“Watch out for Canada, the US and Saudi Arabia” – that was the warning from a spokesperson for Climate Action Network, quoting a leaked memo from Ottowa ordering Canadian delegates to demand binding reductions from all major emitters, ie. China and India before they would sign up. Continue reading
They killed Kyoto, will they now butcher Bali too?
Posted in Global Warming, Sustainability
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‘Santa’ Klaus the climate sceptic
Ho ho ho. Vaclav Klaus thinks that the movement to prevent global warming is in fact a new ideology that threatens to undermine freedom and the world’s social and economic order. Klaus feels so strongly about this that he has written a book, ‘Blue Planet in Green Chains’ (yes, seriously). Continue reading
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Making peace with the planet
You have to hand it to Al Gore. Yes, his hopeless presidential campaign in 2000 gifted the Presidency to the most rapacious group of robber barons since their heyday in the late 19th Century. Yes, he is a bit of a hypocrite, and yes, his house in Tennessee is almost as obscenely large as one of Michael Smurfit’s holiday homes. Continue reading
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Taking to the streets of Dublin for climate change
Yesterday, December 8th, was World Climate Day, and it was marked by protest marches in around 50 cities globally, including an estimated turnout of 10,000 in London. Compare that with the more than half a million who turned out – in vain – to try to dissuade the British from taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Continue reading
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Carbon Budget – what does it actually mean?
“The Carbon Budget marks the beginning of a new era. It is an era in which climate change moves to the heart of Government decision-making. It puts our responsibilities to tackle climate change on an equal footing with our responsibilities to manage the economy. It recognises that the economy and the environment cannot be separated; and that the greatest risk to the economy is climate change.” Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability
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Ireland’s first Carbon Budget
Later today, Environment Minister John Gormley will present Ireland’s first ever ‘carbon budget’ to the Dail. Whatever about its practical effect in the short term, this is a highly symbolic move.
Remember, a few short months ago, one Dick Roche held this ministry, and any hope of climate change and sustainability being at the heart of a FF-led government policy seemed too outlandish to be even worth talking about. Times have moved on. Continue reading
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A time bomb in the wilderness
CO2, we’re told, is the knife at the throat of world climate. Methane has so far got much less press, mostly because there’s a lot less of it in the atmosphere. And just as well; methane is 23 times more potent in its greenhouse effect as the equivalent quantity of carbon, so even small quantities can mean big climate problems. Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Sustainability
Tagged Arctic, CO2, feedbacks, ice melt, melt, methane, permafrost, Siberia
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Wind of change finally reaches Ireland?
When the Greens took the plunge and went into Coalition with Fianna Fail earlier this year, many eyebrows were raised. It looked like another cynical move by the the dominant party to stick on a green fig leaf to cover its embarrassing record of ten years of inaction and rising emissions. Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus
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