Feb 8, 10
Climate Negotiators Push For "Solution" Rather Than Treaty
Connie Hedegaard, host of the ongoing United Nations-sponsored climate negotiations, opened the two-week summit yesterday in Denmark's capital with a passionate call for an international commitment to combat climate change. "This is the time to deliver," said Hedegaard, the Danish minister of climate and energy. "his is the place to commit.... Let's get it done!" Problem is, Hedegaard did not clarify what "it" is. A Danish proposal, released to the British newspaper The Guardian,...
U.S. and China Announce "Positive, Cooperative and Comprehensive" Plan for Collaboration on Clean Energy and Climate Change
"Very exciting day here in Beijing. There's enormous interest in both governments in working together to fight climate change. The package announced today is far-reaching and can make a real difference in cutting emissions." That's an exclusive quote from David Sandalow, DOE's Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs, who just emailed me from China about the newly announced U.S.-China cooperation plan. Sandalow is going to be in Copenhagen, so I hope to have...
Lifting the Lid on Climate Change Talks
by John Vidal Rich countries bullying poorer ones, mud-slinging and back-stabbing - environmental summits can be vicious. At 8am on Wednesday 7 October, a smartly dressed fiftysomething Filipino woman took the escalator to the first floor of the UN building in Bangkok and merged into a throng of diplomats, civil servants and environmentalists arriving for the eighth day of the ninth session of the global climate talks. She was met with a few respectful nods. Bernarditas de Castro Muller...
Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize In Part Because "The USA Is Now Playing A More Constructive Role In Meeting The Great Climatic Challenges The World Is Confronting."
In a stunning announcement (full text below), “The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Obama won, in part, for reversing the immoral efforts of the Cheney-Bush administration to block and subvert international climate negotiations: Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more...
Myth vs. Reality on International Climate Negotiations
This analysis is from the Center for American Progress. CAP statements on President Obama’s Speech and Chinese President Hu’s Speech at Today’s UN Climate Summit are here. Photo above is U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon speaks during the opening of the World Climate Conference in Geneva on September 3. Myth #1: The United States should not have to act if China and India are not doing anything. Reality: Both China and India are now moving forward with ambitious plans for...
UK Powers Up Plans For World's Largest Electric Car Trial
by Alok Jha UK government's £25m scheme to slash emissions from transport will allow public to take part in long-term trials of a range of electric cars. From the end of 2009, around 340 electric vehicles will be available to qualifying members of the public in eight different locations around the UK. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters The UK government will today unveil the world's largest ever coordinated trial of environmentally friendly vehicles. The £25m scheme, which is...
Geoengineering and the New Climate Denialism
This is a draft essay, and obviously still rough in patches. I'd appreciate feedback! - Alex GEOENGINEERING AND THE NEW CLIMATE DENIALISM by Alex Steffen The Idea of Geoengineering is Being Used Dishonestly Though we spend our time here at Worldchanging focused on solutions to the planet's most pressing problems, sometimes the politics around an issue become so twisted that it's necessary to address the politics before we can have a real discussion about the problems and how to solve them....
Indonesian Activist Targets Community Waste
Six relatively unknown grassroots activists from around the globe receive a moment in the spotlight when the Goldman Environmental Prize announces its list of annual recipients. The prize, now in its 19th year, is considered the Nobel Prize for the environment. Past recipients include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, former Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva, and Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was killed seven months after his recognition. The...
A Month's Worth of Blogging, Condensed into a Single Column
It's been a crazy month, with talks to give and essays and books to write, and money to raise, and I've really fallen behind in blogging. So here's a month's worth of things I've been meaning to post about: Screw your IQ -- what's your Buxton Index? "The Buxton Index of an entity, i.e. person or organization, is defined as the length of the period, measured in years, over which the entity makes its plans." ... This is an interesting concept: and one that helps explain a lot of attitudes and...
Key Questions At Copenhagen
By CS Kiang and Luo Rui Can a new relationship between China and the United States help form a new climate-change agreement in Denmark this year? CS Kiang and Luo Rui report. Last year's United Nations-led climate-change talks in Poznan, Poland, were the midway point in discussions about the post-Kyoto Protocol regime (see "What happened at Poznan?" by Tan Copsey). Hopes were high, but the global financial crisis meant politicians were preoccupied with economic recovery. Two weeks of talks...
Get good news for a change.
worldchanging was founded on the idea that real solutions already exist for building the future we want. it's just a matter of grabbing hold and getting moving.
About Worldchanging
Have an idea or know about a great new tool or solution? We want to know about it!
Suggest a Story
Submission Guidelines
Design:
Matt Chapman
Logo Design:
Egg
Hosting, Development, and Technical Management:
