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Copenhagen Summit – Day 4 Summary

COP15 It’s day five of the negotiations and UK Ministers are starting to arrive, gearing up for the Ministerial segment of these crucial negotiations. Ed Miliband has joined the UK negotiating team and will today go into a series of bilateral meetings with key counterparts including the United States, China, South Africa and Denmark.

Yesterday the overarching plenary was suspended, but the negotiations have continued in other sessions on issues such as technology, finance, and adaptation.

As always the team at MoreEco have summarised the events of Day 4 for your.

Capping temperatures is ‘achievable’ says AVOID scientist - Carbon emissions must start to fall within the next 10 years to keep the rise in global temperatures below the 2 degree C level that would trigger environmental devastation, one of the UK Government’s leading climate scientists says.

US is determined to achieve strong agreement – Stern – The chief negotiator for the United States says that Washington is determined to get the ’strongest possible agreement’ in Copenhagen. Todd Stern said he was under no illusion that success would be easy but said that there was a strong political commitment to an agreement from the US Government.

A message from Global Agenda Council Members to World Leaders - More than 200 senior figures across business, finance and academia have called on world leaders to agree a ‘bold new deal’ to curb global warming and generate low carbon growth. The signatories, who are members of the Global Agenda Council on climate change of the World Economic Forum, an independent body, warned that climate change threatened to put ‘our very society at risk’.

Sweden pledges 800 million euro for climate change fund – Sweden says it will give 800 million euro (1.2 billion US dollars) to help developing nations fight climate change.

G-77: Personal call on President Obama - The Group of 77, representing the majority of the world’s developing countries, urges the US to join the Kyoto Protocol and commit to emission reductions comparable to those of other industrialized nations.

>>>Full in depth article visit COP15 and Act on Copenhagen

>>> View other MoreEco News & Views Summit Summary’s

Copenhagen Summit – Day 3 Summary

COP15 The third day of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen saw another political argument between the two biggest players – and polluters – China and the United States.

China: the US and EU must present deeper cuts – The United States and the European Union (EU) are expected by the Chinese delegation to bring more notable emission reductions targets to the Copenhagen climate talks. At a press conference Tuesday, the Deputy Head of the Chinese delegation, Su Wei (photo above), said neither the US, the EU, nor Japan had offered sufficient cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

US fires back at China – Statements by Su Wei, Deputy Head of the Chinese COP15 delegation, on lack of ambitions from the US were opposed by Todd Stern, President Barack Obama’s climate change envoy, as he arrived Wednesday at the conference in Copenhagen.

Developing countries split on demands – Small island states and poor African nations on Wednesday wanted the climate conference to aim at a legally binding deal tougher than the Kyoto Protocol. Richer developing countries opposed the proposal.

EPA chief: US will regulate CO2 with common sense – The United States for the first time outlined a dual path toward cutting greenhouse gases that would involve both President Barack Obama’s administration and the US Congress to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Denmark ready to pay its share – Denmark – the host country of the ongoing UN climate change conference – has put money on the table for adaptation to climate change in developing countries.

COP15 Video Highlights – Watch highlights from day 3 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 9, 2009.

DECC Delegate Update -DECC delegate gives an update from day three of the Copenhagen negotiations

>>> Source & full articles visit COP15 website

Copenhagen Summit – Day 2 Summary

COP15 Day 2 of the United Nations climate talks in Copehagen is underway. The UK continues to push for a global agreement that’s ambitious, effective and fair. Thanks for backing the bid and helping us secure the 2 degree deal.

US announcement - The US Government has declared carbon dioxide a ‘toxic’ gas that endangers public health in a judgement that gives the Obama administration a legal basis for capping harmful emissions.

The ruling will allow the agency to regulate planet-warming gases even without legislation in Congress. Under existing laws the agency could begin to make rules as soon as next year to regulate emissions from vehicle exhausts, power utilities and heavy industry.

Ed’s Copenhagen send-off - Ed Miliband is taking part in a public meeting today in Manchester, jointly organised with Manchester Friends of the Earth. This will be Ed’s last public event before he travels to Copenhagen.

