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India, China, Brazil, Japan, other non-Arctic countries want a voice on Arctic Council; interest in climate change impact and access to resources

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However, many more non-Arctic countries, which in addition to China, India and Brazil, include Japan, South Korea, the European Union and several individual European states, now want “observer” status, a step that some fear would significantly increase the influence of non-Arctic participants.

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Perspective: Why Carbon Emissions Should Not Have Been the Focus of the UN Climate Change Summit and Why the 15th Conference of the Parties Should Have Focused on Technology Transfer

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Oceans, already expanding from warmth and melting glaciers, would rise, increasing coastal flooding; a chain reaction of climate changes is projected to lead to harsher, more widespread droughts and more powerful storms. It’s still unknown how much other wealthy nations, such as the US and Japan, will contribute. billion a year.

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Smith School report recommends individual governments take more national and bi-lateral actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions

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International climate negotiations can only go so far. Systems such as pledge-and-review set up in Copenhagen and Cancun are a useful way forward in the absence of an internationally legally-binding agreement, but individual Governments must provide urgent political leadership—that is not happening at present.

Emissions 210
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Bank of America joins Stanford’s Global Climate & Energy Project

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Bank of America has joined Stanford University’s Global Climate & Energy Project (GCEP), a collaboration of academic and business experts that identifies and supports new avenues of research to make environmentally sustainable, low-cost energy available to everyone.

Climate 218
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Devil in the Details: World Leaders Scramble To Salvage and Shape Copenhagens UNFCCC Climate Summit

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“ One Agreement, Two Steps ” Expectations for Copenhagen quickly became complicated after Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen boarded an overnight flight to Singapore to address an impromptu breakfast forum on climate change at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit on 15 November. by Jack Rosebro.

Climate 236
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Perspective: The UN Approval Process for Carbon Offsets

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Verification of the emission reduction or carbon sequestration is critical in efforts to mitigate climate change. One question is who will be responsible for verifying changes in carbon, which raises questions about the role of a regulatory agency for accrediting claimed changes in carbon levels from an activity.

Carbon 255
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PBL Study Finds Developed Countries Proposals for Copenhagen Fall Short for Reaching 2 °C Climate Objective

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Among the findings of the report: The current proposals by the EU, the United States and Japan are about 5 to 15% lower than required to meet the 2 °C objective, which was accepted by the G8 in July. The least-developed countries would be exempt from any legally binding emission reduction efforts, up to 2020.

Climate 186