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A Glimmer of Hope

A Glimmer of Hope

By: Christine Burns ’14 Talks here at Durban have seemed pretty grim over the past two weeks, but maybe something will come together in the final hour!  At the beginning of the COP the EU proposed a “road map” that might be able to pacify countries like the US.  The road map is a plan to incorporate all major economies in a legal agreement by 2015.  This means that countries like China and India which are major … Read entire article »

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

Roadmap to the Future

By Sam Pollan, ‘14 The expected “Big Deal” coming out of Durban may or may not be the second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol, but the emerging EU roadmap is looking like a more promising result now that we are nearing the end of the conference. The EU roadmap is essentially a document planning binding emissions targets for 2015 through the post-2020 period and here is the best part: the US is actually supportive. According to British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, over 120 countries are already supporting this new agreement including several developing and AOSIS countries that have predominantly been pushing towards the second commitment period. Even Jennifer Morgan, who spoke with our group in DC on behalf of the World Resources Institute, is hopeful here in … Read entire article »

Filed under: Key COP17 Issues

Dickinson Skypes from South Africa

Grace Lange ’12 On December 7th, the eleven Dickinson students in South Africa were able to Skype into our Dickinson Media center to share there experience at COP17. The Skype call was broadcasted to 21 different connections, one of the connections was a climate change class from Northampton Community College. We have a copy of the recorded session here.  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18990860     … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change

The Problem COP17 Isn’t Talking About

By Timothy Damon ’12 Many issues are covered during each COP, including a staggering 70 plus agenda items this time around. Some issues get much more treatment than others, but there is one that is getting no time at all. What could this mysterious topic be, you ask? Ocean Acidification (OA), the “other half of the carbon problem”. I just attended a side event by almost the same name here in the Durban expo center. Its panel provided a refreshing splash of science in what has otherwise been a conference nearly devoid of such a perspective. Unfortunately, the news, though necessary, is alarming. Earlier this semester, I wrote one of my research papers for the Mosaic on OA and its implications for human health and economy. The experts from tonight followed the same … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues