Doha Climate Summit Ends With No New CO2 Cuts or Funding – December 10, 2012

The Doha Climate Gateway creates a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions by industrialized nations but does not set new targets

DOHA, Qatar — The United Nations climate talks in Doha went a full extra 24 hours and ended without increased cuts in fossil fuel emissions and without financial commitments between 2013 and 2015.

“This an incredibly weak deal,” said Samantha Smith representing the Climate Action Network, a coalition of more than 700 civil society organizations.

Photo by Thuy Binh/IPSAs sea erosion worsens, coastal residents in Nhon Hai commune in Vietnam's Binh Dinh province
use rocks and sandbags to protect their homes.

“Governments came here with no mandate for action,” Smith said in a press scrum moments after the meeting known as COP 18 ended and… more

by: Stephen Leahy

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Fossil Fuel Lobby in the Driver’s Seat at Doha – November 30, 2012

New report shows global warming can be kept well under two degrees C as long as fossil fuels remain underground

Doha, Qatar — A new scientific report shows that global warming can be kept well under two degrees C, but only if most of the known deposits of coal, oil and gas remain in the ground.

Photo: public domainSolar, wind and other forms of renewable energy received only 88 billion dollars
in subsidies, one-sixth of the amount given to the highly profitable fossil fuels
sector.

The problem is no country is doing anywhere near enough to keep fossil fuels in the ground, according to the Climate Action Tracker released Friday on the sidelines of the U.N. climate change negotiations here in Doha, Qatar.

… more

by: Stephen Leahy

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Blame Canada – May 30, 2012

The Country Has Become a Petro-State, Happily Drilling for Profits as the World Warms

What has happened to Canada? To the dismay of many Canadians, a country with an international reputation for its relatively progressive environmental policies (at least compared to the United States) is rushing headlong to dig up all the oil, gas, and coal it can. The country’s leaders can scarcely muster the effort to pretend to want to limit greenhouse gas emissions. And the Canadian media has largely  gone along with the program. Put it all together, and you have a country that has become a full-blown petro state.

Photo courtesy Adopt a NegotiatorCanada beat out tough contenders like Saudi Arabia and the US to be… more

by: Stephen Leahy

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