Presidents Trump and Xi met on 6 April 2017 at Mar-a Lago, Florida. The environment and climate change were not discussed. Given the tense state of US-China relations and the political leanings of the Trump administration, there is much at stake for cooperation between the countries on the climate agenda – the most important bilateral relationship in the world. To maintain it, both a high-level paradigm shift of China’s diplomatic approach and a considered assessment of feasible areas of cooperation are needed.
Facing an enormous clean-up job, Peru must think about a future where flood like those in March become ever more common. In the wake of powerful rains that led to devastating floods and mudslides, Peru’s president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski says the country should expect more such devastating weather events.
G7 energy ministers have failed to agree on a statement supporting the Paris climate accord after the US delegation said it was reviewing its position.
With Obama's climate policy threatened, chinadialogue asked Chinese experts about the potential impact of the US leaving the Paris Agreement. Will the attack on the Clean Power Plan make a difference elsewhere, particularly if it's the first step in an effort by the US to leave the Paris Agreement altogether?
Vigya Sharma travelled to the state of Odisha, on India’s east, to get some insights on the linkages between energy access, rural poverty and climate change adaptation. In this post, she summarises her findings. How does Odisha’s government currently identify and establish links between natural disasters and rural poverty? And what role, if at all, may the current policy environment consider of energy poverty in further accentuating these linkages?
Global efforts to protect the climate and the ozone layer have received a boost with the first ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The ratification by Mali was received on 31 March. More countries are expected to ratify this Amendment in the coming months.
Climate change remains a serious threat to mankind despite the moment of hope after the successful conclusion of the COP21 last December with the Paris Agreement. Promises given at COP21 to implement mitigation and adaptation measures are based on non-binding proposals causing doubt about what the signatory countries will really do about reducing their greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. There are several ways to tackle climate change, and break business-as-usual patterns through new technologies, a global carbon tax and greening the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements.
The German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel opened the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogues 2017 at the Federal Foreign Office, where close to 1,000 participants from 90 countries gathered to exchange on finding affordable alternatives to coal and gas. In his keynote, Foreign Minister Gabriel stressed the conflict dimension of climate change and energy security, and urged the international community to join forces in shaping the global Energiewende.
G7 leaders endorsed the African Risk Capacity (ARC) as a model for climate insurance. The organisation works with countries to improve their preparedness for extreme weather events and disasters.