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Key Findings of the Emissions Gap Report
7 Dec 2010
Key Findings of the Emissions Gap Report United Nations Environment Programme November 2010 Studies show that emission levels of approximately 44 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) (range: 39-44 GtCO2e*) in 2020 would be consistent with a “likely” chance of limiting global warming to 2° C. Under business-as-usual projections, global emissions could reach 56 […]
Surplus AAU Solutions
7 Dec 2010
This is not the first time ECO has commented on the surplus of assigned amount units (AAU) present from the first Kyoto commitment period, and how the overflow could deliver a body blow to the future aggregate actions of annex B countries if carried over to the second commitment period. So far this issue has […]
CCS in the CDM: No Way Forward
7 Dec 2010
In Saturday morning’s session on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), ECO was shocked that the the option for keeping CCS out of the Clean Development Mechanism was absent from the text being forwarded to the CMP for a decision. CCS has many problems and is some time away from being operational for large power stations. […]
Fossil of the Day
7 Dec 2010
#1 – Canada For cognitive dissonance: won’t take a second commitment period but somehow claims, ‘no one is trying to kill Kyoto’.
¡Latinoamérica necesita una voz! Latin America needs a voice!
7 Dec 2010
Se suponía que la COP16 le correspondía a Latinoamérica, y que esto traería una oportunidad para generar no solo un diálogo en relación al tema de cambio climático, sino también para que nuestros países insertaran dentro de sus discursos y en las políticas nacionales el tema como una prioridad. Sin embargo, al pasar de los […]
Time to Make It Happen: a Fair Climate Fund
7 Dec 2010
Over 200 civil society organisations today launch a call for a fair climate fund to be established this week in Cancun. As ministers arrive to face the vital political challenges around the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, sufficient political time and energy must be spared to ensure substantive outcomes on issues that really matter to […]
Responsible Approaches to Finance at Scale
7 Dec 2010
We are starting the crucial final week. Ministers are being briefed, crucial new texts are being minutely analyzed and insect bites are spreading. With so many difficult, complex and itchy matters competing for attention, it might be easy to overlook one fact. We have only two years to get climate finance flowing at scale before […]
Memo to Ministers: Close the LULUCF Loophole!
7 Dec 2010
Ministers, would you like a glowing ECO article with your name on it? As you delve into the unresolved issues with the KP, the first thing you need to know is that the main proposal for LULUCF doesn’t ensure a robust, environmentally sound approach to forest management accounting. While sorting this out may seem […]
Health and Climate
7 Dec 2010
Economies are stressed and lending rates are high. Here at COP 16 it is the negotiators who are stressed and their blood pressures run high as they struggle to close the gaping wound that is the Gigatonne Gap. But fortunately, there are doctors in the house, and their climate checkup tells us about the benefits […]
Keep the CDM Clean
7 Dec 2010
The lack of attention to the environmental integrity of the CDM is a stain on the reputation of international efforts. In December 2009, the CDM Executive Board registered its first coal-fired power project, setting off two reactions: a firestorm of criticism from around the world and a wave of opportunistic applications from other coal projects. […]