The first of my top ten predictions for the year is…
1. The US Senate will consider levying taxes against India and China in an effort to “level” the playing field with these top CO2 polluters.
January 2010
Copenhagen: A post mortem
I did not attend Copenhagen but I did follow news stories from many sources. Below are some of the more widely held conclusions as well as a quick analysis of what this means for energy efficiency, REDD, and energy poverty alleviation. 1. A deal appeared to be within striking distance but it was scuttled by one of the BASIC countries for political reasons. 2. Any future, meaningful agreement will likely arise through a non-UN framework 3. All the heavy CO2 hitters, with the exception of China, came very, very close to reaching a meaningful agreement. 4. The big looser in Continue reading
Hello 2010. Where to now?
And we’re baaack! It’s 2010, where do we start? Pick up with the qualified fiasco that was Copenhagen? Where does that leave REDD and forests? What will happen with the dangling carrot of financing for forest protection in the tropical belt? What are the prospects of a deal in 2010? Will 2010 see expanded energy efficiency programs that target the energy poor through improved stoves, kilns, and fuels? I’ll be blogging about all this and other issues in this quarter. But, first, a quick update of where we are three months into the launch of The Charcoal Project (TCP) and Continue reading