So 2010 will almost certainly rank as one of the three warmest years since temperature records began in 1850, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The final ranking for 2010 will not become clear until November and December data are available in early 2011, but November global temperatures are similar to those observed in … Read More
Featured
Carbon Trading Obsession is “Irresponsible”
As the diplomatic squabbling continues in Cancun, lots of policy options are being put on the table. One of the key ones is trading carbon emissions. The influential EU bloc is one of carbon tradings greatest proponents, with its Emissions Trading Scheme the largest carbon trading scheme in the world. New rules to the ETS … Read More
BP says to Cancun: Invest in the tar sands
Timing, as I have pointed out in this blog before, is everything. Day two of the Cancun climate summit and you would have thought that politicians and companies would be tripping over themselves to portray themselves as clean and green. But not BP. The oil giant is off-loading assets left, right and centre. Just days … Read More
“There is little to no chance of less than 2C rise”
A year ago at the Copenhagen conference, the talk was all about deals and final agreements that would put the world on the road to a low carbon future. This year, at Cancun, the expectations are so low that just keeping the show on the road is the main priority. At best the hope is … Read More
World is Still Warming
According to a new report by one of the world’s leading authorities on climate change, the UK Met Office, the world has warmed more rapidly than previously thought over the past decade. The report also finds evidence that man-made climate change has grown even stronger over the last year. This means that this year is … Read More
The 5 Gigatonne Gap
The mood may be different this year, but the message is the same. The time to act is now. If we are to keep global temperatures to below a 2 degrees Celsius rise, nations have to implement the pledges made in Copenhagen and much, much more. According to a new report compiled by the UN … Read More
A Small Window of Opportunity At Cancun
It has been adundently clear that since the Midterms, any small lingering hopes of a domestic push on climate legislation are dead in the water. As the Washington Post argued recently: “This is what the 2010 midterm elections will change about U.S. climate policy: Cap-and-trade was dead. Now it will be deader.” And the political … Read More
“We see ice-sheets changing overnight”
Just over a year ago, the Climategate scandal rocked climate science to its core. The scandal damaged the Copenhagen climate talks and has been fodder for the sceptics ever since. A year on, and the scientist at the centre of the row, Professor Phil Jones, argues that it will take a long time to convince … Read More
Time to Vote in the EU Worst Lobby Awards
It’s that time of year again. Over in Europe, a coalition of NGOs is running the “Worst EU Lobbying Awards” and one of the categories for this year’s award is “climate”. There are three nominees for companies and organisations who are the worst offenders when it comes to undermining action on climate change. To vote … Read More
Deepwater Increases Chance of “Oil Crunch”
Its not rocket science. But if you delay further expansion of offshore drilling because of the Deepwater disaster, then you risk compromising the supply of future oil supplies. If deepwater drilling is where over a quarter of new oil reserves are, then any delay in accessing these reserves could mean trouble. That is the conclusion … Read More