UN Chief: Reject Skeptics’ Attempts to Derail Global Climate Deal (Guardian)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today urged environment ministers to reject attempts by skeptics to undermine efforts to forge a climate change deal, stressing that global warming poses "a clear and present danger."
China Envoy Says Deep Divides Threaten Climate Talks (Reuters)
Rich and poor countries have little hope of overcoming key disagreements over how to fight global warming, China’s climate change ambassador said today, warning of a year of troubled negotiations.
Australia: Senate Delays ETS Vote Until May (AAP)
The Australian government’s planned emissions trading scheme is now on the parliamentary backburner after the Senate today refused to debate the draft laws until May.
Tackling Climate Change ‘Urgent,’ Hu Says (China Daily)
China’s highest leadership said it has begun considering proposals from the country’s senior researchers in an attempt to help achieve the country’s goal of cutting carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.
Sen. Kerry: Compromise Climate Bill Coming (Reuters)
Admitting it was contrary to conventional wisdom, Sen. John Kerry said he was hopeful a comprehensive climate bill will soon emerge from his work with the Obama administration and a bipartisan group of senators.
Vermont Senator Compares Climate Skeptics to Nazi Deniers (Politico)
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders compared climate skeptics to those who disregarded the Nazi threat to America in the 1930s, during a Senate hearing Tuesday, adding a strident rhetorical shot to the debate over climate change.
Former Obama Adviser Van Jones Joins Liberal Think Tank (Washington Post)
Van Jones, the environmental justice advocate who relinquished his post as a White House adviser five months ago, said he is rejoining the Center for American Progress next month to push for green jobs.
Chevron to Build Solar Plant at NM Tailings Site (AP)
A subsidiary of oil giant Chevron plans to build what New Mexico officials say will be the largest concentrating PV solar plant in the nation on 20 acres of a molybdenum mine the company operates.
Enviro Group Returns Oil and Gas Industry’s Fire Over Access to Public Lands (Greenwire)
Oil and gas drillers haven’t been pushed off federal lands by the Obama administration, so much as they have jumped at other opportunities, a new report by the Wilderness Society contends.
Protest Ban at W.Va. Mining Complex Extended (AP)
A federal judge has extended a temporary order barring protests at a Massey Energy coal mining complex in southern West Virginia.
Coral Reefs in Danger of Being Destroyed (The Independent)
All of the tropical coral reefs in the world will be disintegrating by the end of the century because of the rising acidity of the oceans caused by a build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere, a study has found.
Secretive Fuel-Cell Startup Stirring Hopes, Doubts (AP)
Secretive Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy is taking the wraps off its product: a fuel cell that it hopes will allow homes and businesses to generate their own electricity.
Iberdrola Posts Lower 2009 Profits, Sees Better 2010 (AFP)
Spain’s Iberdrola, the world’s biggest wind generator, said Wednesday its net profit dipped in 2009 due to weakness in its core markets, which was offset by higher renewable energy output and greater income from its US unit.
GM and Precision Farming Encouraged by Environment Agency (Guardian)
The UK government’s drive to push genetically modified crops will receive a further boost today, when former cabinet minister Chris Smith will tell farmers that the technology has a key role in beating climate change.
Skepticism Meets Vermont Nuclear Plant’s Cheap-Power Gift (AP)
The owners of Vermont’s only nuclear plant offered a shot of cut-rate power in an effort to help the state build jobs — and were immediately met by skepticism about their motives in making the pitch right before a Senate vote that could kill the plant.
