NewsTrust - Climate Change - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Opinion: Obama Has Failed the World on Climate Change

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Der Spiegel - By Christian Schwägerl - Nov. 17 (Opinion) - US President Barack Obama came to office promising hope and change. But on climate change, he has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor George W. Bush. Now, should the climate summit in Copenhagen fail, the blame will lie squarely with Obama.

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Copenhagen summit: Change we can't yet believe in

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - Nov. 16 (Editorial) - Confirming yesterday what had already been apparent for some months, Barack Obama and other leaders yesterday said that time had run out to secure a legally binding climate deal at Copenhagen. They said the 22 remaining days were just too few in number to secure binding emissions targets and overcome the divisions between the developed and developing world. This could be viewed as a realistic assessment. Mr Obama said that we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The British government's view is also optimistic. As long as political targets and outline commitments are agreed at Copenhagen, why should it matter that a few more months are taken to thrash out the details, if the end result is a package that is workable and enforceable? Rather a good package later than a weak package now. After all, the same thing happened to the Montreal protocol on CFCs, which took a year to harden up but remains the best of its kind.

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The Copenhagen Collapse

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - Nov. 16 (Opinion) - Over the weekend Mr. Obama bowed to reality and admitted that little of substance will come of the climate-change summit in Copenhagen next month. For the last year the President has been promising a binding international carbon-regulation treaty a la the Kyoto Protocol, but instead negotiators from 192 countries now hope to reach a preliminary agreement that they'll sign such a treaty when they meet in Mexico City in 2010. No doubt.

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'Right to dry' could wean Americans off consumption - opinion - 29 October 2009

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Scientist - By Alexander,Lee - Nov. 14 (Editorial) - It is time to put an end to crazy lows that mean millions of Americans use energy hungry tumble dryers rather than a clothes line.

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Climate Rage

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Rolling Stone - By Naomi Klein - Nov. 11 (Opinion) - With Copenhagen now likely to begin before Congress has passed even a weak-ass climate bill co-authored by the coal lobby, U.S. politicians have dropped the superhero metaphors and are scrambling to lower expectations for achieving a serious deal at the climate summit. It's just one meeting, says U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, not "the be-all and end-all." As faith in government action dwindles, however, climate activists are treating Copenhagen as an opportunity of a different kind. On track to be the largest environmental gathering in history, the summit represents a chance to seize the political terrain back from business-friendly half-measures, such as carbon offsets and emissions trading, and introduce some effective, common-sense proposals — ideas that have less to do with creating complex new markets for pollution and more to do with keeping coal and oil in the ground.

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Copenhagen already a success

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Globe and Mail - By Bruce Anderson - Nov. 10 (Opinion) - There is a huge dysfunction between the way the average voter comes at these issues and the way policy spokespeople in the corporate, environmental NGO and government worlds often do. And at no time is this more visible than when mega climate/carbon events like Copenhagen come around. Most people are worried that the planet is under a lot of pressure, and many believe the climate is changing as a result. Considerably fewer have examined the science behind climate change, and fewer still the complex formulae that are at the heart of greenhouse-gas reduction targets.

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The missing link in the climate change debate

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Adam Corner - Nov. 09 (Opinion) - From 10:10 to the government's Act On CO2 campaign, it is now widely accepted that tackling climate change will require tackling behaviour change too. But until now, a key piece has been missing from the puzzle – psychology. The study of human behaviour has been conspicuous by its absence from the climate change debate.

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How to boost fuel efficiency? Raise taxes, executives say

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Reuters - By Scott Malone - Nov. 06 (Opinion) - While politically unpalatable, gasoline that costs at least $4 a gallon would have a far greater effect on American fuel usage than Washington's $25 billion loan program meant to spark investment in new technologies

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With tax break, a big carbon footprint

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Boston Globe - By Edward L. Glaeser - Nov. 05 (Opinion) - ENVIRONMENTALISTS who are worried about global warming should pay attention to the congressional debate about extending the home buyers tax credit. Federal tax policies toward housing have long encouraged Americans to emit more carbon. President Obama could do the country, and the planet, a service by either refusing to sign the extension of the $8,000 credit or by insisting that it be accompanied by offsetting reductions in the home mortgage interest deduction.

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Climate Change Deniers Are Not Skeptics - They're Suckers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By George Monbiot - Nov. 03 (Opinion) - My fiercest opponents on global warming tend to be in their 60s and 70s. This offers a fascinating, if chilling, insight into human psychology There is no point in denying it: we're losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere that cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument; any attempt to draw attention to scientific findings is greeted with furious invective. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed. A survey last month by the Pew Research Centre suggests that the proportion of Americans who believe there is solid evidence that the world has been warming over the last few decades has fallen from 71% to 57% in just 18 months.

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Obama may face fight on treaties

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Boston Globe - By Bender, Bryan - Oct. 25 (Opinion) - President Obama's vision of global cooperation - symbolized by his surprise Nobel Peace Prize - is in for a crucial test in the months ahead when he begins sending a series of treaties to the US Senate, where skepticism ...Questions for Thorbjorn Jagland Peace Be With YouNew York TimesWSJIDEBATE: Was It Premature to Honor Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize?Wall Street JournalObama Gets 'Incomplete' as Decisions on War, Joblessness LoomBloombergBellingham Herald?-Niles Daily Star?-The MIT Techall 165 news articles??

