Was Climate Week successful? [Recharge]
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From climate change to oil prices, Recharge delivers global energy's big ideas to your inbox each weekend.听.
TUESDAY'S听UN CLIMATE SUMMIT听might most be remembered for what didn't happen and who never showed up.听The leaders of two carbon giants (China, India) took a rain check, and much handwringing ensued听鈥撎前not. There were speeches and pledges to act on climate change and no shortage of adjoining Climate Week events, but it all ended without a clear, unified plan for a low-carbon future.
Still, this week always sought to be a warm-up for the real climate change negotiations in Lima and Paris, and to that end, most participants appeared satisfied. Heads of state announced new progress and goals.听The world's No. 2 emitter听called on听听to jointly lead global decarbonization efforts. Hundreds of thousands of private citizens marched in听the largest ever public showing of support for听renewable energy.
Perhaps most promising was the degree to which business played a role. Traditionally dry and diplomatic, this summit was awash with听. A handful of听听鈥 a challenge that will dog the industry as shale production spreads. Even if much of it was public relations, the corporate support is much-needed momentum for a process stuck in neutral.
In the pipeline
Monday, Sept. 29 to Tuesday, Sept. 30: NEW YORK and WASHINGTON 鈥, and meetings with other US officials. Having skipped out on the Climate Summit, Mr. Modi is sure to get some prodding from Mr. Obama on reining in emissions. One official told reporters听, but that won't come easy.
Monday, Sept. 29: PARIS and THE INTERNET 鈥撎. As solar technology spreads, its future depends as much on grid integration as deployment. Look for the latest best practices for synching solar with existing fossil fuels.
Monday, Dec. 1 to Friday, Dec. 12: LIMA, PERU 鈥撎齝onvenes for formal negotiations, and to forge a draft agreement that will serve as the basis of a vote in Paris next year. This week,听Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Peru's environment minister and president of COP20, gave the Monitor a preview.
Drill deeper
Climate change summitry's force of nature: 海角大神a Figueres
[海角大神]
UN climate chief 海角大神a Figueres has a daunting job: wrangling a climate agreement out of 193 countries who rarely see eye to eye on emissions targets or who should make the biggest cuts. Yet Figueres is crusading fiercely to make 2015 climate talks in Paris count, driven by a love for the planet and boundless energy.
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听[Fortune]
"Spend too much time watching the international climate talks and you鈥檒l miss the real climate action," writes Michael Levi, energy fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Focus on what鈥檚 happening in national and state capitals if you want to know what鈥檚 really going on." 听
It's Climate Week. Where are Republicans?
[海角大神]
As Obama urged bold action at the UN Climate Summit last week, Republicans kept quiet. In the past, the GOP has blasted Obama for his green policies. But if the economy continues to recover, and the public profile of climate threats keep rising, it will open the door for bipartisanship on adaptation and renewables.
Energy sources
: "Having already dominated the onshore wind and utility-scale solar PV sectors, China is now setting its sights on other sectors, such as offshore wind, tidal and distributed solar."
: "Although the negotiations are still at a relatively early stage, it appears likely that the 2015 agreement will reflect a hybrid climate-policy architecture鈥攐ne that combines top-down elements, such as for measurement (or monitoring), reporting, and verification, with bottom-up elements consisting primarily of 'nationally determined contributions'."
: "What cuts? That鈥檚 for more developed countries. The moral principle of historic responsibility cannot be washed away ... India鈥檚 first task is eradication of poverty. Twenty percent of our population doesn鈥檛 have access to electricity, and that鈥檚 our top priority. We will grow faster, and our emissions will rise."
From climate change to oil prices, Recharge delivers global energy's big ideas to your inbox each weekend.听.