Coinciding with the launch of Manchester’s climate change action plan, the event will include speakers such as The Guardian’s John Harris and Friends of the Earth’s Campaigns director Mike Childs.

EU committed to move to 30% - The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have made a public push for the European Union to commit to deeper cuts in carbon emissions in a bid to strike an ambitious deal on climate change in Copenhagen.

Gordon Brown urged EU leaders to raise its offer on cuts in carbon emissions to 30% by 2020 compared with 1990, compared with its current pledge of a 20% reduction.

DoThe GreenThings Video - As the Copenhagen Summit is our climate’s last chance saloon, it would help if we all understood what’s got to happen there. To make that simple, Green Thing has produced a Quick Recipe for a Successful Copenhagen with diplomacy illustrated through the medium of cookery. Watch it. Share it. Don’t try to cook it. And remember, as Chef says: “It does not have to be pretty, it just has to work.”

Last decade warmest on record, says Met Office – The last 10 years have been ‘by far’ the warmest decade the world has experienced since modern records began, the UK’s Met Office announced in Copenhagen on 8 December. It said the figures showed that the world continues to see global temperature rise most of which is due to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It added that the data clearly show that the argument that global warming has stopped is flawed.

Melting ice bear sculpture sends ‘powerful climate message’ – It is the powerful metaphor for man-made climate change. Artist Mark Coreth is sculpting a Polar bear out of ice which will slowly melt as negotiators work towards a global climate change deal in Copenhagen.

“Danish text” raises furore – According to The Guardian, developing countries “react furiously” after a draft text allegedly written by the UN conference’s host country was leaked Tuesday.

Top UN scientist: What Climategate? In harsh wording Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, defends British colleagues whose hacked emails have ignited debate over the credibility of mainstream climate science.

The Impact of Global Temperature Rise – Interactive Map

The impacts of climate change will be widespread across the globe. In order to understand more about what the human impact of high-end climate change might be, and therefore what would happen if a successful agreement can not be reached at Copenhagen, the UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre has produced a map outlining some of the impacts that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4 °C (7 °F) above the pre-industrial climate average. The map represents the latest peer-reviewed science on the impacts.

Using the map: This interactive version of the 4 degree map allows you to select which impacts you want to see, zoom on specific geographies and access more information about the science behind the map.

COP15 – Pictures

Play the Oxfam Climate Challenge with Heather Graham and Mackenzie Crook

Climate change is happening now. It is already costing the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people; those who suffer first and worst. This is a problem that can be solved.

In December, in Copenhagen, the world’s leaders will meet to discuss a united response to the problem of climate change. This conference offers the world its best chance yet to agree a solution. The solution must be fair and safe for all – and it must be binding.

Think you know about climate change?

Well here’s your chance to prove it. Take Oxfam’s climate challenge quiz. Play along with Heather Graham and Mackenzie Crook. Test your knowledge. Challenge your friends. And to find out more about Oxfam’s climate change campaign, head to http://www.oxfam.org/climate

Games include: Boiling Point; Trains, Planes and Bananas; and Pollution Solution.

There’s a button to sign an Oxfam petition on climate change and an option to share the game on your Facebook account. Oxfam have also hooked the climate challenge up with Nokia phones, so it’s available as an Ovi app.

Don’t forget you can do all your eco christmas shopping at Oxfam to support their causes and still earn 8% MoreEco cash back.

Go Ahead Try Cutting 10% of Your Emissions in 2010

MoreEco has signed up to 10:10 - an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.

By signing up to 10:10 you commit to support the national drive to reduce Britain’s emissions steeply in 2010. That means urging your staff, suppliers and customers to sign up to cut their own emissions by 10%, helping to distribute our tags, and doing everything you can to reduce your own operational emissions

HOW CAN THE UK CUT 10%?

1 Fly less, holiday more – Swap plane for train, holiday nearer to home and take fewer but longer trips – same tanning time, dramatically less climate change emissions. Never ﬂy or only one return ﬂight a year?

2 Save 10% on heating - Turn down your thermostat, turn off radiators in hallways and more jumpers all round. Then apply for a grant to insulate your loft & walls. Use your bill to see whether you cut 10% in 2010 and tick if you succeeded. Don’t use gas or oil?

