Representatives of almost all the countries on the planet are gathering in Katowice, Poland, for the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They will set the course for action on climate change by discussing the implementation plan for the 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to coordinate international effort to halt warming at 1.5°C.
Arek Sinanian | The longer we delay the actions we must take, the more difficult it becomes to avoid the doom and the human and economic costs of adapting to climate change.
Arek Sinanian | There appears to be a continuing struggle between economic rationalism and efforts to abate greenhouse gas emissions and, in particular, commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. I have no doubt that such struggle and disjointedness in the introduction of renewables into the mix of the global energy supply is inevitable. After all, it’s another industrial revolution of sorts — one that is green in color instead of a black sooty one.
Veena Trehan | Obama’s legacy will be scarred if he deviates from focusing on addressing climate change. In August 2015, US President Barack Obama made a memorable trip to the Arctic just months after approving Shell’s drilling off the coast of Alaska. At the time, he said: “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening now.”
Chitra Subramaniam | The very talented Swiss artist Patrick Chapatte’s 2006 cartoon to mark the start of the international climate talks in Nairobi in November 2006 could well have been repeated for the recently concluded climate talks in Paris. Nobody is quite sure what was achieved, but everyone is relieved that talks didn’t crash.
The Paris climate change summit (COP21) felt like the last opportunity to curb the threat of climate change and what was at stake, and remains so, is the world economy. But fixing the global target for maximum warming at 1.5C, when a minimum of 2C was seen as necessary, and an optimal scenario of 4C had been considered, does not appear to meet expectations. Particularly if the agreement does nothing to pave the the way to achieving this.
BARCLAYS | The Conference of the Parties (COP-21), the annual meeting of all countries which want to take action for the climate, will take place in Paris from 30 November to 11 December. There are reasons to think the summit can deliver a strong outcome and also reasons to be sceptical.
BRUSSELS | By Alesio Pissano | Once upon a time the EU was a global leader in fighting climate change. In the last few years it has played a pivotal role in tackling CO2 emissions and boosting the green economy world wide. But, how is the economic crises affecting the EU’s green path?