“I’m not a climatologist. I’m not a scientist. I’m not an economist …”

Much has been written about the Paris climate change agreement last December. Brady Dennis writes a good article in the Washington Post about Ban Ki-moon, the UN’s secretary-general, who played a big role in making it happen. Why outgoing U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was willing to bet big on a climate change deal Ban … Continue reading “I’m not a climatologist. I’m not a scientist. I’m not an economist …” →

Canada’s dilemma in reducing emissions while expanding its economy

If you were sitting on the world’s largest reserves of tar sands, would you be thinking you could expand production and yet reduce emissions? It is a dilemma. Konrad Yakabuski writes a thoughtful article in Canada’s Globe and Mail about this issue that faces more than Canada Can an expanding economy be a low-carbon … Continue reading Canada’s dilemma in reducing emissions while expanding its economy →

Okay, what next?

While most countries came to a global agreement on climate change at the December conference in Paris, the hard part starts now. Chris Mooney writes a good article in the Washington Post about the difficulties in knowing how to reach those targets. This is an important read for EiD followers. Those ambitious global warming … Continue reading Okay, what next? →

Women to lead way for integrating climate change in corporate decision-making

We know that the corporate world has to play an increasingly important role in ensuring the goals from the Paris climate change conference in 2015 are met or bettered. Fiona Harvey writes in The Guardian about a new initiative of the UN to encourage female executives to demand action from their companies to stave off … Continue reading Women to lead way for integrating climate change in corporate decision-making →

Latest update on climate finance

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides the March update on global developments in climate finance. March 2016 Climate Finance Update: Fund Boards Meet, Carbon Markets Under the Spotlight In the Paris Agreement, agreed upon by 195 UN Member States in December 2015, countries agreed to make “finance flows consistent with a pathway … Continue reading Latest update on climate finance →

World Bank refocusing financing efforts towards the low carbon transition

International financial institutions play a key role in providing important financing to drive economic and social objectives. The funding decisions provide valuable signals to governments and other funders. Fiona Harvey writes in The Guardian about the refocus of the World Bank in its financing efforts towards tackling climate change. World Bank to spend 28% … Continue reading World Bank refocusing financing efforts towards the low carbon transition →

An emerging battle over how the USA should shift to renewable energy

There is a growing battle going on to transmit renewable energy to needy consumers. Diane Cardwell writes in the New York Times about recent developments. Is this a concern in Europe as well? Fight to Keep Alternative Energy Local Stymies an Industry Up and down the center of the country, winds rip across plains, … Continue reading An emerging battle over how the USA should shift to renewable energy →

There is a way to avoid stranded assets

The low carbon energy transition is on and a recent study by Oxford academics shows that very soon any new thermal power plants will end up with a very short lifetime if we are to meet our greenhouse gas emissions targets. Pilita Clark writes in the Financial Times about the recent study. Energy companies … Continue reading There is a way to avoid stranded assets →

More arguments why improved energy efficiency needs to be seen as an infrastructure issue

Last week EiD reported on a new briefing note by E3G on energy efficiency as infrastructure. Now we have a good post by Dr. Sam Gardner of WWF Scotland in the Herald Scotland arguing that improved energy efficiency must be seen as a national infrastructure project. This is an important argument that we hope gains … Continue reading More arguments why improved energy efficiency needs to be seen as an infrastructure issue →

The “biosphere” now a “net source” of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere

Chris Mooney writes in the Washington Post about a new study that discusses the hidden driver of climate change that we too often ignore. Humans are making global warming worse, all right — but in more ways than you think That’s the result of an important new study in Nature, which finds that the … Continue reading The “biosphere” now a “net source” of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere →