News Roundup
‘CANCUN, Mexico – A U.N. conference on Saturday adopted a modest climate deal creating a fund to help the developing world go green, though it deferred for another year the tough work of carving out deeper reductions in carbon emissions causing Earth to steadily warm.’
via UN climate meeting OKs Green Fund in new accord – Yahoo! News.
‘As part of a groundbreaking plan to reduce pollution from power plants, Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission has decided to replace all coal-fired power plants in the Denver area. It’s the first time a state has moved to shutter coal-burning plants to battle air pollution.’
‘(Reuters) – Talks on a 190-nation deal to slow global warming were on a “knife edge” on Thursday as Brazil and Japan expressed guarded hopes of ending a dispute between rich and poor about curbing greenhouse gas emissions.’
via U.N. talks on knife edge, Brazil, Japan see hope | Reuters.
‘As negotiators arrive in Cancun for the next round of global climate talks, speculation once again hovers around China’s positions. China is a tough negotiator, and we can once again see it expressing concern about its core issues, including developed country mitigation commitments, technology transfer and the adequacy of financing.’
via Report from Cancun: China’s Climate Progress Since Copenhagen | ChinaFAQs.
‘Chinese government statistics are not the only source of information on China’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Using instruments that measure carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and monitor other air pollution trends, atmospheric scientists are able to get a second, independent view of China’s efforts to improve energy efficiency, particularly in heavily industrialized parts of the country. And, so far, the data suggest that those moves are making a difference.’
via Atmospheric Changes Reveal China’s Energy Trends | ChinaFAQs.
‘CANCUN, Mexico, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Committed to curbing global warming, China will not follow the old energy-intensive economic development model of developed nations, a Chinese energy expert said.’
via China won’t follow energy-intensive development model, expert says.
‘Members of the Alliance of Small Island States, already suffering the ill effects of global warming, are furious that the large nations that are the big emitters of greenhouse gases aren’t doing more to ensure their survival.’
via At climate summit, they’re feeling like deserted islands – latimes.com.
‘Japan and Bolivia agreed to study plans to jointly develop the world’s largest deposit of lithium at the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in the South American nation.’
via Japan, Bolivia to Study Commercial Lithium Development at Salar de Uyuni – Bloomberg.
‘(Reuters) – Climate negotiators at U.N. talks in Mexico on Tuesday struggled over proposals that would abolish a two-decade divide between rich and poor on scrutiny of greenhouse gas emissions.’
via U.N. climate talks seek to define rich, poor duties | Reuters.
‘Today saw the official opening in Cancún, Mexico, of talks over a new treaty aimed, theoretically, at avoiding dangerous human interference with the climate system. But Chinese coal and American politics pretty much guarantee that negotiators, despite a relaxed dress code this year, will only nibble at the edges of the climate challenge.’