Archive by date | October 2009

Climate games: small pacts are no big deal

Climate games: small pacts are no big deal

Hopes that the UN conference in Copenhagen will result in an ambitious climate treaty have faded, with UN climate chief Yvo de Boer now conceding that reaching a legally binding agreement will be impossible this year.  Read more

Biofuel woes

Biofuel woes

Cross posted by Katharine Sanderson on The Great Beyond Two papers in Science yesterday have poured cold water on the promise of second generation biofuels. Biofuels derived from the cellulosic, woody parts of plants are not having their greenhouse gas emissions properly accounted for, says Jerry Melillo from the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. Melillo’s study suggests that changes in the way land is used, as a consequence of growing crops for biofuels, is not taken into account, and if it were then those biofuels would be shown to actually cause more greenhouse gases to be released than fossil  … Read more

Copenhagen: advice for negotiators

Copenhagen: advice for negotiators

Reaching a climate deal in Copenhagen will depend on rich nations’ proactive commitment to making mandatory emission cuts at home, prominent experts from India and China reiterate in a couple of opinion pieces in Nature [subscription] today. And it will require exceptional diplomatic skill, adds a veteran climate negotiator.  Read more

No forest too wide or mountain too high in the fight against global warming

From undersea meetings by Maldives’ ministers to debates in the US Senate, talk of climate change is echoing around every corner of the globe. The message: needs are great and growing fast, while resources remain few and far between.  Read more