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Ray of Solidarity
12 Nov 2013
Special recognition, the Ray of the Solidarity, goes to the Philippines. The lead negotiator called for urgent action to prevent a repeat of the devastating storm that hit parts of his country this past weekend. Super Typhoon Haiyan was nothing the world has ever experienced. His speech thanked civil society, especially those who are […]
The New Unnormal
11 Nov 2013
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?” Those words of Philippine lead negotiator Naderev Saño touched the hearts of all COP18 attendees in a powerful speech just one year ago, just after Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) struck the southeastern Philippines and killed more than 1000 people. Who could […]
Which Way for Warsaw?
11 Nov 2013
And so here we are once again — with a hop (Doha), skip (Bonn) and a jump (Bonn the sequel) we’ve landed back in Poland for another COP. Indeed, it’s been a busy few months with the IPCC AR5 report from Working Group I out (and shutting down the deniers), both China and the […]
The Topsy-Turvy Land Downunder
11 Nov 2013
You may have heard that things have gone a little awry in the climate downunder. Not only has Sydney just had the worst bushfires ever in October (mid-spring!), this year saw national temperature records broken month after month after month. After the hottest day ever across Australia in January, the Bureau of Metereology had to […]
So Where’s the PUBLIC Finance?
11 Nov 2013
ECO’s ears are hurting from the deafening noise developed countries are making around private finance as being the key to scaling up climate action and meeting the $100 billion target. Maybe we are just finding it hard to see, on the evidence provided, that developed countries are really trying hard at all to mobilize enough […]
Perplexing Poland
11 Nov 2013
Has the Polish Government been taken over by the Yes Men? (That would be the somewhat erratic outfit with a penchant for highlighting the superficial and often self-serving follies of leading institutions and firms). ECO asks this only rhetorically, of course — at times the back and forth made our eyes cross. But let us […]
From Talk Shop to Action Shop: A Modern Fable
11 Nov 2013
“Mommy, before you go to work, tell me again the story about how ships and airplanes saved the world…” “Sure, dear. Back at the beginning of the century, believe it or not, most people weren’t very sure that we could avoid a climate catastrophe and still give the world’s growing population a long, prosperous and […]
Christiana Figueres letter
11 Nov 2013
Several organizations, including ActionAid, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF, sent a letter to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres asking her not to participate in the forthcoming ‘Coal and Climate’ summit. Due to the provocative and problematic nature and timing of this event, ECO presents an excerpt below. Your Excellency, The […]
Adaptation Fund: Progress and Peril
11 Nov 2013
Will the Adaptation Fund (AF) come to a standstill next year? Only three years after the first call for proposals, the AF has approved 29 concrete adaptation projects and allocated US $200 million. It has entered new ground with its direct access modality. Just a week ago, the Board of the AF approved a comprehensive […]
Why when it comes to energy issues, Warsaw is closer to Washington than to Brussels– and what we can expect from the Warsaw COP19 climate summit
10 Aug 2013
http://blog.gmfus.org/2013/08/09/why-when-it-comes-to-energy-issues-warsaw-is-closer-to-washington-than-to-brussels-and-what-we-can-expect-from-the-warsaw-cop19-climate-summit/ In November this year the next global summit dedicated to climate change will start in Warsaw. Once again Poland will chair the global climate negotiations. What is to be expected? Difficult situation for global negotiations In 2013 the climate is not well. Last year global CO2 emissions rose by another 1.4 per cent. According […]