Since retiring from the Foreign Office last year, John Ashton has given a series of forthright speeches on climate change. Why does he omit the predicament of the most vulnerable countries?
Tag: unfccc
Sustainable Energy For All heads new world order
Leaders of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy For All initiative have held a press conference at Rio+20. Public-private partnerships are the model of the future, they say, and this is the biggest of all.
Rio+20: notes for scientists: 12th March
News about the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development relevant to the science community, covering Sha Zukang, Christiana Figueres, A Date With History and the Nine Principles of a Green Economy.
Time to snap out of the two degree trance
Vulnerable nations such as Tuvalu made some progress at Copenhagen last week in questioning the right of rich countries to regard two degrees as the safe limit of global warming. More momentum could scupper the talks.
Blair unfit to lead Europe on climate change
On a visit to China last week, Tony Blair said that encouraging people to reduce flying and driving is not an appropriate response to climate change. This is not good enough for a prospective president of the European Union.
UK climate projections betray Copenhagen agenda
The new UK climate projections published by the Met Office Hadley Centre are a valuable risk management tool for policymakers. But they also speak volumes about the global failure to protect poor countries from climate change.
Assorted omens for Copenhagen climate agreement
The mood of last week’s World Business Summit on Climate Change was positive that climate negotiators will reach agreement in Copenhagen in December. But US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, appears to be in hasty retreat from election promises.
Car scrappage may upset climate negotiations
Subsidies for scrapping old cars are all the rage in Europe. But will these handouts put developing countries in a positive frame of mind to make concessions for a new Kyoto agreement?
Climate activists should look beyond Copenhagen
The outcome of the G20 reinforced fears that the US and China will not reach agreement on climate change this year. Maybe it’s time for campaigners to downgrade the Copenhagen summit, however unpalatable.