‘Will the Cancun climate summit be more productive than the one in Copenhagen? ‘After a year of anticipation and two weeks of frenzied negotiations, last December’s Copenhagen climate summit ended in frustration and acrimony. It’s no surprise, then, that as negotiators descend on Cancun today for the next round of U.N. talks, many have concluded … Continue reading
Tag Archives: 2009 COP15 climate conference (Copenhagen)
UN climate chief confident Cancun will establish a ‘Green Fund’ to help developing nations cope with climate change
Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (photo credit: Adopt a Negotiator’s Photostream on flickr). Despite the fact that governments of industrialized countries are focusing on balancing their budgets in these hard fiscal times, new UN climate chief Figueres is optimistic that a deal will be struck … Continue reading
Facing the certainty of uncertainty as the heat goes out of climate change debate
In science as in politics, easily grasped arguments grab headlines. And those that polarize issues can have even greater force. The Climategate saga that hit the press just before the Copenhagen conference on climate change late last year managed both to make headlines and to further polarize stands on whether climate is or is not … Continue reading
Why farms may be the new forests
For people who see stopping deforestation as the quickest climate-change win, Copenhagen seemed a success. Although there is still work to be done on the initiative known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), the deal struck in Copenhagen made it into a real thing, not just an idea. The notion of reducing … Continue reading
Brazil / Cattle / Climate Change / Environment / Latin America / Livestock
Climate change: Cattle, the ignored predator
Because of its effect on the environment, cattle must be given the same priority in global agendas as nuclear weapons, wars and, in particular, climate change, says Brazilian activist João Meirelles Filho, author of two books on Amazon deforestation. Cattle farming in Brazil is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, as it is responsible … Continue reading
COP 15: Vegetarian mafia descend on Copenhagen
THEY’RE waiting for unwitting passengers stepping off the train and heading for the climate talks – the vegetarian mafia thinking they can solve the world’s pollution problems by turning everyone off meat. Funny little people, often dressed as chooks or cows (or last night, a prawn) and are everywhere handing out show bags full of … Continue reading
Global research alliance launched at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
On 16 December in Copenhagen, agricultural research took center stage at the United Nations Climate Change Conference when Ministers from 18 countries launched a Global Research Alliance that will help us better understand how agriculture can help reduce greenhouse gases while also growing more food. USDA will commit up to $90 Million over four years towards … Continue reading
Copenhagen madness – Patti Kristjanson reflects on a week at COP15
‘So what was it like at COP15’? A tough question to answer. I think my colleague from England summed it up best in his quintessential low-key British manner – ‘it was madness’. But well organized madness, I must say. There can’t be many nationalities apart from the Danish that could have managed and coped with … Continue reading
Summary of Agriculture and Rural Development Day
The Agriculture and Rural Development Day event was held at the University of Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Saturday, 12 December 2009. The event took place in parallel with the United Nations Climate Change Conference, including the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate … Continue reading
Soggy pork … and other climate change choices
The world faces some interesting choices in the next few years. As illustrated by the ongoing Copenhagen negotiations, we have to decide whether and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a wide range of sectors, from energy generation to transportation and beyond. The livestock industry faces particular uncertainty in this environment. According to various … Continue reading
