Today's Climate: April 13, 2009

India Rejects Calls For Emissions Cuts (Washington Post)

In India, the debate has been cast as a choice between pursuing urgently needed economic growth to reduce poverty and addressing climate change, and it goes to the heart of the vexing international debate.

Clean Energy Investments Drop by Half (Financial Times)

Global investment in clean energy companies in the first quarter fell by more than a half from the same period last year, according to analysts New Energy Finance. The fall reflects how many deals are taking longer than usual to complete.

Agriculture Missing from Climate Talks (EurActiv)

To meet climate-change goals, international talks must include agriculture, argues the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Oil Falls Below $52 on IEA Forecast (AP)

Oil prices fell below $52 a barrel Monday in Asia after the International Energy Agency said it expects global crude demand to drop this year amid the worst worldwide recession in decades.

GE, Vestas Lead US Wind Turbine Sales (Bloomberg)

General Electric and Vestas, the world’s largest suppliers of wind turbines, sold a record 4,648 megawatts in the U.S. last year, taking 56 percent of the total market, an industry group said.

Mortgage Incentives for Energy-Efficient Homes? (Los Angeles Times)

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says mortgages should come with lower rates or better terms to encourage purchases and retrofits that save energy.

Friedman: No Drill, Baby, Drill for Costa Rica (New York Times)

When Costa Rica put one minister in charge of both its energy and its environment, “it created a very different way of thinking about how to solve problems.”

Don’t Expect Much from Copenhagen (Forbes)

Without American leadership, the new treaty will also be weakened from the start. At least one majority senator deeply involved in energy issues believes it will take more than a year to get a U.S. plan in place.

Cliffs Slashes Coal Output (AP)

Mining company Cliffs Natural Resources said it will further cut production of metallurgical coal and layoff an additional 355 workers at its mines as the global economic downturn continues to batter the steel industry and drive down demand.

Consumption Dwarfs Population As Main Threat (Yale Environment 360)

Over-consumption, not population growth, is the fundamental problem: By almost any measure, a small portion of the world’s people – those in the affluent, developed world – use up most of the Earth’s resources and produce most of its greenhouse gas emissions.

Stern’s Blueprint for the Future (Times of London)

Economist Lord Nicholas Sterns’ new book provides a blueprint for a low-carbon world that will be cleaner, safer, quieter, more biodiverse and more equitable than the smoking ruin we now inhabit.