UN Climate Chief: Climate Deal May Take Another Year (Bloomberg)
The deadline for a new global-warming accord may slip by as much as one year, as negotiators hold back on pledges to slash emissions or pay financial aid to poor nations, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer says.
APEC to Call for Emissions Cuts — 50% by 2050 (AFP)
Asia-Pacific powers in APEC, including the United States, China and Russia, are expected to call next week for cuts in emissions of 50% below 1990 levels by 2050, according to a draft communique.
China Studying Weaker Framework Deal (Reuters)
China is weighing the prospect of reaching only a framework agreement at U.N. climate talks this December, but it would want guarantees that principles laid out in previous deals would be retained, a top diplomat said today.
Study Suggests Peat CO2 Credits More Valuable (Reuters)
While most scientists agree preserving peat is key to slowing global warming, a team of 11 of the world’s best peat scientists have found it might be more important than first thought.
Canada Investing in Renewables for High-voltage Export (Dow Jones)
Canadian utilities are rapidly investing in renewable power, despite slumping demand for electricity in their country. The goal: to capture a share of the growing market for export of green electricity to the United States.
Countries, Not COP15, Are Drivers for Cleantech, Report Finds (CNet)
Green-technology companies will keep an eye on next month’s global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, but they aren’t betting their businesses on the outcome.
Total, MIT Announce Solar Battery Project (Business Green)
French oil company Total signed a $4 million, five-year research deal with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop stationary batteries capable of storing solar power.
Australia Assails Fossil Fuel-Driven Copenhagen Critics (Reuters)
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched a spirited attack on climate skeptics today, saying a vocal minority is powerful enough to threaten a global deal at next month’s Copenhagen climate summit. “They are driven by vested interests," he said.
Northeast States Urge Stiffer Anti-Pollution Laws (Baltimore Sun)
Twelve Northeastern states urged the EPA to adopt more rigorous national policies so they can meet federal air pollution reduction requirements for the region. They say much of their air pollution floats in from other states.
Lula Calls on Leaders to Attend Climate Talks (Financial Times)
Brazil’s president has challenged other world leaders to attend next month’s climate talks in Copenhagen to break the deadlock in negotiations to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
EU Green Revolution ‘Must Include Low Earners’ (EurActiv)
The drive to ‘green’ the EU economy will only succeed if it provides real solutions for low income households and works towards a "renewed sense of shared prosperity," the head of the European Economic and Social Committee says.
A Bad Week for French Nuclear (Financial Times)
As if it wasn’t enough that three countries – including France – had raised concerns about safety in the new EPR nuclear reactor design, concerns are building over delays to another big European reactor.
Why India Is Playing Hard to Get on Climate Change (Time)
India has come to be seen less as an impoverished nation than an economic competitor, which aims to use climate-change negotiations as another way to catch up, and perhaps surpass, the West. It’s worth asking whether that image is rooted in reality.
Who Says Saving the Planet Has to Cost a Fortune? (Spiegel)
One of the nagging issues in the run-up to Copenhagen is demand that the US and Europe share emissions-free technologies. Activist David E. Martin claims many of those patents are already in the public domain.
Newsweek Partners with Oil Lobby to Raise Ad Cash (Climate Progress)
Newsweek was not getting duped by Big Oil when it wrote a pro-oil story earlier this year — it was getting cash from the American Petroleum Institute in return for ad packages and the right to co-host forums on energy issues with journalists and members of Congress.
