Climate 411

Dueling Op-Eds on Copenhagen Talks

By Sharyn Stein / Published: December 9, 2009

Let’s start with the good news first: Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp wrote an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal outlining the need for the Copenhagen talks to make progress toward an effective verification and compliance system in a final agreement.

Fred says:

The road to a serious global agreement goes through the U.S. Congress… The task, then, for U.S. negotiators and their counterparts, is to focus on establishing the fundamental building blocks for an effective treaty that can be finalized in 2010.

He then lists those building blocks as:

  • Inclusiveness
  • Financing
  • Verifiability and compliance

Read the whole piece for insight into each point.

Now the bad news: Sarah Palin wrote an op-ed in today’s Washington Post that purports to be about Copenhagen, but really just rehashes “climate-gate.” The piece tries to paint global warming as purely political issue and dismisses the underlying science. Read at your own risk. Media Matters has posted a thorough fact-check of the piece.

Also posted in What Others are Saying / Read 7 Responses

New Date for Obama’s Copenhagen Trip

By Sharyn Stein / Published: December 4, 2009

The White House just announced an updated schedule for President Obama’s trip to the international climate change talks in Copenhagen.

The President will now go to Copenhagen on December 18th. That means he’ll be there for the final day of negotiations — and will have a chance to ensure the talks make progress toward an effective treaty that can be negotiated and adopted after Senate action on a bill to cap U.S. carbon pollution.

AP says the President is:

.. hoping to capitalize on steps by India and China and build a more meaningful political accord.

The Chicago Tribune‘s The Swamp, meanwhile, says the White House decision:

… immediately raises expectations anew for some type of climate agreement to result from the talks.

Here’s the official White House statement in full.

Also posted in What Others are Saying / Comments are closed

Help Give World Leaders 10,000 Reasons to Act on Climate

By Sam Parry / Published: November 30, 2009

FB discWhat would you like to tell the world’s leaders about global warming?

With the focus now on the Copenhagen climate conference, this is your chance to speak out. Go to our Facebook page and add your voice to our 10,000 Reasons to Support Strong Climate Action campaign. We will share these reasons with key members of Congress and with the White House.

Here are just a handful of the more than 650 reasons offered so far:

Deborah Beracha of Fort Lauderdale, Fla, wrote:

Let’s all join together. Global warming has to be taken seriously. Leaders need to stand up and limit global warming emissions and they need to do it now.

Ken Weitzman of Bloomington, IN, wrote:

As a father, I want to be able to answer two questions my children will one day ask:
1) Did you know?
Then, after I answer “yes”…

2) So what did you do?

Jeff Riney of Asheville, N.C., wrote:

If anything we need to do this for our kids! I dread the day that my daughter says, “thanks for the mess you left us Dad!”

Gabe Schirm of northern Colorado wrote:

The technology, the science and the will are here now. We have the solutions. We just need our leaders to do the right thing. Not later, but now.

Also posted in Climate Change Legislation / Read 14 Responses

Fred Krupp on NBC News: “Terrific” that Obama is Going to Copenhagen

By Sharyn Stein / Published: November 30, 2009

President Obama announced last Wednesday that he will attend the international climate talks in Copenhagen — and that in the context of an overall international agreement that includes commitments from China and other emerging economies, he is prepared to put on the table a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020.

For those of you who were traveling, cooking, or turkey-shopping that night and missed the evening newscasts, here’s EDF’s president Fred Krupp talking about the announcement on NBC Nightly News.

Posted in International / Read 1 Response

Fred Krupp’s Remarks on the Finish Line for a Climate Deal

By Sharyn Stein / Published: November 2, 2009

This morning, Fred Krupp, EDF’s president, gave the following remarks at the Point Carbon conference in New York City:

Think for a moment about the speech you’d expect to hear from an environmental leader on the eve of Copenhagen.

Now forget it.   This is not going to be that speech.

You might expect someone in my position to call for – to demand – a final international agreement to solve the climate crisis before Copenhagen delegates go home for Christmas.   I will not.

You might expect me to assert that the greatest threat to our planet will come about if New Year’s Day 2010 arrives without a new treaty.   It will not.

And that signing a final treaty is the only way Copenhagen can be successful.  It is not.

Let me explain.

Continue reading his full remarks.

Posted in International / Read 1 Response

Report from Bangkok: Looking for the U.S. to Act

By Sharyn Stein / Published: October 1, 2009

EDF’s Gus Silva-Chavez is blogging from the global climate negotiations in Bangkok. Yesterday, he sent a big thank-you to Senators Boxer and Kerry for getting work started on the Senate version of the climate bill:

Whatever else you can say about the draft bill that Senators Boxer and Kerry introduced in the Senate yesterday, it was welcome news to country negotiators and NGOs at the climate talks in Bangkok.

For several weeks the main question everyone has been asking me is “What’s the next U.S. move and when will it happen?” Now I can give them an answer – Senators introduced draft climate and energy legislation. Today.  Continue »

This echoes the call for U.S. leadership from the governor’s summit in California. The scientific urgency, public opinion and global path are all in place — now it’s up to the Senate.

Posted in International / Comments are closed