Baird to Flaunt Climate Cash at Cancun Talks Toronto Star, Dec 6. Canada has committed a $400 million package to assist developing nations reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. Canada’s environment minister John Baird highlighted the fact that while Canada is responsible for 2% of global emissions, it is paying for 4% of the [...]
Siberia’s Climate Bomb: Thawing Permafrost Could Spell Disaster: Associate Press, Nov. 21 Methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent per molecule than carbon dioxide, is seeping from Sibera’s frozen soil and lakes at an accelerated rate due to global warming. While the 1.5 trillion tons of carbon trapped under the permafrost may be a “ticking [...]
President Obama’s midterm “shellacking,” to use his own term, was hailed by some pundits as the official death of “cap and trade.” Obama himself declared that there would be no comprehensive energy reform bill in the foreseeable future. Instead, he advocates working with Republicans to pass smaller “piecemeal” legislation. Obama remarked in a White House [...]
World Should Eradicate Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Reuters, Nov. 9 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its annual World Energy Outlook, which highlights the need for countries to completely abolish fossil fuel subsidies. While fossil fuel subsidies are projected to reach $500 billion by 2015, renewable energy subsidies are projected to be no more than [...]
The Arctic Shifts to a New Climate Pattern in Which ‘Normal’ Becomes Obsolete, NY Times, Oct. 22 Record high temperatures in the Arctic this year is another sign that the troubling trend of ice cap disintegration, permafrost melting, and snow cover shrinking is becoming irreversible, according to a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. [...]
State of the Planet is a forum for discussion on varying viewpoints. The opinions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Earth Institute or Columbia University.