3 Save 10% on electricity – Save big cash by changing lightbulbs, replacing old fridges & freezers and always turning stuff off. Use your bill to compare 2009 usage to 2010. Produce your own electricity from solar or wind?

4 Drive less – Leave your car at home one day a week. Walk, cycle or take public transport. Join a car-club rather than owning your own and share your ride to work with a colleague or two. No car?

5 Eat better – Local, in-season fruit & veg produce the least emissions – and the less processed the better. Have one meat-free day per week – but don’t replace with just-as-bad cheese. Don’t eat meat or dairy?

6 Buy good stuff – Less stuff made = less emissions = less climate damage. So buy high-quality things that last, repair broken stuff rather than chucking, buy & sell second-hand and borrow your neighbour’s mower. Never buy new? Really?

7 Dump less – Avoid excess packaging and buying pointless stuff that goes straight in the bin, recycle everything possible and compost your food waste. No garden or scared of worms? Let you off the composting.

8 Don’t waste food… – The average British family throws away £50 worth of food every month. So don’t buy or cook more than you need and eat up those tasty leftovers. With a smile on your face. Never ever waste a drop or morsel?

9 … or water – Your tap water uses lots of energy – and then heating it in your home uses loads more – so take showers rather than baths, be careful when watering plants and only run full dishwashers & washing machines. Don’t use water? What, you’re an alien?

10 Feel happier – It’s Dec 2010… you’re healthier for walking & cycling, you’ve made new friends from swapping stuff & car-pooling, you’ve saved a big chunk of cash… and you know that you’re part of the global effort to prevent castastrophic climate change.

October 09 – Top 10 Eco News Stories

The MoreEco team has put together its favourite to top 10 eco news posts from last month. Hopefully this will keep you up to date with what’s going on with green news currently!

The Road to Copenhagen: Less than 40 days to go

Supermodels Strip For Climate Change

In the News – International Day of Climate Action

Top 10 – Eco, Green and Fun Websites for Kids

Green Awards 2009 Shortlist Announced!

JumbleAid – Reducing Landfill and Supporting Charities

Blog Action Day – Stop Global Warming Video

Dirt Powered Bacteria Batteries Created Harvard Scientists

Google Earth Climate Introductory Tour

Sting’s Frog Message for The Prince’s Rainforests Project

The Road to Copenhagen: Less than 40 days to go

Major global meetings have been taking place over the last month, in and outside the formal UN climate change process. But with less than 40 days to go now, the COP15 conference in Copenhagen this December is starting to come into view.

Last month’s climate change summit in New York showed some gain in political momentum, though a further preparatory UN meeting in Bangkok highlight the remaining presence of a gap between developed and developing countries, seemingly based above all on a mutual lack of trust. The main differences in thought are:

Should a new legal instrument be introduced to replace Kyoto and be the foundation for a binding and comprehensive international agreement on climate?
This is what the EU would like, primarily to bring the US into the new arrangements, but the proposal met with some resistance at Bangkok. The rest of the developing world is suspicious of developed countries aiming to dodge ambitious new post-2012 targets. The approach was further undermined by the US freely acknowledging that they will be in no position to commit to any binding agreement.
Unfortunately there has been little progress on agreeing mid-term targets for developed countries and commitments from developing countries. Norway brightened the political landscape by pledging an impressive 40% cut in 2020 compared with 1990 levels, but in general the impasse remains
Financing discussions for climate mitigation and adaptation, essentially the wealth transfer from the developed to the developing world to finance climate actions, are still focussed on the institutions necessary to administer funds rather than concrete pledges themselves.

What can we hope to see from Copenhagen?

We have reason for remaining optimistic: a “successful” Copenhagen declaration can still be made if the outcome were roughly as follows:

A strong political declaration is made to agree a way forward on how to address the post-2012 Kyoto period, which must include targets and actions
A process is agreed on management of climate adaptation funds
An agreement is made to continue existing and new financial market mechanisms post-2012
A process is discussed that sees common international standards for measuring, reporting and verifying emission reductions
An agreement is made to tackle deforestation through a global international mechanism

There is still time for significant and necessary breakthroughs to be made at a political level. It will require strong leadership and continued pressure from people across the world.