Tiempo Climate Newswatch
Week ending November 23rd 2008
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Action point
Jim Salinger describes his priority for action on global warming. You can play the low bandwidth or the high bandwidth version
Featured sites
Plan B, from the Earth Policy Institute, details how to rescue a planet under stress by cutting carbon emissions 80 per cent by 2020.
The e-newsletter from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat provides a comprehensive overview of major news and announcements regarding the climate negotiations.
The OzoneAction Education Pack provides primary school teachers with practical, hands-on and entertaining curricula material to educate their students about ozone depletion.
The Youth Climate Pledge is a collaborative plan of action that young people can sign on to and get others to commit to.
And finally,
The United Nations Paint for the Planet exhibition features paintings by child artists on the theme of climate change.
About Newswatch
Tiempo Climate Newswatch is a weekly on-line magazine with news, features and comment on global warming, climate change, sea-level rise and development issues. It is edited by Mick Kelly and Sarah Granich and maintained by Mick Kelly and Mike Salmon. The cartoons are created by Lawrence Moore.
The news stories carried by Newswatch are updated weekly. Comment, features, interviews and other sections of the magazine are updated on a weekly to monthly basis.
Newswatch automatically scans a number of news sites once an hour, searching for a set of keyphrases. The raw news feed can be accessed in standard or PDA format.
Part of the Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary, Tiempo Climate Newswatch is hosted by the Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.
The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary is a co-production of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the International Institute for Environment and Development, sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
While every effort is made to ensure that information on this site, and on other sites that are referenced here, is accurate, no liability for loss or damage resulting from use of this information can be accepted.
"We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades," said Mohamed Nasheed, newly elected president of the Maldives, as he announced that a proportion of tourism revenues would be invested in buying a new homeland. "We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It's an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome."
"It's an unprecedented wake-up call," commented Tom Picken of Friends of the Earth. "The Maldives is left to fend for itself. It is a victim of climate change caused by rich countries," he continued. Land may be purchased in countries such as India or Sri Lanka with similar cultures, cuisines and climates or else in Australia, where unoccupied land is available. A formal request by Australia's Greens party last month for the country to grant special visas to Tuvaluan climate change refugees was denied. "The question [of relocation] needs to be sorted out by all 50 territories that stand to be affected by rising sea levels," Scott Leckie of Displacement Solutions in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Participants at the Road to Copenhagen 2009 conference, held in Brussels on November 6th, have called for more climate justice in the next round of climate treaty negotiations, which takes place in Poznań, Poland, next month. "Now that we have the scientific evidence on climate change, we have to cope with the justice dimension," said Mary Robinson of the Global Humanitarian Forum. "Clean energy technologies must be developed not only for use on a large scale in industrialized economies, but also on an appropriate scale for least-developed countries based on their needs," she continued.
"We can't afford to go for the short-term perspective because of the [global financial] crisis," stressed Margot Wallström, vice-president of the European Commission. "We need strong leadership and I hope the European Union will continue to demonstrate a strong commitment." Nicholas Stern, the British economist, described as "muddled thinking" claims that the financial crisis would undermine European plans for ambitious action on climate. "These two crises coming together give a fundamental opportunity," he said.
More information |
The Road to Poznań |
A new report suggests that billions of tons of carbon held in peat bogs could be released into the atmosphere as global warming develops. "Peat bogs contain vast stores of carbon," commented lead author Paul Moorcroft at Harvard University in the United States. "They will likely respond to the expected warming in this century by losing large amounts of carbon during dry periods."
The carbon release would occur as higher temperatures cause water tables to drop, causing more peat to dry and decompose. "Over several centuries, some 40 per cent of carbon could be lost from shallow peat bogs, while the losses could total as much as 86 per cent in deep bogs," Moorcroft predicts. The assessment is based on a more sophisticated analysis of the interaction between the water table, temperatures and peat accumulation than previously available.
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Breaking news
- Obama will act quickly on climate change
- Air New Zealand to test biofuel on commercial flight
- One million Bangladeshi await homes after cyclone Sidr
- Japanese carbon emissions hit record high
- Storm history for Australian east coast
The Gaunt View
© 2008 Lawrence Moore
Science and development
Sound and vision
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The documentary Violence and Vulnerability discusses the link between conflict and climate impacts in the Kitui District of Kenya. |
On the Web
High bandwidth may be required
Video on demand
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Two polar bears muse on the causes of global warming. |
This cartoon was an entry for the Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland's green film competition.
