The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline has illustrated the need for a comprehensive U.S. energy policy. Joseph Edgar and Brian Marrs explain how we can break away from oil.
Month: December 2011
In its final hours, COP17 gets Occupied
Perhaps it was the spotty Internet service, two weeks subsisting on pre-sealed sandwiches, or just maybe the fact that on the heels of the latest Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Durban, the world seems no closer to enacting climate change solutions. But Friday evening, hundreds of NGO delegates had had enough. In yet another reminder that the fate of […]
Photos from the final day – is agreement coming?
It’s Friday, December 9th – the last day, ostensibly, of the COP17. Is a new legally-binding instrument between all major emitters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions forthcoming? Will there be agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol into a second commitment period? Will countries increase their emission reduction ambitions? Most people you ask say no. There’s a lot of consternation in […]
Bridging the Emissions Gap – The Clock Is Ticking!
new and timely synthesis report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was formally launched at COP17 today, giving those concerned with our world’s future both new reason for hope and a new mandate for action. The report regards the gap between existing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and the actual reductions that are needed to achieve the UNFCCC’s goal […]
Speaking but not listening – early failures of South Africa’s Indaba approach?
– This editorial is re-posted from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies official COP 17 blog, found here. It was originally titled, “Speaking but not listening: meeting but not engaging.” – After four days of COP negotiations it’s apparent that parties need to spend less time delivering statements they have prepared in advance and more time listening to […]
The Challenge of Maintaining Ecosystem Services
n 1997, New York City decided to allocate $1.5 billion to preserve and restore the Catskill/Delaware Watershed, an ecosystem over 100 miles outside of the city limits. The venture was more than an act of ecological good will; it was a savvy investment in the well being of New York City’s 8 million residents. Unlike many cities, the five boroughs—and […]
Occupy COP17 & the Women’s Rural Assembly
Protestors have gathered outside the fenced perimeter of the massive COP17 conference center to encourage world leaders to keep the Kyoto Protocol alive and, in the words of one sign, “keep the coal in the hole.” Today the Women’s Rural Assembly arrived to support the protest. At least a hundred smiling women marched in to the familiar drone of vuvuzelas, […]
South Africa and the Climate Conference accelerator
The Yale student delegation is staying in a hotel as far away from Durban, and the COP17 conference center, as physically possible. A muddy trek up a hill, past hasty developments of car dealerships and construction supply companies, brings you to the COP17 “shuttle” pickup – aka the parking lot of a bustling BP gas station. An hour and a […]
Do you know your COP IQ?
– The following has been re-posted from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies official student delegation blog, found here – he COP17 events kicked into high gear at the welcome party at City Hall last night (seriously, the African dancers were doing these super high kicks as part of their routine, very impressive). UNFCCC Secretariat Christiana Figueres and […]
COP17: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Climate Change
What can we expect from this year’s climate conference? With well more then 15,000 delegates likely to be in attendance (COP15 had more then 24,000!) we can expect a lot, at least on the discussion side of things. At the risk of missing something, I will say only that two of the main issues on everyone’s mind will be: 1) […]
COP17: On the Ground for the Latest Round of Climate Talks
It’s that time of the year again. Leaves are changing. Warm jackets are emerging from attic closets. Forgotten winter boots reappear in mudrooms. And diplomats, from all corners of the globe, are gathering, as they do this time every year, to contemplate the future of our planet and, quite possibly, engineer a solution to the greatest crisis our world has […]