Arabia in blocking the motion, the dispute sparked an impromptu protest just outside the main session by roughly 100 environmental activists, who chanted "Tuvalu!" and "Legal Treaty Now!" U.N. police closed the plenary area in response. --What the Times is reporting Don’t speak too soon Having boasted about attracting 110 world leaders to the closing stages of the summit, the UN is now panicking about the time it would take for each to make a speech. “We have asked them to speak for only ten minutes each but that would still take two whole days,” one official said. The UN is now contemplating asking smaller countries to forgo their moment of glory. After all, do we really need to hear what Liechtenstein or Luxembourg think about global warming? --What the Independent is reporting on the science 'Only 50/50' chance that 2C climate target will be met - Climate Change, --What the Times is reporting Top scientists rally to the defence of the Met Office --What the NY Times is reporting Climate Change Skeptics Make Their Own Forum in Copenhagen John Vidal, environment editor for The Guardian in London, demanded that a panel’s members explain why a variety of villages in India and Bangladesh were slowly being swallowed by the sea if, as the Swedish physicist and geologist Nils-Axel Morner had contended the day before, sea levels were not rising. Mr. Morner, who has spent much time measuring sea levels in South Asia, said his most recent data pointed to plenty of erosion, but “zero rise in sea level.” Then, as debates over global warming often do, the discussion dissolved into incomprehensible shouting. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009 --We begin with a great Ontario moment After chiding Ottawa, Ontario's own emission deficiencies thrust into spotlight --Speaking of great moments… Alberta faces 'tough crowd' in attempt at image makeover --What the Citizen is reporting Cities say they can cut emissions cheaply --What the Globe is reporting Climate talks thrown off course by leak The Kyoto Protocol, beloved by the developing world, is mentioned only in passing, suggesting it's headed for a premature burial. Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the draft document “highlights the divergence in terms of issues and the perspectives between the developing world on one hand and the developed economies on the other. This is the essence of what is going on in Copenhagen.” China won't like the Danish document because it calls for international verification of greenhouse-gas emissions. The document makes only vague statements about carbon markets and does not set a date to transform Copenhagen's expected political agreement into a legally binding document, though plans are being made to do so at a follow-up summit in Mexico City in about a year. --What the LA Times is reporting Draft climate proposal leaks out in Copenhagen The draft text provides a basic framework for what climate negotiators call a “political agreement” – a sort of nuts-and-bolts declaration of actions to reduce the heat-trapping gas emissions that scientists blame for global warming. It's one of several proposals rumored to be on the table, including one from China. --What the Financial Times is reporting ‘Draft text’ triggers Copenhagen furore Some emerging economies, including China and India, want any agreement at Copenhagen to take the legal form of a continuation of the Kyoto protocol, because under that agreement they carry no legal obligation to curb their emissions. However, the US will not agree to join the Kyoto protocol, insisting any new agreement should take a new legal form, although it could contain some aspects of the Kyoto accord. --What the Guardian is reporting Copenhagen climate summit in disarray after 'Danish text' leak The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" – but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark – has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week. "It proposes a green fund to be run by a board but the big risk is that it will run by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility [a partnership of 10 agencies including the World Bank and the UN Environment Programme] and not the UN. That would be a step backwards, and it tries to put constraints on developing countries when none were negotiated in earlier UN climate talks." --What the Telegraph is reporting Lumumba Stanislaus DiAping, the Sudanese chief negotiator for the G77, a group of developing nations including China, said the proposals would lead to the disappearance of island states and “certain death” for Africa. He added that rich nations like the US and Britain needed to make much bigger cuts in carbon dioxide. On the second day of negotiations, Mr Di-Aping said President Barack Obama was condemning “the cousins and extended family of his own daughters to be destroyed to preserve the interests of the few”. --What Lumumba Stanislaus DiAping says in the Globe “Your Prime Minister has chosen to protect the rich countries,” he told the Danish press. “You have to listen to all the countries – that is what democracy is all about.” --What the NY Times is reporting on the same gent No Slowdown of Global Warming, Agency Says “We have to ask him, when he provided trillions of dollars to save Wall Street, are the children of the world not deserving help to save their lives?” he said. --What the WS Journal is reporting Developing Nations Call for Rich to Aid Emissions Cuts --What else the Guardian is reporting Yvo de Boer said: "This was an informal paper ahead of the conference given to a number of people for the purposes of consultations. The only formal texts in the UN process are the ones tabled by the chairs of this Copenhagen conference at the behest of the parties [involved]." The text is now likely to be withdrawn because of its reception by China, India and many other developing countries. It suggests that rich countries are desperate for world leaders to have a text to work from when they arrive next week. --What the Times is reporting Developing nations would be allowed to break carbon targets under UK deal China, India and other developing countries will be allowed to exceed their carbon reduction targets without facing any sanctions under a proposed compromise being brokered by Britain at the Copenhagen climate summit. Rich countries will be required to sign up to targets for cutting emissions below current levels and face penalties if they fail to meet them. But developing countries will only have to publish action plans. The US is considering the compromise, but is concerned that China, already the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will be able to ignore its targets in order to accelerate its economic growth. --What the W Post is reporting Despite record drought, Australian farmers refuse to buy into climate change --What the NY Times is reporting Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag --What the WS Journal is reporting Big Utility Turns Bullish on Carbon Capture The head of American Electric Power Co., the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the U.S., said advances in technology would allow the company to eliminate the emissions from its coal-fired power plants by 2025. Mike Morris, chief executive of Ohio-based AEP, said his company's early experience with a carbon capture and storage project at its Mountaineer power plant in West Virginia had exceeded expectations. As a result, he believes AEP will be able to retire 25% of its coal-burning power plants and install advanced carbon-capture equipment on the remaining 75%. Mr. Morris says it now looks like it will be possible to cover all the costs of carbon capture and storage by roughly doubling the cost of electricity from plants like Mountaineer, to 8 cents a kilowatt hour from 4 cents, before subtracting for subsidies that may be available. He believes that still will be cheaper than electricity from the next generation of nuclear plants. As such, it could be more affordable to keep retrofitted coal-fired plants operating than to replace them. |
Copyright © 2007 Norman Spector Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Materials may be used with proper attribution.
