DUMPED: Japan’s fling with climate finally ends, three years after giving up custody of lovechild Kyoto

by Anjali Appadurai It was a move that had been expected with dread: on Friday morning Tokyo time, the Japanese government announced its new greenhouse gas emissions target for 2020. The numbers are grim. Japan will cut emissions by 3.8 per cent from its 2005 level by 2020; this translates to an increase of 3.1 per cent from its 1990 levels. The government had been reviewing its international...

SBI Closing Intervention

The following is the intervention given by Katie O'Brien at the Subsidiary Body for Implementation's closing session, written by the Youth NGO's working group on Loss and Damage. Text of the Speech: Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Katie, I am Canadian and speaking for the youth constituency. Despite the large SBI agenda, the inevitability of further warming, and associated impacts, makes loss...

Day 5 Policy Updates: Taking Stock, Talking Lots

by Nathan Thanki The informals continue. Today saw the ADP convene meetings on adaptation and technology which got fairly heated. The big sticking points are the issue of intellectual property rights (IPRs), which has been reintroduced by the G77 but is causing the developed countries much anguish. Yesterday developed countries began referring to IPRs as "the thing which must not be named" in...

12 Years Old Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) Revenue – a Slap to Every LDC

by Surya Karki Rajendra K Pachauri in his opening statement at COP 19 said, “it is extremely likely, about 95%, that humans are causing climate change.” So the question is, are we going to wait for the remaining 5%, to take climate change seriously? Or do the climate negotiators need more disasters like typhoon haiyan to prove the urgency to agree on a just climate deal? According to Mr....

What the HECK is up with REDD+?!?!: A Summary Of My Struggles Up Until Now

by Lara Shirley This is part of a REDD+ trilogy featured here on : Lara is angry and confused, Lara is just angry, and Lara gets technical. Stay tuned for the next installment! REDD+ is complex, illogical and confusing. I kind of dislike it a lot. After having spent what feels like far too much time on it – although compared to many here, it’s barely a millisecond – I thought I would spare...