Tick, Tock

In Copenhagen, one of the many civil society groups urged negotiators to work hard by reminding them constantly of the passage of time.  Tick, tock was written on buttons and posters all around the Bella Center.  Ads that greeted me upon arrival at the airport showed world leaders like Ban Ki-Moon and Yvo de Boer, [...]

Climate Divide: The Common Blind Spot of China & U.S. pre-COP15

The last few days have been busy ones for announcing opening positions for the COP15 negotiations.  The United States announced on 11/26 that it would reduce the total tonnage of its greenhouse gas emissions “in the range of” 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.  These numbers reflect targets specified in [...]

Talking Turkey at COP15

Good news!  The White House announced today that President Obama will attend the COP15 meeting on Wednesday, December 9, on his way to Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize the following day. In the nick of time, for scientists have recently given policymakers even more incentive to come to Copenhagen prepared to talk turkey (in [...]

A Bend in the Road: The Copenhagen Two-Step?

Newsflash:  Why are we all going to Copenhagen if President Obama agrees with other western countries that they are not ready to make a real deal?  As the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum wrapped up four days ago, participating world leaders backed a two-step process offered by Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen that would [...]

Rich and Poor States on the Bumpy Road to Copenhagen

In the run-up to the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen this December, developing countries have voiced concerns about climate change’s disproportionate effect on them.  The Prime Minister of Grenada, Thomas Tillman, spoke at a meeting of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) the day before the U.N. General Assembly opened its September 22nd session.  AOSIS’s [...]