UN climate text swells as climate finance dispute slows talks

26.10.15

News

Swollen UN climate text ups workload for Paris summit

Climate talks in Bonn ended with a lengthier draft text that had swollen to a “heavily-bracketed 34 pages”, says Carbon Pulse, primarily in response to concerns from developing nations. The BBC is one of several outlets to raise the spectre of Copenhagen, the failed climate talks of 2009. While some in Bonn heard echoes of the bitter rich-poor divisions that broke Copenhagen, many others felt things were in now a far better place, the BBC says. Striking a more optimistic note, theGuardian says the draft text coming out of Bonn shows countries are close to consensus. The focus now turns from climate negotiators to ministers and world leaders, says Climate Home, with some issues said to be unresolvable at negotiator level. French diplomat Laurence Tubiana attempts to dispel one Copenhagen ghost, insisting there is no secret text being prepared by France behind the scenes. In a comment piece, Business Green editor James Murray asks if climate talks are having a last-minute wobble. Business Green also has a summary of last week’s talks. In an article for Ensia, Guardian environment correspondent Fiona Harvey sets out “what it will take for success” at Paris. Meanwhile the Obama administration is ramping up efforts to secure domestic backing for a climate deal, reports the Hill. Alongside its report from Bonn, a separate BBC article explains what climate change is.

Climate finance dispute slows U.N. talks as time runs short for Paris

Reuters

Disputes over financing for poor nations hampered climate talks last week, reports Reuters, with developing countries saying climate finance is “the” core issue. Talks in Bonn ended with tension over who should pay for climate action, says Politico. In his Dot Earth blog, Andy Revkin says the battle over climate finance has moved into the foreground and “could still do for Paris what the emissions fight did for Copenhagen”. Meanwhile a guest legal commentary for Climate Homelooks in detail at possible language on loss and damage, sometimes called climate compensation.

Obama’s carbon reduction plan under attack from 24 states and Republicans

The Guardian

Twenty-four states have filed lawsuits against Barack Obama’s rules for cutting carbon pollution from power plants. The challenge, filed on Friday, asked a federal court in Washington DC to strike down the rules, which aim to reduce emissions from power plants by 32% by 2030 on 2005 levels as part of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. West Virginia, Texas, Florida and Ohio are among the states behind the challenge, reports Reuters, arguing the restrictions push beyond the limits of the federal Clean Air Act. The US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers are among business groups that have filed their own challenge. In response, the Obama administration said it is confident that its proposal to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants is on solid legal ground, reports another Reuters article. White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters: “I am not surprised that our Republican critics have rushed to the courts to try and prevent something they weren’t able to do legislatively.” The Hill, Scientific American,BusinessGreen and Climate Central also cover the story.

Steel bosses in Treasury crisis talks

The Telegraph

Steel firm bosses are set to meet George Osborne to discuss the crisis in their industry, reports the Telegraph. It says “pressure is building” on the chancellor to provide relief from high energy prices. In a second article the Telegraph says the industry is “raging against [the] dying of the light”. TheMail on Sunday also looks at steelmakers’ costs. Carbon Brief looked at the facts around the steel industry’s energy costs last week.

Boris Johnson calls for halt to planned solar aid cuts

The Guardian

Thousands of jobs have been put at risk by rushed cuts to solar support, according to London major Boris Johnson’s environment spokesman. Johnson believes the solar industry needs greater certainty, he says. Meanwhile the Telegraph says water firm United Utilities plans to float solar panels on its reservoir in a bid to cut costs.

Comment

The Tories are trying to kill off our renewable energy boom

Ed Davey, The Guardian

The UK got more power from renewables than coal in the past three months writes Ed Davey, former energy and climate secretary. Yet this “massive progress” is about to slow, he says, because of “Tory attacks”. After the chancellor’s spending review it will be clear if the Tories are heading towards breaking the UK’s legal renewable targets, he says.

Power failure

Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times

The Hinkley Point new nuclear plant may be “too little, too late to head off a crisis” in UK energy policy, says Danny Forston in the Sunday Times. He anticipates energy and climate secretary Amber Rudd’s energy policy “reset” speech, due “in the next month”, saying incentives for new gas capacity are “likely to be a big part”. Her reset must also address an industry “in the middle of seismic change”, he says, as power shifts from centralised stations to distributed generation.

It’s true women don’t like fracking. I want to change that

Averil Macdonald, The Guardian

In a comment for the Guardian, UK Onshore Operators Group chair Averil Macdonald responds to criticism of her suggestion that women are less likely to support fracking because they don’t understand it. Macdonald’s comments “sparked fury”, reports Business Green. Meanwhile polling expert Leo Barasi questions the idea that higher opposition among women is down to a lack of knowledge.

The Guardian view on solar power: put in the shade just when it needs the sun

Editorial, The Guardian

The UK’s future as a leader in renewable technologies risks going the same way as the nuclear expertise it long left behind, says a Guardian editorial. Planned cuts to solar subsidies will save the average household 50p a year, it says, with Britain’s green future appearing to be a “sacrificial victim” of deficit reduction.

Science

Global patterns of the contributions of storm frequency, intensity, and seasonality to inter-annual variability of precipitation

Journal of Climate

Variation in the length of wet seasons is the principal way in which annual rainfall totals fluctuate from one year to the next, a new study finds. Using data from weather stations and satellites, the researchers analysed how total annual rainfall in tropical and mid-latitude regions varies. Their findings show that 52% of the variability was a result in of fluctuating wet season length, while variations in storm intensity and frequency contributes 31% and 17%, respectively.