Arctic Oil 'Undrillable' amid Global Warming -UN's Ex-climate Chief
An architect of the Paris climate agreement urged governments on Tuesday to halt oil exploration in the Arctic, saying drilling was not economical and warming threatened the environmentally fragile region.Christiana Figueres, formerly head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat when the Paris accord was reached by almost 200 nations in 2015, told Reuters by telephone "the Arctic has been rendered undrillable."The past three years have been the hottest since records began in the 19th century, and Figueres said the heat was a threat to everything…
Russia at Odds with Chinese, US Push for Fast Approval of Climate Pact
Russia set itself at odds with a drive by China and the United States for rapid ratification of a global agreement to slow climate change when a senior official said on Wednesday that Moscow first wanted a clear set of rules. Negotiating a detailed rule book for the 2015 Paris Agreement for shifting the world economy from fossil fuels could take years, in the worst case, delegates said at May 16-26 U.N. talks in Bonn on implementing the pact. Top greenhouse gas emitters China and the United States say they plan to join the Paris Agreement this year and almost all other nations say they will ratify as rapidly as possible -before the rules are in place.
Nations Seek Early Ratification of Paris Climate Deal
Many nations are pushing for swift ratification of a Paris agreement to slow climate change and lock it in place for four years before a change in the White House next year that might bring a weakening of Washington's long-term commitment. More than 130 nations with 60 leaders including French President Francois Hollande are due to sign December's pact at a U.N. ceremony in New York on April 22, the most ever for a U.N. agreement on an opening day, the United Nations said. Both China and the United States, the world's top emitters accounting together for 38 percent of emissions, have promised to sign then. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to attend.
UN's Climate Chief Figueres to Quit
The U.N.'s climate chief said on Friday she will step down in July, at the end of a six-year term, and praised governments for reaching a 195-nation deal in Paris in December to shift the world economy from fossil fuels to cleaner energies. Christiana Figueres, a 59-year-old Costa Rican, said she would not accept any extension of her term as head of the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat after what she called the historic Paris Agreement. "We now move into a phase of urgent implementation," she wrote in a letter to governments, which…
Emerging UN Climate Deal Omits National Demands
Bonn U.N. talks next week are last before Paris summit. A draft agreement that ditches cherished ideas of almost 200 nations about how to fight climate change could spark "fireworks" at a final round of negotiations to design a U.N. agreement to be held in Paris in December. With time running out, the 20-page draft produced by two top diplomats who oversee the talks for discussions in Germany next week, and condensed from a previous document of more than 80 pages, leaves out many nations' core demands. That may cause strain at the Oct. 19-23 talks in Bonn…
EU Sees Progress Towards UN Climate Deal
EU sees China, Canada, S.Arabia making climate plans by June; India, Brazil, Indonesia to miss EU's target deadline. The European Union expects that countries emitting more than half of world greenhouse gases will publish plans for fighting global warming by mid-year to help build a U.N. deal due in December, according to an EU document obtained by Reuters. The internal document, reviewing an EU diplomatic push involving 60 nations, also indicates the bloc will fall short of a goal of persuading all top emitters to detail their climate strategies beyond 2020 by June 30.
UN: No Miracle Fix at Paris Climate Summit
The world will take years to limit climate change to manageable levels, with no miracle fix at a Paris summit this year despite growing signs of action by governments and companies, the United Nations climate chief said on Thursday. Senior officials from almost 190 nations will meet from Feb. 8-13 in Geneva to work on a draft U.N. deal to limit global warming. The agreement, built on national plans for curbs on rising world greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020, is meant to be finalized at the Paris meeting in December. Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N.
Chinese, U.S. Emission Cuts Fall Short
Top emitters signal new intent to tackle warming; huge uncertainties about when, at what level, China may cap. China's hints that it will cap its soaring greenhouse gas emissions and a U.S. plan to cut emissions in the power sector, while representing a shift, do not add up to a strong cure for global warming by the world's top two emitters. Other nations have hailed Washington and Beijing for a newfound commitment to tackle climate change. Governments are working on a deal, due in Paris in late 2015, to slow rising temperatures to avert more heatwaves, floods and rising seas. Yet after a rush of enthusiasm, there are uncertainties - especially about China.
Obama's U.S. Carbon Cuts Likely To Win Muted Applause
President Barack Obama's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants, due to be announced on Monday, will win muted applause abroad with some hopes it could help a U.N. deal to fight climate change in 2015. Emerging economies including China and India are likely to be lukewarm because they have often said that Obama's plans for emissions cuts until 2020 - even if fully implemented - are far short of the curbs they say are needed by the rich. But the U.S. plan to limit emissions by existing power plants could put pressure on other nations in U.N. talks on a deal meant to be agreed at a summit in Paris in late 2015.