Weblogs
Have your say
The
More interactive discussion...
Comment
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"The task facing negotiators in Poznań must be to translate the conclusions from Bali into agreements among all countries willing to take climate change seriously. The agreements must lead to real, substantial reductions in emissions, not just more trading of hot air." |
In On Course to Copenhagen?, Gunnar Boye Olesen discusses issues facing participants in the next round of climate negotiations in Poznań, Poland.
In Energy in the Pacific, Tom Roper considers action that energy utilities can take in vulnerable Pacific island countries.
In Adaptation to Climate Change - Where Do We Go from Bali?, Sven Harmeling considers the next steps in meeting the challenge of adaptation.
On the Web
- Joelle Chassard discusses progress in catalyzing climate action and investment
- Matthew Knight considers what might be done to combat climate change with funding equivalent to the United States financial bailout package
- Jessica Daly considers the pros and cons of pros and cons of emissions trading
Features
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Rae Kwon Chung, on behalf of the Environment and Sustainable Development Division at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia, outlines an approach to sustainable economic growth that is being promoted for the nations of Asia and the Pacific. |
Christoph Holtwisch analyses the current development of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, contrasting the Partnership with the traditional climate regime.
Mozaharul Alam describes the next steps needed under the National Adaptation Programmes of Action process in the Asia and Pacific region.
Short reports
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The Asia Pacific Mountain Network reports on an e-discussion on building the resilience of mountain communities to climate change held in May 2008. |
The Bonn Climate Change Talks took place in June 2008. Newswatch editors Mick Kelly and Sarah Granich report on these negotiations and on related developments.
The pace of the climate negotiations has quickened in order to meet the deadline set by the Bali Action Plan. Newswatch editor Mick Kelly reports.
Interview
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"The social sciences’ contributions to climate research are no longer just to be tolerated. They must be embraced by the climate research community." |
In a Newswatch interview, Mickey Glantz discusses the role of social science in climate research and policy development.
Recent e-publications
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Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World, from UNEP, draws conclusions on employment in different sectors - renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and organic agriculture - and makes recommendations for policy makers, business and industry, workers and trade unions in the context of the transition towards a low-carbon economy. Published October 2008 |
Solar Generation V, from Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Association, reviews the latest developments in solar power generation. Published September 2008
Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment, from the United Nations Environment Programme, provides graphic images of environmental trends across the African continent. Published June 2008
Current climate
Monthly climate indicators |
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Global surface air temperature courtesy of the
Hadley Centre |
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Webcam skyviewsCreate a mosaic of webcam images to monitor
the weather at selected sites around the world |
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Current emergencies |
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General links |
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El Niño-Southern Oscillation Phenomenon (ENSO) |
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Tropical storms |
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Food security |
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Other events |
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The Final Word
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"Nations such as Namibia cannot afford to ignore the contribution of the environment to national wealth in the face of climatic shifts." |
In Climate Change Costs in Namibia, James MacGregor quantifies the costs of climate change on Namibia’s natural resource dependent economy and people.
Bright Ideas
Offsetting air travel with atmosfair buys solar mirrors that provide energy for the preparation of thousands of meals daily in India
Dow Building Solutions has prepared a short information sheet covering the construction of green roofs
The fabric in Asics Commitment range of sportswear is woven from bamboo yarn
SolidNav has developed electric propulsion units for small water craft and sailboats
WATT, a nightclub in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has a dancefloor that generates electricity and toilets that flush with rainwater
During play, the Energy Merry-go-round generates electricity that is transferred to a battery and 220V invertor for use in the classroom
Waste Management provides home recycling kits for compact fluorescent bulbs, batteries and electronics
Norwegian music festivals, Canal Street and Hove, have joined the Climate Neutral Network
The PlayPump water system doubles as a water pump and a merry-go-round for children
Honda is leasing the hydrogen-powered fuel cell FCX Clarity to private individuals in southern California
TIDE, in southern India, markets energy-efficient stoves that reduce fuelwood use by as much as 30 per cent
Curitiba's BioCity Program (0.3Mb download) aims to halt the rapid rate at which cities develop and reduce biodiversity loss
Tiempo Climate Newswatch
Updated: November 16th 2008