Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Senate will introduce Cap & Trade tomorrow

Grist (hyperlinked in the title) is covering the expected development on cap and trade legislation in the US Senate tomorrow.

more evidence the world is changing

Monday, September 28, 2009

Important new commission on tropical forests



This is an incredibly important development. Many folks are thinking Waxman/Markey was great in theory, real tough to get passed, a total landmark/line in the sand. But Cap and Trade simply ain't in the cards this year or next. A new commission like this could be instrumental to make sure interim steps on energy and climate deliver on international forest carbon.

Pictured are Lincoln Chafee and John Podesta, co-chairs of the Commission on Climate and Tropical Forests.

Monday, September 21, 2009

new reordered/consolidtaed text from UNFCCC




The UNFCCC secretariat has released the latest version of the text for a Copenhagen agreement (hyperlink in title). No new surprises, and it is still clocking in at av overweight 188 pages. The information on REDD is primarily (not only though) found 106-115.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Sobering commentary by J. Drexhage at IISD


The piece is well worth reading. It begins ominously and doesn't get lighter...
"We are at the precipice of what is supposed to be a landmark global decision on climate change at Copenhagen in less than 16 weeks, and yet anyone with his or her eyes open cannot help but come to the conclusion that we are in seriously dire circumstances."

Intense and important meetings start at State Department

For those of us who are prognosticating on the likelihood of a Copenhagen deal, the place to be is C Street in DC (that is where the State Department is). If the major emitters can hash something out, there is still hope for a deal. If this group can not produce something tangible by the end of next week, when the G20 meetings are held in Pittsburgh, then he likelihood of a Copenhagen deal goes down to extremely tiny.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Jake's blog on US position on international provisions


Jake Schmidt is again covering items important, quickly, and succinctly. In today's blog (hyperlink in title to grist.org), Jake shows how the lead US negotiator, Todd Stern, spoke in front of a House committee on the importance of the international provisions in the Waxman-Markey bill, including REDD.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Indonesia's REDD rules some years away

This story is quite important. Everyone realizes the importance of engaging the private sector, but rules for REDD projects will be needed at the national level. As this story and example show, REDD rules (particularly around carbon rights and benefit sharing) will take some time to develop. In the meantime, investors continue to be frustrated. This large new class of assets is likely to come on-line in both US and UNFCCC legislation. But without clear guidance on how private monies can be leveraged for conservation, it is likely that there will be continued enthusiasm, but little skin-in-the-game for private-financed REDD emission reductions. It should be noted that most other developing countries with substantial rates of deforestation are not as far along the process as Indonesia. Some countries essentially prohibited pre-compliant REDD projects from taking off.