News Roundup
‘SINGAPORE Reuters – While nations bicker over the size of emissions cuts and climate funds, saving forests has turned out to be among the least contentious issues in U.N. climate talks and has achieved the most progress.’
via Forest carbon scheme hopes for green light in Copenhagen | Green Business | Reuters.
‘On November 26, 2009, China announced it would adopt a domestically-binding goal of cutting carbon intensity–the amount of carbon dioxide it emits per unit of GDP–by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. It also reiterated previous goals of increasing its share of primary energy produced from renewable fuels and nuclear energy to 15 percent by 2020, and of increasing forest volume by 1.3 billion cubic meters over that period while increasing forest cover by 40 million hectares.’
via Assessing China’s Carbon-Cutting Proposal – Council on Foreign Relations.
‘TELUK MERANTI, Indonesia — From the air, the Kampar Peninsula in Indonesia stretches for mile after mile in dense scrub and trees. One of the world’s largest peat swamp forests, it is also one of its biggest vaults of carbon dioxide, a source of potentially lucrative currency as world governments struggle to hammer out a global climate treaty. The vault, though, is leaking.’
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) — The State Council announced Thursday that China is going to reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent compared with the level of 2005.’
via China announces targets on carbon emission cuts_English_Xinhua.
‘Government officials and commentators welcomed Mr. Obama’s presence as an important signal that the United States was finally becoming serious about tackling climate change. But many of them expressed disappointment that the president would only spend one day day at the conference.’
‘BEIJING (Reuters) – China unveiled its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday, a carbon intensity goal that Premier Wen Jiabao will take to a summit in Copenhagen next month hoping to aid a global climate deal.’
‘President Barack Obama is to pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the US in several stages, beginning with a 17% cut by 2020, the White House has said.’
Via BBC News
‘NEW DELHI: Smaller Himalayan glaciers are proving much more vulnerable to climate change than the area’s larger glaciers, says a new report contradicting the recent environment ministry backed study which claimed that glacier melting can’t be linked to global warming.’
‘Washington: With a UN-sponsored climate conference in Copenhagen just weeks away, the White House is acknowledging that getting binding agreement for cutting greenhouse gases at the Summit is very unlikely.’
‘In September, the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, anointed television weather presenters as climate emissaries, highlighting the role they could play in communicating evidence and information about global warming directly to viewers.’
via Green Inc. Column – New Voices on Climate Change – NYTimes.com.