If this is UN efficiency…
Olive Heffernan … Read more
Interview with NRCC: James Hansen
In an exclusive interview published today on Nature Reports Climate Change, climate scientist James Hansen talks about his forthcoming book, Storms of My Grandchildren. Read more
Montreal delegates hold off on HFC amendment
Jeff Tollefson; cross-posted from The Great Beyond <img alt=“roadtocopenhagen.jpg” src=“https://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/roadtocopenhagen.jpg” width=“150” height=“220” align=“right” hspace=“10px”//>International delegates to the Montreal Protocol wrapped up their meeting in Port Ghalib, Egypt, over the weekend without taking formal action to curb hydrofluorocarbons, modern refrigerants that are also poised to become a major contributor to global warming. Some 41 countries joined in a declaration in support of regulating HFCs as greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, according to the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and the Environmental Investigation Agency. This is in addition to support in North America and Europe as well as Micronesia and … Read more
Australian agency denies gagging climate researchers
Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has denied claims that it prevents researchers from publishing work on politically-sensitive issues such as climate change, reports Nature News [subscription]. Read more
Countdown to Copenhagen
Keith Kloor … Read more
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
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
Mixed start for Europe’s climate super week
Quirin Schiermeier … Read more
Still an “uphill battle” to Copenhagen
Getting a climate deal agreed in December will require an ‘uphill battle’ said UK energy and climate change Secretary Ed Miliband in London yesterday, despite incremental progress from the world’s largest economies on agreeing the way forward. Read more
Injecting sulphates into the stratosphere: pros and cons
In 2006, Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen suggested that we might need to start deliberately engineering the climate if no progress could be made on curbing our emissions. Since then, atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have continued to rise. So it’s perhaps no surprise that what once seemed like a outlandish idea has recently become a subject of serious scientific endeavour. Read more