As we close out this year, now is a good time for some refection before we charge into a new calendar. At the Institute, we have done just that, by releasing a report on our first two years of operation.
It has taken this observer a few days (critically complemented by well overdue restful nights) to fairly assess the results of the Copenhagen fortnight. This delayed consideration is in part due to access, an issue I will raise first, not in order of importance, but due to the immediate impacts on my final days at the COP. Read More»
On Saturday evening the Institute had the distinct pleasure to co-host an official COP15 side event with the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSE) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Read More»
Will carbon trading work?
December 14, 2009 11:41 p.m. EST – From CNN.com
(CNN) — Carbon trading — with its mix of free-market principles and government regulation — holds global appeal as a way for businesses to reduce emissions. But lack of a global market for carbon trade and questions over surveillance and accounting for pollution offsets raises questions about its viability.
The factors complicating accurate carbon-trading reportage begins with the “product” — in this case the absence of an invisible gas. Adding to the intangibility is the crediting of businesses for projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Read More»
As the first week came to a close at Copenhagen’s Bella Center, I took a moment to record a few impressions on the grueling COP process and an overview of some issues the Institute will be watching as the negotiations advance.
From Reuters News on 19 November 2009, 16:19 PM
By Michael Szabo
LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) – An injection of U.S. talent into the $6.5 billion market in carbon offsets would help clear bureaucratic bottlenecks, making way for increased investment in clean energy, the CEO of a $310 million environmental fund said. Read More»
You know that the times are getting a little weird when Sarah Palin starts talking about historical reconstructions using proxy data of average global surface temperature (see her recent opinion piece in Washington Post). Read More»
Please join me in welcoming one of our alumni and members as guest blogger this week for Inside the Institute. Don Bain is a highly successful management consultant, software expert and professional engineer. He recently participated in the stakeholders’ workshops at WRI on new draft standards and is guest posting on Inside the Institute to stimulate a conversation with our Membership. Read More»
To say my first two days at COP15 in Copenhagen have been a whirlwind, would not only be a tired cliché, but would also horrendously underestimate the speed at which the wind has proverbially encircled this program associate cum international correspondent. Read More»
From Nathanial Gronewold, E&E reporter
UNITED NATIONS — As some 15,000 people gather in Copenhagen for a high-profile effort to create a follow-up treaty to the Kyoto Protocol agreement, some of the delegates will be absorbed in a more mundane, but important task. They must figure out how to reform of the Clean Development Mechanism, one of the protocol’s most visible and controversial parts. Read More»
