IPCC Fifth Assessment to Focus on Poor Nations (Guardian)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body of scientists drawn from around the world, will use its next assessment due in 2014 to look at how the impact of global warming is falling unequally on the poorest developing countries.
Locke Rephrases: China Must ‘Pay’ to Cut GHGs (Reuters)
China and other developing nations must help "pay" for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, backing off a recent statement that put a greater burden on the United States.
Lobbies Adopt Tone of Accord With Obama (New York Times)
Industry has calculated that it stands a better chance of achieving its ends by negotiating with the White House than by fighting it. The way that collaboration turned to industry concessions in the climate bill should serve as a cautionary tale.
Governors Call for Carbon-Neutral Buildings by 2030 (Greenwire)
The National Association of Governors announces its support for the American Institute of Architects’ goal of zeroing out new and renovated buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
California Turns to Off-Shore Oil to Solve Budget Woes (Chronicle)
Sacramento is so desperate to erase the state budget’s $26.3 billion shortfall that Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Democratic Legislature are poised to end decades of prohibition on off-shore oil drilling so that they can tap new revenue.
Coal Giant in Hostile Bid for Top Clean Power Developer (Toronto Star)
Canada’s biggest generator of dirty power has launched a $1.5 billion hostile bid for the country’s leading developer of clean power, including Ontario’s largest wind farms.
CCS: Competitive Someday, Just Not Today (Wall Street Journal)
Harvard just released an analysis of the costs of carbon capture and storage for coal-fired plants. The findings: CCS could become an economically viable alternative source of energy down the road, but it’s a long road—and the short term isn’t pretty.
Activists Reveal Plan to Storm Copenhagen Summit (Guardian)
Climate Justice Action says it’s planning to mobilize up to 15,000 protesters to storm the climate summit in Copenhagen. Other groups say interrupting the meeting is not the best way to make the point.
Pachauri Faults G-8 For Goal Without Action (AP)
The chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the Group of Eight nations "clearly ignored" taking any concrete action to accomplish its new goal of limiting climate change
One Giant Leap for a Green Britain (Guardian)
“When we all depend on each other’s actions, the world can’t afford climate free-riders,” writes British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Milliband.
China Launches 50 Percent Subsidy for Solar (Reuters)
China has launched an unprecedented plan to offer hefty subsidies to independent solar power projects, a move likely to boost the country’s solar sector.
Weaknesses in China’s Wind Power Surge (Forbes)
Seeking to rein in its emissions of greenhouse gases, China is on an ambitious spending spree in wind power, but can it connect its wind farms economically to the power grid?
Study: Plains States Can Send Wind Power All Over (Des Moines Register)
Great Plains states from Texas to the Dakotas have the potential to supply up to 16 times the normal electricity consumption in the United States, a Harvard study shows.
DOD Strives to Trim Energy Demand (ClimateWire)
The Pentagon buys over 100 million barrels of oil and well over 3 billion kilowatts of electricity a year, so making strides toward greater efficiency will require changing the culture of an institution accustomed to having everything it needs to get its job done.
Jet Turbine Could Power Hybrid Electric Car (Reuters)
With a brief, muffled hiss of a jet engine, the test vehicle that an Israeli start-up hopes will be the future of the hybrid electric car, ignites.
Should We Deliberately Move Species? (AP)
On naked patches of land in western Canada and United States, scientists are planting trees that don’t belong there. It’s a bold experiment to move trees threatened by global warming into places where they may thrive amid a changing climate.
