Two weeks of U.N. climate talks ended Thursday with negotiators trimming a draft global climate pact but leaving core sticking points to be untangled later, before a December summit in Paris where the landmark agreement is to be adopted. Frustrated by the slow pace of the climate talks, some negotiators and observers called the Bonn meeting a squandered opportunity. —Associated Press, 11 June 2015
The Korean government said Thursday it will lower its carbon emissions reduction goals. The Ministry of Environment announced four proposals for greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2030 and all emission amounts are higher than the targets set for 2020. Yvo de Boer, the director general of the Global Green Growth Institute, expressed his disappointment. “The purpose of the Paris agreement is to reduce emissions, not increase them.” –Kim Se-jeong, The Korea Times, 12 June 2015
Pope Francis is likely to have a major impact in spurring U.N. negotiations on global warming with an encyclical on the environment next week, the U.N.’s climate chief said on Thursday. She said there was also a growing view among many governments, companies and investors that many actions to slow climate change would be economically profitable, rather than loss-making. —Reuters, 11 June 2015
2015 is gearing up to be the year of a new global climate deal. Negotiations are under way to reach an international climate change agreement at the United Nations climate summit in Paris later this year. In his talk Benny Peiser will discuss the political options for EU and UK climate policy in the absence of a legally binding climate agreement in Paris. —Sheffield University, 18 June 2015
Conservative proposals to axe onshore wind farm subsidies are being delayed amid fears they will trigger a costly legal battle with green energy companies and a damaging dispute with the Scottish Government. An announcement had been rescheduled for this week but Whitehall sources said it had now slipped again as officials tried to draw up plans that would not leave them vulnerable to legal challenge. –Emily Gosden, The Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2015
The world was leaving a little ice age when industrialisation kicked off, Monmouth MP David Davies has told MPs as he warned that against policies which force up energy costs for Welsh manufacturers. The Conservative MP yesterday called on the Government to be “very cautious” in the upcoming negotiations on climate change in Paris and argued there is a “difference between healthy scepticism and denial” about global warming. –David Williamson, Wales Online, 12 June 2015
