The Working Group III report provides an updated global assessment of climate change mitigation progress and pledges, and examines the sources of global emissions. It explains developments in emission reduction and mitigation efforts, assessing the impact of national climate pledges in relation to long-term emissions goals. An emissions gap persists, …
This document contains the summary for Policymakers: The Science of Climate Change - IPCC Working Group I. It details the following key features: 1. Greenhouse gas concentrations have continued to increase 2. Anthropogenic aerosols tend to produce negative radiative forcings 3. Climate has changed over the past century 4. The …
It's time the green brigade joins the banker-bashing, Occupy Wall Street movement Another climate summit and another potential disappointment facing the green brigade. Even before it officially kick-starts, there is a widespread feeling that the Durban Summit is expected to be another brick in the collapsing climate wall. The reason …
The US submission on elements of the post-2015 agreement is a good basis for further deliberation by countries, as it is exhaustive with only some elements needing to be debated for a global consensus. The US quite rightly acknowledges that “with respect to CBDR/RC in particular, we endorse the view …
Small changes in urban human behavior and increased energy efficiency will have a positive impact on our natural resources. Mukul Sanwal[1] The recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the United Nations, “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,” details the impact of climate …
Author: Chandra Bhushan @Bh_Chandra Posted on: 18 Apr, 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group Report III suggests historical emissions are a thing of the past; it endorses carbon removal options, allowing the fossil fuel industry to continue its polluting operations Two weeks after the Working Group 2 report …
MukulSanwal[1] Global climate policy is being reframed, moving away from an exclusive focus on emissions, the symptoms, to the causes of the problem, use of energy, and new sustainable development architecture. The Co-chair’s Non-Paper, as the draft negotiating text,shows that divergent perspectives on how best to achieve the Objective of …
Compromises have to be made by all Mukul Sanwal The current impasse in the climate negotiations provides an unprecedented opportunity for the BRICS countries to re-frame a global challenge that has divided countries for the last 20 years. In an increasingly interdependent world for growing economies an agreement is more …
Mukul Sanwal[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has now unequivocally stated that “the evidence suggests that outcomes seen as equitable can lead to more effective [international] cooperation”. India is an example of the unenviable position developing countries find themselves in. Though it is the world’s fourth largest emitter, its …
Moving sustainability from ideas to reality and regaining the leadership of developing countries MukulSanwal[1] Prime Minister Modi’s focus on ‘lifestyles’ marks a departure from India’s 40 year old approach to global environmental concerns where India, and other developing countries, stressed poverty rather than patterns of natural resource use. At one-fourth …
What countries will do at the national level is less important than the nature and scope of international cooperation MukulSanwal[1] The just concluded tenth round of preparatory meetings at Bonn, an 83 page compilation document yet to become a negotiation text, 193 countries seeking to secure their national interest and …
There are two opposing visions of the new climate regime and the unresolved issue is whether the multilateral consensus at Paris will be around climate justice, reflecting the concerns of the majority of the human population, or environmental integrity, which reflects the approach adopted in the negotiation text, released on …
India’s pivotal role: speaking for the late developers Mukul Sanwal[1] Since 1992 the key issue dividing countries in global environmental negotiations has been ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’and ‘climate justice’ can operationalize that principle to the satisfaction of all countries in a universal regime. As the political consensus moves away from …
Mukul Sanwal[1] The Paris Agreement shifts the global concern away from the sole focus of the Climate Convention on emissions reductions, which is really the symptom of the problem, to dealing with its causes, that is, human activities inthe urban transition.The Purpose of the Agreement, or the new global climate …
@sunitanar The much-awaited Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted by all members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Saturday. The Agreement will now be open for ratification by each member nation from April 2016 onwards. Some highlights from the draft text: Achievements for developing …
Hosted and organized by the Hong Kong Climate Change Forum (HKCCF), this conference will be an important platform focusing on urban climate impacts, adaptation and resilience options. It will bring together distinguished scientists, policy makers, business leaders, climate experts and their Asian counterparts to share approaches, best practice methods and …