Summary
Done! A climate deal (http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09.pdf) was finally agreed on by all parties (195 nations) in Paris in the late afternoon of Saturday Dec 12, 2015. True, some are already saying that the voluntary CO2 reductions, even if implemented in full, will only hold the projected warming down to 2.7 C at best. But for the first time ever, a treaty commits all parties to cut their carbon emissions. An enormous step forward, especially because China, the US and India – the three-biggest carbon emitters – were not bound to reduce them before. Furthermore, the deal is a legally binding commitment on all nations to come back with stronger carbon-cutting plans every five years and a transparency agreement applicable equally to all countries, developed and developing, to make sure no-one is cheating.
Quote of the day
“So it has to be voluntary. A lot of nations resent that, but we have accepted that because we believe it is going to move the marketplace and already you see countless new technologies, a lot of jobs being created and I think it’s going to produce its own form of oversight.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, in the Hill’s story Kerry dismisses criticism of Paris climate pact
Lead stories
Historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change
UN website
An historic agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future was agreed by 195 nations in Paris.
http://bit.ly/1TJCq4p
The Five Key Decisions Made in the UN Climate Deal in Paris
By Ewa Krukowska and Alex Morales – Bloomberg News
Envoys to the United Nations climate talks handed down a 31-page document on Saturday outlining their boldest steps yet to rein in global warming.
http://bloom.bg/1QeHdx9
The Paris climate treaty is a long way from solving the problem but is still a genuine landmark
By Michael McCarthy – Independent
How can people be wildly enthusiastic about a treaty which does not solve the problem it addresses? For the world has not been saved yet, though you might think so from the way the politicians and officials who negotiated the Paris Agreement on climate change jumped for joy and clapped each other on the back after the deal was done in the Le Bourget conference centre on 12 December.
http://ind.pn/1Oq3mCs
Kerry dismisses criticism of Paris climate pact
By Vicki Needham – The Hill
Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday brushed off suggestions that a sweeping global climate deal announced this weekend lacks enforceability and won’t curb emissions.
http://bit.ly/1O3C9LE
How US negotiators ensured landmark Paris climate deal was Republican-proof
By Suzanne Goldenberg – The Guardian
At 11.30pm Paris time, a small group of White House officials dashed into a temporary plywood hut in the exhibition hall where, a few hours earlier, a historic legal agreement to cut emissions causing climate change was secured. They were just in time to catch a live feed of Barack Obama declaring “a turning point for the world”.
http://bit.ly/1QEOAfI
COP21: Climate deal’s challenges dawn on world capitals
By Pilita Clark – Financial Times
Envoys were still waiting their turn to speak about the climate accord they had just adopted on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday night when the implications of the agreement began to hit home in capitals around the world.
http://on.ft.com/1jWVeB2
***LB: Also in this story “This is because the new pact goes further than the last two international climate accords struck in 1992 and 1997 in several important ways.”
Paris climate deal: reaction from the experts
The Observer
The agreement is extremely welcome. However, we should also be cautious. It is clear that the 1C temperature rise over pre-industrial levels that we have seen so far has triggered a whole range of effects including melting of mountain glaciers, significant sea-level rise, devastating droughts, and flooding.
http://bit.ly/1Mbnx5u
What Does a Climate Deal Mean for the World?
By Justin Gillis – The New York Times
A group of 195 nations reached a landmark climate agreement on Saturday. Here is what it means for the planet, business and other areas.
http://nyti.ms/1miFrym
Paris climate accord is a ‘turning point for the world,’ Obama says
By Gregory Korte – USA TODAY (Video)
Calling the just-concluded Paris climate agreement “a turning point for the world,”President Obama said the ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gases would pave the way to reducing global temperatures but would not solve the problem by itself.
http://usat.ly/1RM2Xj3
For China, climate deal is imperfect but huge step forward
By David Stanway – Reuters
For China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, the global climate accord reached in Paris marked a huge step toward greener growth that safeguards its sovereignty while falling short on funding for cleaner energy.