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Rebranding America

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:09:36 -0700

New York Times - Oct. 18 (Opinion) - President Obama reminds us that America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man.

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The world's future is being decided this weekend

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Nicholas Stern - Oct. 18 (Opinion) - We must agree to halt deforestation and curtail air travel now if the Copenhagen summit is to succeed Energy and environment ministers from the world?s major economies are meeting in London today to try to accelerate crucial negotiations over an international treaty on climate change. Strong progress has been made in the past few weeks, with Japan, for example, announcing that it will cut its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 25% by 2020 relative to levels in 1990. But there are still major obstacles and some doubt whether a strong global deal can be hammered out in time for the United Nations?s conference on climate change in Copenhagen, now just seven weeks away. Agreement can be reached if governments now ...

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Real-world problems turn climate-change debate pragmatic

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - Oct. 16 (Opinion) - As the health-care debate was transformed by the urgency of insurance reform, climate-change legislation is shaped by the business and financial consequences of global warming.

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How we feed the world on 85p

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Alex Renton, John Vidal - Oct. 11 -

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Green Inc.: Apple Resigns From Chamber Over Climate

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Kate Galbraith - Oct. 06 (Opinion) - Apple became the latest company to resign from the United States Chamber of Commerce, citing climate issues.

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Errors of omission

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Oct. 05 (Opinion) - Bumblebees cannot fly—or so physical models are said to have shown. That the insects routinely become airborne demonstrates the shortcomings of some theoretical accounts of the world. But one of the strengths of the scientific method is that, when presented with evidence that discredits their theories, scientists are forced to concede that their models are wrong and endeavour to learn from the failure. In science, observation always trumps theory, no matter how elegant the theory might be. The same is true of theoretical models of climate change. Over the past decade there have been large variations in the projected increase in global temperatures and sea levels over the coming years. ...

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Can Obama Save the Global Economy (and Globalization) at the G-20?

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Esquire - By Thomas P.M. Barnett - Sep. 25 (Opinion) - What does this "rebalancing" play from Washington amount to? In a nutshell, a near-term future in which America consumes less and China consumes a helluva lot more. But Obama's "framework" also promises diplomatic cover for all sides in this rebalancing process by empowering the International Monetary Fund to monitor G-20 member pledges and flag them for consultations if voluntary targets aren't being met. Since sanctions never work (even if Dmitri Medvedev and the West Wing think they're inevitable), this transparent approach is considered ideal — in effect, a multilateral version of the shaming technique historically employed by the IMF (and by the U.S. against mercantilist Japan in years past).

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Copenhagen Climate Talks: Why They May Fail

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Newsweek - By Sharon Begley - Sep. 24 (Opinion) - This is Climate Week here in New York City, so if you have been swept up in the excitement over Hugh Jackman's lending his celebrity to the cause of averting a catastrophic greenhouse effect ("people in developing countries have contributed the least to climate change and are suffering the most from it," he said at Monday's opening ceremony at the New York Public Library), or President Obama's speech at the United Nations Tuesday warning of “irreversible catastrophe" if the nations of the world do not cut carbon emissions, you might feel optimistic that the nations of the world will get their acts together enough to produce a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. Forgive me for being the skunk at this greenhouse-gas-enhanced garden party.

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Obama urges 'global reponse'

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

CNN - By Barack Obama - Sep. 23 (Speech) - President Obama urges the United Nations to help with a global response to the challenges that face the world.

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China gets serious about carbon emissions, global warming

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:39:34 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - Sep. 23 - Globe and MailChina gets serious about carbon emissions, global warmingChristian Science MonitorAt UN, China's Hu Jintao commits to measurable limits on carbon emissions for the first time. Chinese environmental activists hail the shift toward low-carbon technology. By Peter Ford | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Beijing - The ...Obama to world: Don't expect America to fix it allThe Associated PressChina's green policy lauded at UN climate summitXinhuaObama to address world at UNAFPWashington Post?-Bloomberg?-Telegraph.co.ukall 1,798 news articles??

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Copenhagen or bust

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Newsweek - By Gordon Brown - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - If we miss this opportunity, there will be no second chance sometime in the future, no later way to undo the catastrophic damage to the environment we will cause. So when world leaders gather this week, first at the United Nations in New York and then at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, it is essential that we move toward resolving the issues that still divide our nations. As scientists spell out the mounting evidence both of the climate change already occurring and of the threat it poses in the future, we cannot allow the negotiations to run out of time simply for lack of attention. Failure would be unforgivable.

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Alternatives Are Simply too expensive

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Stephen F. Hayward - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - The U.S. and Western Europe can point to a remarkable achievement over the past 40 years: significant reductions in air pollution with only a modest effect on our economic growth and prosperity. So, why can't we expect to do the same with greenhouse-gas emissions?

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The Transition Can Be Gradual—and Affordable

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Robert N. Stavins - Sep. 21 (Opinion) - The world is facing a potential catastrophe from greenhouse-gas emissions. But nations don't have to wreck their economies to avert the crisis.

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Climate change's cold reality

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Muhammad Cohen - Sep. 21 (Opinion) - Developing countries will account for an estimated two-thirds to three-fourths of greenhouse gas increases over the next decade, yet nothing in the Copenhagen agreement will even slow that trend. Industrialised countries simply must hope – and pay an estimated $140bn annually – for developing countries to pursue green policies.

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