Two Degrees Show on December 12, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Two Degrees #10:
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EMISSIONS TRADING IN EUROPE
After last week’s interview with Soumitra Ghosh on the negative impacts of CDM projects in India, we conclude our look at carbon trading by speaking to the director of Climate Action Newtwork Europe, Matthias Duwe.
- What are Europe’s environmental NGOs doing to help reform the CDM?
- What is their view on the effectiveness of EU Emissions Trading Scheme as a way of cutting our greenhouse gas output? More…
Most Popular, Two Degrees Show on December 5, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Two Degrees #9:
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CARBON TRADING – ARE WE BEING CONNED?
Even though the United States administration decided not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the US left the treaty with a legacy of market-based “flexible mechanisms”.
In 2001 Mark Lynas wrote in The Guardian that these flexible mechanisms would lead to a net increase in emissions from industrialised countries, rather than a reduction of 5.2%.
As Larry Lohman’s authoritative critique on carbon traiding is published (see link below), The Two Degrees Show examines the record so far of the projects that are being funded under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.
We speak to Soumitra Ghosh in West Bengal who has been documenting the impact of CDM projects in India. He found that projects are dispossessing people from their land, lowering water tables, and polluting water and air – resulting in lower crop yields and ill health.
We also speak to Kevin Smith of Carbon Trade Watch and ask whether the CDM is beyond reform and, if so, what should be done instead. More…
Two Degrees Show on November 28, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Two Degrees #8:
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The Two Degress Show takes a flashback to August and the Camp for Climate Action which initiated high-profile direct action against Drax – the UK’s biggest single point source emitter of carbon dioxide and Europe’s biggest coal-fired power station. The Camp also involved over 150 workshops covering everything from peak oil to permaculture.
The programme features three interviews with people who played a lead role in establishing the camp as low-impact event in terms of energy (virtually all power supplied by renewable sources), food (vegan, locally-sourced), sewage (waste returned to local farmers as a fertilising resource) and waste water (made safe for returning to the land using a grey water system). More…
Two Degrees Show on November 21, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Climate Confidential #7:
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We assess the outcomes of the talks and illustrate it with audio from the talks and press conferences in Nairobi:
- If we haven’t seen anything like the degree of urgency this situation demands then what can explain the frustrating lack of progress?
- Is the EU holding out for a global deal that includes developing countries in order to get the US back on board (as indicated in its 2005 position paper), rather than leading by example by with a commitment to 30% cuts by 2020?
- What is the potential for movement in the US position now that there is a new balance of power in Congress?
- Can the democrats get some of the ‘cap and trade’ legislation through that is on the table and start engaging constructively in the international process?
- Did the talks make significant progress in helping the poorest and most vulnerable countries adapt to the effects of climate change or make significant progress in meeting the commitment to transfer clean energy technologies to developing countries? More…
Two Degrees Show on November 14, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Two Degrees #6:
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Halfway through the UN climate talks in Nairobi we offer you an assessment of where things are at by presenting what the alliance of environmental charities and the UN Secretariat have been saying in their press conferences over the last few days.
The two main spokespeople you will hear are:
Steve Sawyer who works for Greenpeace in the United States and is also the main spokesman for the Climate Action Network International – the umbrella group for the hundreds of non-government organisations who are trying to positively influence the talks.
Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat
- Will the Review of the Protocol be completed in time for it to take effect in 2012?
- What role should developing countries be playing in future commitment periods?
- Are the EU playing a leadership role and commiting to 30% CO2 cuts by 2020?
- Have the countries with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol made “demonstrable progress” in meeting their targets?
- With the Democrats now in control of Congress, when will the US start to re-engage?
Two Degrees Show on November 7, 2006 | Make a Comment
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Two Degrees #5:
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The Two Degrees show opens a window on the UN climate change talks as they kick off in Nairobi. The current Kyoto Protocol is “a drop in the bucket” and inadequate to achieve the UN objective of avoiding dangerous climate change. Are industrialised countries willing to take much deeper cuts in emissions? Are these countries making big enough efforts to help rapidly developing countries such as India and China develop cleanly? What prospect is there of the US engaging constructively when their delegation last year was led by Harlan Watson at the recommendation of Exxon Mobil? We speak to MJ Mace of Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) who is a legal advisor to the Association of Small Island States at the talks and to Jan Kowalzig, climate change and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe. More…
