SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A U.N. carbon-payment scheme aimed at saving forests in poorer nations could push some species to extinction unless it is designed to spread investment across many countries, a study released on Friday shows. The United Nations wants the scheme, called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), to be part of a broader pact to fight climate change by rewarding poorer nations for preserving forests through carbon offset revenue. Deforestation is a major... Read Full Story
NEW DELHI/LONDON (Reuters) - China and other big developing nations rejected core targets for a climate deal such as halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 just five days before talks start in Copenhagen, diplomats said on Wednesday. China, the world's top emitter, together with India, Brazil and South Africa demand that richer nations do more and have drawn "red lines" limiting what they themselves would accept, the diplomats told Reuters. The four rejected key targets proposed by... Read Full Story
A row over leaked emails from a British scientist hinting at a global warming cover-up has reached the US Congress, where climate change skeptics are seeking to thwart key legislation. British Professor Phil Jones has stood aside as director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, after his emails calling into question the scientific basis for climate change fears were leaked. Hackers had penetrated the center's network and posted online thousands of emails from... Read Full Story
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday that it produces nearly 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, but it vowed to reduce the climate-harming gases it spews into the atmosphere. "The U.N. emits the equivalent of 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, of which approximately 1 million tons comes from peacekeeping operations," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. "This inventory is a first step in cutting back emissions," he... Read Full Story
Rich nations will have to be sensitive to the needs of developing economies to reach agreement on tackling climate change, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick warned Friday, days ahead of a key summit. Zoellick's statement came as the high-stakes climate meeting was due to open Monday in the Danish capital Copenhagen aimed at forging a new pact to tackle greenhouse gas emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. "My primary message is that one will not be able to address the problem of... Read Full Story
Hopes for the last day of UN climate talks Friday were raised by a US pledge to a climate finance fund, but leaders still warned of failure amid debate on sharing the burden of carbon-emissions cuts. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brightened a grim summit mood by saying the United States would contribute to a long-term fund worth 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help poor countries fund cleaner technology and shore up defences against worsening floods, drought, storms and rising... Read Full Story
A leading scientist who helped alert the world to the dangers of global warming said on Thursday that climate talks in Copenhagen next week were based on such flawed proposals that he hoped they failed. James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies since 1981, said attempts to forge a global deal on cutting emissions after the Kyoto treaty expires were based on a "fundamentally wrong" approach. "I would rather it not happen if people accept that as being the right... Read Full Story
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is expected to urge China to toughen its carbon intensity target at a Copenhagen climate conference starting next week, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. Japan is also likely to press the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter at the U.N.-led December 7-18 talks to set a year for when emissions will peak, the Nikkei reported, without citing sources. China unveiled last week its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions, setting a target for... Read Full Story
A leading scientist who helped alert the world to the dangers of global warming said on Thursday that climate talks in Copenhagen next week were based on such flawed proposals that he hoped they failed. James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies since 1981, said attempts to forge a global deal on cutting emissions after the Kyoto treaty expires were based on a "fundamentally wrong" approach. "I would rather it not happen if people accept that as being the right... Read Full Story
OSLO (Reuters) - Prices of everyday goods such as clothing and food will barely rise if rich nations slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a study on Wednesday that concludes green lifestyles are affordable. The study, in New Scientist magazine based on data for Britain from consultancy Cambridge Econometrics, said prices of only a few consumer goods dependent on fossil fuels would rocket, such as fuel-guzzling air travel. "These results show that the global project to fight... Read Full Story
