Looking ahead from Copenhagen: how challenging is the Chinese carbon intensity target?

At COP 15 in Copenhagen, China has put forward a proposal for cutting its carbon intensity by 40-45% from 2005 levels by 2020. The scheme has generated a variety of responses, which is unsurprising given the difficulty of assessing the intensity target. In particular, it gave the impression that China and the US may take the lead in the fight against climate change. By comparing figures from history and recent projections, this note is an attempt to shed some light on how ambitious is the Chinese climate proposal and, therefore, on China’s actual cooperative effort to control climate change

published December 28th, 2009
Category: Articles

Transition path towards low carbon societies: LCS-RNet side event at Cop15

Three days before the end of COP15, Prof. Carraro chaired the side-event “Pathway towards low carbon society” where researchers from the international network for Low Carbon Society presented synthesis and results of their work. The network involves partners from all over the world. Participants joint the event here in Copenhagen from Europe (Mr. Lechtenbohmer and [...]

published December 16th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Overnight stop-and-go

Being forced to stay overnight and solve a new stall in the process, eventually negotiators did not fail to close the LCA works. The major block came from the United States raising key divergences to be reflected in the final text of the draft core decision, especially concerning mitigation actions for developed and developing countries [...]

published December 16th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Brokenhagen? There are long long nights to come

Today negotiatiors are advised to stock food and other provisions for the exceptionally long night that they will be facing.
Discussions are expected to exceed the regular timetable – as it happened in quite some cases during the last days – due to the unsatisfactory status of the works performed by the groups so far, both [...]

published December 15th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Back at work

Delegations are back at work after Sunday break. The first week of negotiations ended with a “tremendous amount of work done”, according to the Chair of the AWG-LCA. Many Countries are ready to work on the draft texts that were proposed by the Chairs of both LCA and KP tracks on Friday. However, serious [...]

published December 14th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Cooperation of developing and developed countries: the Mediterranean and Caribbean example from the side-event in Copenhagen

New results on the nature and mechanisms of climate variability, its impacts and economic consequences in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Areas: a Copenhagen joint side event by the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC) and Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC)

published December 14th, 2009
Category: CopShots

CMCC at Cop15: side events and meeting with the participation of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change

The Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) will be in Copenhagen, attending the COP15 and contributing to the debate in various initiative. Among them the joint side event organized by CMCC and Caribbean Community Climate Change Center: “Hot spots. Projections and impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Areas” which will take place on Monday, 14 Dec 2009 – Room: Liva Weel.

published December 14th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Copenhagen outcome: An integrated comprehensive balanced package of decisions?

A very busy day in Copenhagen!
In the setting of extraordinary informal consultations held in the morning today, the Chairs of the two AWGs presented a provisional outcome of the works performed during this first week.
Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Chair of the AWG-LCA, announced officially that he envisages an “integrated comprehensive balanced package of decisions” as [...]

published December 11th, 2009
Category: CopShots

All the Leaders speaking at Cop15

Today’s official UNFCCC Daily Schedule provided the very first (and provisional) list of the Leaders who wish to have a speech at the high-level segment of the Climate Change Conference. From Wednesday 16th until Friday 18th December early morning, a pretty full schedule has been outlined so far. Regional groups will take the floor first, [...]

published December 10th, 2009
Category: CopShots

Tiny and bold: Tuvalu livens up the plenary in Copenhagen

On Wednesday, plenary sessions of the COP proved to be lively. The tiny island of Tuvalu raised its voice and proposed that the outcome of Copenhagen be 2 legally-binding agreements: an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol (which in general developing countries hope for) plus a new “Copenhagen Protocol” that would complement and strengthen the KP [...]

published December 10th, 2009
Category: CopShots