Tag Archives: UNFCCC

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4 June 2015, RTCC, Oil giants support for UN climate pact signals change in strategy. Top hydrocarbon producers seem to accept a global deal will be done in Paris – the question is can they limit its damage? It’s unprecedented for the UN’s climate chief to receive a letter from six oil companies offering help. More likely Sepp Blatter resigning in the wake of FIFA’s corruption scandal, Tony Blair making a speech at a hunger summit for free. But that’s what happened on Friday when the heads of BP, Shell, BG Group, Statoil, Eni and Total wrote to Christiana Figueres. “Climate change is a critical challenge for our world,” they said. “We stand ready to play our part.” The chief executives emphasised the importance of a global price on carbon, and their willingness to work with the UN to make this happen…. 

But why now, and why this letter? Tom Burke, advisor to BP from 1999-2001 and chair of environmental think tank E3G is in no doubt. It’s fear. “They are getting worried. They are beginning to think governments will bend to respond on pressure on climate change more than they thought they would,” he says.“They assumed governments would not do enough to stay below 2C [a temperature level the UN agreed to avoid in 2010]. It’s unprecedented and a sign they are nervous.” The letter is a sign, argues Burke that work exposing the risk of “stranded assets” as a result of climate policies that make fossil fuels unusable is starting to hit home. Read more here

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11 May 2015, INSIDER, WRI: A Unique Proposal for a Successful Outcome in Paris: Four years ago, countries around the world committed to strike a new international climate agreement this December. The Paris climate summit comes in a year where the impacts of climate change are experienced, understood and acknowledged more than ever before. Governments, the public, investors and businesses are increasingly recognizing the economic and social consequences of climate change, from heat waves and stronger storms to forest fires and sea level rise. Meanwhile, adoption of renewable energy is growing rapidly while costs are plummeting, providing evidence that the global shift to a low-carbon economy is only a matter of time. But questions remain: Can the world form a pact in Paris this December that will accelerate the low-carbon transition at a speed and scale required to avoid the worst climate impacts? How would the different priorities and circumstances among nearly 200 countries be addressed? And just what might this historic agreement look like? Read More here

 
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6 May 2015, The Conversation, UN climate chief: other countries are ‘further ahead than Australia’:As the world heads towards the pivotal United Nations climate summit in Paris in December, this was a gentle but pointed signal from Figueres, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Her message was that Australia will be expected to put an ambitious offer on the table to tackle climate change. And if that does not happen, the world will take notice, and some powerful international players will put pressure on the government. Read More here