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Modest expectations set the tone for negotiations at the COP19 climate conference in Warsaw

COP 19 and Why Deadlines Produce Results

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Richard Matthews | 0 Comments

Many are once again disappointed with the outcome out of this year’s climate negotiations, but as with previous years, we did manage to salvage an agreement at the eleventh hour. At the end of the first week of negotiations at COP 19, it looked like the climate talks would remain deadlocked, but as has often been the case, we saw…

Lack of progress leads many from NGO's and civil society to walk out of climate talks at COP19 in Warsaw

Civil Society Walkout as COP19 Comes to Disappointing Conclusion

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Thomas Schueneman | 1 Comments

Even going in with low expectations, there is a profound sense of disappointment in Warsaw as the COP19 climate talks wind down. On Thursday, representatives from more than 800 environmental groups, NGO’s and civil society walked out of the meeting hall in protest of the lack of progress in Warsaw. From the start, ambition was flagging among developed countries for…

Coal and climate don't mix. UNFCCC chief addresses International Coal Summit in Warsaw, Poland, one of the most polluting countries in Europe

Coal and Climate – a Tale of Two Summits: UNFCCC Chief Figueres Addresses Coal Conference in Poland

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Thomas Schueneman | 0 Comments

Coal and climate in Warsaw Perhaps one of the biggest ironies at the ongoing COP19 climate conference is the open acceptance of corporate sponsorship by Poland, this year’s host country for the talks – sponsors that are, as Giles Parkinson points out in RenewEconomy, mostly fossil fuel companies as Lotos, a Polish oil company and brown coal producer PGE. In fact, Poland has…

Progress, however halting, in climate finance and other important issues is reason to not give up on the COP process

Climate Finance and Why We Cant Give Up on the UN COP Process

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Richard Matthews | 0 Comments

Despite the expectation that we will see progress on climate finance, there are a number of people who are cynical about the outcome of COP 19. Every year around this time, as we settle in for UN climate talks, an army of pundits come out and tell us why we will not see anything of great consequence from the negotiations….

A new report from the WMO shows record greenhouse gas emissions in 2012, and rising. Can we get our act together in time to avoid the worst of climate change?

Record Greenhouse Gases – Is 2 Degrees Still Possible?

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Thomas Schueneman | 1 Comments

Is the “aspiration goal” of a 2 degree limit to global temperature increase slipping from our grasp? The latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin released last week by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) revealed that global atmospheric greenhouse gases hit a new record high, rising 2.2 parts-per-million (ppm) from 2011 levels to an average 393.1 ppm in 2012. The rate of change…

Is Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies Even on the Agenda in Warsaw?

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Andrew Burger | 0 Comments

For all their potential promise, apparent earnestness and gravity – not to mention their possible effects and potential ramifications – it’s hard at times not to be cynical about high-level political negotiations. Such might be felt of the United Nations (UN) climate treaty negotiations which got under way this week in Warsaw, Poland. People have good reason to be skeptical…

COP 19 Opens in Warsaw With Modest Expectatations

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Thomas Schueneman | 0 Comments

Today marks the beginning of the COP19 climate talks, this year hosted in Warsaw, Poland. Expectations for ambitious progress in the coming two weeks are dampened by economic concerns, despite expression of increasing urgency from the scientific community for effective action. The the next big target for international negotiations is 2015, when the deadline for a legally-binding international climate treaty comes…