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Dickinson to Durban » Key COP17 Issues

A Continuation of Kyoto: Is It Worth It?

A Continuation of Kyoto: Is It Worth It?

By: Christine Burns 14 While the we have been running around to side events and interviews, the delegates of the COP have been tackling some big issues.  I am starting to get a sense that the general situation is that each country or block of countries is dealing with different issues from desertification, to sea-level rise, to economic downfall at home that they cannot see eye to eye on this rather broad issue of anthropogenic climate … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

It’s a Tarp: Alternatives and Addendums to REDD

By Sam Pollan, ’14 In my last post I discussed the shift of REDD from a watertight solution to a hole-ridden tarp. Emissions from deforestation related activities are a huge contributor to climate change and it only makes sense that they should be one of the primary issues addressed. This is especially true when the apparent solution is as simple as to stop cutting down trees. Unfortunately, this has more than a few social ramifications. While REDD has the potential for serious climate mitigation, I think it is also important to look at ways to address and correct problems in the current system as well as alternatives that can be done outside of REDD involving carbon sequestration through plants. Corruption is and land tenure are two troubling areas in this discussion. Yesterday I discussed “carbon cowboys” and the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Key COP17 Issues

A look at the positions of the most vulnerable countries of the world

A look at the positions of the most vulnerable countries of the world

By Anna McGinn ‘14 Together they do not emit enough to tangibly affect the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, yet they are feeling the impacts the most. Climate change is not a thing of the future for these countries, it is happening now. However, for the most part these countries do not have much political power in the international negotiations to actually push through changes that will save their countries. The most vulnerable … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

Wait, what fund?

By Emily Bowie ’14 One of the things we skimmed over in class were the different funds created by the UNFCCC at various COPs in the past. While talking to delegates and NGOs over the past few days I found myself confused about the differences between the monetary sources I kept hearing. But then yesterday I got to talk to Dr. Erik Haites of Margaree Consultants Inc. in Canada. I asked him about the Green Climate Fund, one of the sources I had heard about, and he ended up giving me an overview of all of the funds connected with the UNFCCC. GEF – The Global Environment Facility. Article 3 of the UNFCCC Treaty Text states that “The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II shall provide new and … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics, Key COP17 Issues