Greens mourn loss of ‘fighter’ Huhne

Environmental groups have expressed sadness over the resignation of former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne and have praised his work on green issues in the UK. Margaret Ounsley from WWF-UK said: “Chris Huhne understood the very complex issue of climate change, and fought his corner long and hard within the government to ensure that core policies, […]

Leaders gather for Durban climate talks

As heads of state from around the world gather in Durban today to begin the UN’s latest round of climate talks, environmentalists have urged them to “lay the foundations” for a global deal or risk dangerous climate change. Attempts to set new climate targets that will kick in once the Tokyo Protocol runs out in […]

Russia will ‘never’ sign second Kyoto Protocol

Russia will “never” sign up to an extended Kyoto Protocol, according to the environment head of its Foreign Ministry. Oleg Shamanov at the Foreign Ministry said: “We will never sign Kyoto 2 because it would not cover every country,” reported The Moscow Times. His comments come ahead of the Durban summit where heads of state […]

Cancun deal a small step on long road

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne last week said that “a car crash” in Cancun must be avoided. He got his wish, and while some think it’s the equivalent of climate action in the slow lane, the outcome of last week’s talks exceeded many expectations… not least Mr Huhne’s. So what was agreed? The key points of […]

World Bank sets up carbon trading fund for developing countries

Developing countries which want to set up carbon trading schemes are to get financial and technical support from the Wold Bank. World Bank group president Robert B. Zoellick announced the initiative, called the Partnership for Market Readiness, at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Cancun yesterday. But it was straight away criticised […]

Huhne says Cancun "car crash" must not happen

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne yesterday told the Climate Change Summit in Cancun that “we’re reaching a crunch point”, but added that “a car crash of a summit is in no one’s interest”. And Mr Huhne said that the answer to climate change success “has to be compromise”. “We cannot do everything here,” he added. “But […]

Committee on Climate Change calls for 60% emissions cuts by 2030

The Committee on Climate Change today published its latest carbon budget and called for a cut in emissions of 60% by 2030. This ambitious figure would be delivered, said the CCC, by radically decarbonising and reforming the electricity market, instituting a mass deployment of electric vehicles and halving CO2 emissions from industry. And it wants […]

Put climate change in profit-making terms: Cameron

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that the key to tackling climate change is to put initiatives into “profit-making terms”. Mr Cameron said there is a “compelling economic case to be made for fighting climate change that is barely out of the blocks yet”. Writing in The Observer newspaper, the Prime Minister said the “green […]

A Cancun climate deal would be good for nuclear, says Hendry

Energy Minister Charles Hendry today said that a successful global climate deal in Cancun next week “would be good for the nuclear industry, at home and abroad”. Speaking at a nuclear forum in London, he said businesses “are crying out for governments to join together and show real leadership” and this involved “a more sustainable […]

Greenpeace activists climb oil rig

Greenpeace activists have scaled a Mexican oil rig to protest against fossil fuels ahead of the climate summit in Cancun. The protestors draped a banner reading ‘Go Beyond Oil’ on the platform, which Greenpeace claims was one of four sent to Mexico in July while the Deepwater Horizon spill had yet to be contained. The […]