Annex 1 pledges insufficient, developing countries doing more

Bangkok, 5 April (Meena Raman) – Developing countries and several developed countries agreed that the current pledges for emission reductions by developed countries is insufficient to limit the temperature rise to 2 degree C.

US says no to “top down” rules for targets and compliance

Bangkok, 4 April (Meena Raman)-- At a pre-sessional workshop on the emission reduction targets by developed country Parties held in Bangkok on 3 April under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United States said that it could not support an international regime or structure of top down rules for setting emission reduction targets and consequences for non-compliance.

Dhaka, Feb 8 (bdnews24.com) — Governments in Asia and the Pacific need to prepare for a large increase in climate-induced migration in the coming years, says a forthcoming report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Despite the optimism placed on them, the Cancun Agreements of the 2010 UN Climate Summit do not represent a success for multilateralism; neither do they put the world on a safe climate pathway that science demands, and far less to a just and equitable transition towards a sustainable model of development. They represent a victory for big polluters and Northern elites that wish to continue with business-as-usual.

Some Global Exchange staff and volunteers are joining fellow climate justice campaigners, environmentalists and social justice advocates from around the world for COP16 in Cancun. Today Shannon Biggs reports:

Months before civil society boarded planes or hopped on buses and bikes destined for Cancun (yes, we met up with a small contingent of cyclists arriving from West Virginia) — it was clear that we weren’t really very welcome.

Far too few of us were even approved as credentialed NGO observers.  The Moon Palace conference site was miles and miles away from the city center, and those without credentials were left out in the Cancun sun.  When La Via Campesina attempted to set up their gathering site nearby, the permits were denied.