Moscow – Russia is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, the environment ministry said Friday, sounding an alarm on the rise in floods and wildfires nationwide. A government report on environmental protection said temperatures…
Category: climate
Debate behind closed doors on temperature goal in Paris deal
21 December, Penang (T Ajit) — The long-term temperature goal and how to operationalize it was discussed at length among Parties before compromise was reached in the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The…
What countries agreed to under the Paris Agreement – TWN
Penang, 18 December (Meena Raman) – The adoption of the Paris Agreement, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been heralded by many countries as a historic moment and a critical point in the global effort…
Climate action after Paris
Jim Yong Kim Washington, DC – At the United Nations climate conference in Paris, courageous and visionary leaders recognized that people rarely change the world when they work within the constraints of what they think is possible. The world hoped…
Paris agreement marks “turning point” in history
Governments around the world have for the first time in history committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change, signalling an end to the fossil fuel era. Heads of businesses and organisations give their reactions to this landmark…
Rural women behind community climate resilience in Africa
Small farmers – mainly women – produce 80% of the food in Africa on just 14.7% of the agricultural land, and control 80% of the seeds produced and exchanged on small farms. The African Biodiversity Network, Gaia Foundation and African…
Paris Agreement adopted after last minute ‘technical corrections’
Geneva, 14 Dec (Meena Raman and Hilary Chiew)- The Paris Agreement, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was finally adopted evening of Saturday, 12 December, after four years since the launch of the process to develop…
World leaders hail Paris deal: ‘best chance to save planet’ – Obama
Delegates from 195 nations agree on new accord to keep average temperature increases below 2 degrees C. US President Barack Obama has hailed the landmark climate accord reached in Paris as strong and historic, calling it the best chance to…
Bangladesh CSOs call: Reject draft Paris agreement
Paris:The Bangladeshi civil society organizations have organized a press conference in Le Bourget, Paris Climate Conference Place on Friday. They have rejected the latest draft agreement and call upon MVCs to reject it, they have also called to include historical…
Now urgency is to deliver on climate agreement – UN Foundation
Washington, D.C. Dec – At the COP21 United Nations conference in Paris today, officials from nearly 200 countries reached a new agreement to address the threat of global climate change. On behalf of the United Nations Foundation, Chair Ted Turner,…
Quest for universal climate rescue pact nears finish line
Le Bourget (France) – The years-long quest for a universal pact to avert catastrophic climate change neared the finish line Saturday with conference host France announcing that the final draft had been completed in the early hours of the morning.…
Climate deal draft text ‘agreed’ in Paris for adoption
Organisers of the climate talks in Paris say a final draft text has been agreed after nearly two weeks of intensive negotiations. An official in the office of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the AFP news agency the draft…
US industry presure their govt to secure IPR
The Honorable Michael Froman Office of the United States Trade Representative 600 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20508 Fax: (202) 395-4549 The Honorable John Kerry United States Department of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520 Fax: (202) 647-2283…
Paris Outcome second text issued – deal remains far away
Paris, 11 Dec (Meena Raman and Hilary Chiew) – The second version of the draft Paris Outcome was presented to Parties at the end of a brief meeting of the Paris Committee under the UNFCCC on evening Thursday, 10 December,…
Optimism as COP21 conference delayed
Paris, France – It was always an optimistic call to get a global climate change agreement in the can by a firm 6pm deadline on Friday and so it proved. Twelve hours before the deadline on Friday, Laurent Fabius, the…
COP21: Climate summit inches towards deal
By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News, Paris Negotiators at the Paris climate summit have been working through the night to try to reach a global agreement, with talks in their final day. There is a widespread expectation that the…
Paris deal – Illegitimate and immoral even before it is sealed?
Paris – The Paris Climate Summit, happening from 30 November to 11 December, is due to conclude a new international agreement to limit global average temperature rise and avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change. After almost two weeks…
Call for party-driven, text-based talkss for Paris agreement
Paris, 8 December (T Ajit)— Many developing countries called for Party-driven, text-based negotiations in an open setting during the first meeting of the ‘Paris Committee’ held on Monday, 7 December. During the meeting which was held in the evening of…
REDD+ Handed in Paris
Jutta Kill Berlin – It’s been 30 years since the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, the first global intergovernmental initiative to halt forest loss. Since then, deforestation has continued unabated, and…
Alternative Paris
by Sunita Narain I wrote last about what I expect will happen at the Paris climate change conference. But what should happen? First, the world must strongly underscore the need to keep the temperature rise below 2°C at the very…
US, EU want loss-damage as a toothless tiger in Paris deal
Ask vulnerable countries to explicitly give up the right to raise issues of compensation and liability in future Nitin Sethi Indian paper Business Standard accessed the proposal that the US put forth informally before other countries demanding that poor and…
Smooth sharing of text for climate agreement sans consensus
Paris (Hilary Chiew and Meena Raman) – Negotiations of the Paris agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has moved to a process under the Presidency of the Conference of Parties. Four years of work by…
EU grants Tk68 Crore to build climate change resilience
The European Commission has decided to support resilience building at community level in Bangladesh, through the Global Climate Change Alliance+ Flagship Initiative (GCCA+). Starting early 2016, a new four-year project will be implemented by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural…
Not just an agreement, but a just agreement needed
By: Tetet Nera-Lauron Paris – Three days into the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), negotiations are nearing fever pitch as the December 4 deadline for a revised draft text of…
Dhaka needs $400b in 15 years to face climate change
An assistance of $ 4,000 crore will be needed over the next 15 years to address the challenges of climate change faced by the people living in Bangladesh’s coastal areas. The Bangladesh delegation to the ongoing COP 21 in Paris…
Adaptation fund ‘in danger’, Kyoto Protocol in bleak state
Paris, 4 December (Marjorie Williams) – While attention at the ongoing climate talks is focused on a “new Paris agreement”, the state of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is bleak. Parties at…
‘Developed and developing countries differentiation still relevant’
Paris, 4 December (T Ajit) — The world has not changed since 1992 and differentiation between developed and developing countries continues to be relevant through common but differentiated responsibilities, the bedrock of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change…
G77 frustrated at refusal to negotiate key issues
Paris, 4 December (Chee Yoke Ling and Meena Raman) – The Group of 77 and China are deeply frustrated over the refusal of some developed countries to engage in negotiations of the Paris agreement on the issues of importance for…
Group of-77, China detail on moving climate negotiations forward
Paris, 3 December (Chee Yoke Ling and Hilary Chiew) – The Group of 77 and China made a detailed proposal on moving forward the negotiations for the Paris agreement at a stocktake session of the Contact Group of the Ad…
Chennai Airport runway, ‘built on river is doomed to suffer’
If the runway of a city’s airport is built over a dry river, there is that once-in-a-lifetime possibility of the river running over its banks and flooding the airport. On Tuesday, December 1, that’s exactly what happened when the otherwise…