http://reut.rs/1I21Iu2
PM Narendra Modi on Paris deal: Climate justice won
The Times of India
Shortly after a climate change deal was reached by 195 nations in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the historic accord, saying “climate justice has won”.
http://bit.ly/1I21Rhl
Vulnerable nations : Climate Change Will Destroy These Countries
By Naomi Klein – The Nation
For the planet’s most vulnerable countries, there were two main concerns going into the Paris climate summit.
http://bit.ly/1Oq0DsD
Success of climate change talks thanks to SA – Zuma
News24
South Africa made the success of climate change talks in Paris possible this week, President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday.
http://bit.ly/1QePdyi
Events
EUEC 2016 Conference & Expo
Feb 3 – Feb 5, 2016
San Diego Convention Center, CA
http://www.euec.com/
Carbon
The world is about to go on a carbon diet, but one country’s ‘still hitting fast food’
By Seth Borenstein – Associated Press
The world is about to go on a carbon diet. It won’t be easy — or cheap.
http://bit.ly/1NOhM2W
***LB: Also in this story “China, the world’s top carbon polluter, will eventually have to make the biggest cuts. Overall, for the world to hit its new target, global carbon dioxide emissions will have to peak by 2030, maybe earlier, and then fall to near-zero, experts said. Those levels have been generally rising since the industrial revolution. A new study suggests emissions may have fallen slightly this year, but that may be a blip.”
Paris Climate Accord Offers Guidance on Carbon Price to Big Business
Newsmax
For the most part, big business wanted one thing from the climate accord in Paris on Saturday: a price on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
http://nws.mx/1Oq2GNo
Natural gas / coal
Natural Gas Pipeline Construction Underway in Turkmenistan
By Ayaz Gul – Voice of America
Construction of a much-anticipated $10-billion pipeline transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India began Sunday, 25 years after the inception of the project.
http://bit.ly/1RiXKjs
Battle over coal mine reveals Russian billionaire’s UK links
By Randeep Ramesh – The Guardian
A British private equity firm is battling for the return of a £250m mine in Russia it believes was transferred illegally to a company linked to a Siberian billionaire.
http://bit.ly/1J5gVpk
End of an Era: England Closes Its Last Deep-Pit Coal Mine
By Scott Patterson – Wall Street Journal
The last deep-pit coal mine in the U.K. plans to shut its doors here next week, heralding the end of a centuries-old industry that helped fuel the industrial revolution and build the British Empire.
http://on.wsj.com/1Njp6SM
The Paris Agreement won’t stop coal, but future climate talks might
By Luke Kemp – The Conversation
The global climate deal reached at the Paris climate talks has left a big question unanswered: what to do about coal? It isn’t even mentioned in the agreement text.
http://bit.ly/1lGudDE
Power
SunEdison Sells Maine Wind-Power Plants
By Maria Armental – Wall Street Journal
SunEdison Inc. agreed to sell two Maine wind-power plants for $209 million, as the renewable energy-development company continues to free up cash to shore up its stock.
http://on.wsj.com/1NqQdco
Clean tech
15 For 2015: Women In Cleantech
Clean Technica
Aloha, Dawn here. As 2015 comes to a close, the Energy Excelerator team would like to recognize our fellow innovators paving the way for the next generation of cleantech leaders.
http://bit.ly/1I24lMH
Paris deal delivers ‘certainty’ for clean-tech businesses, SA Climate Change Minister says
ABC
Business is being urged to step up its investment in clean technology now that an international accord has been struck aimed at slowing the pace of global warming.
http://ab.co/1lYYUnd
Water
Masdar leads global water alliance
Emirates 24 /7 News
With water security becoming one of the most imposing long-term challenges for many countries, the Global Clean Water Alliance – H20 minus CO2 launches in Paris as a collaborative global climate initiative and one of the key components to the Lima Paris Action Plan.
http://bit.ly/1miHQZR