Vietnam reviews #coal expansion in wake of #ParisAgreement reports @takvera

In the wake of the Paris agreement, Vietnam has announced a review of all it’s new coal power stations in the planning pipeline and under contruction. Vietnam is currently the third largest builder of coal plants in the world. In a statement (vn) released on 19th January, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated the […]

The Paris moment for #climatejustice. @takvera on the historic #Parisagreement of #COP21

In the history of the World the Paris Agreement will be regarded as an historic moment. Even though it was far from perfect and didn’t go far enough. It was part of the Paris moment for climate justice. Paris was a moral turning point. When 195 countries agreed by consensus to set a target to […]

Thousands protest for #climatejustice in Paris #D12 as #COP21 concludes reports @takvera

Even though the State of Emergency which prohibits large political protests is still in place, tens of thousands turned out on the streets of Paris for climate justice in various creative protests. The French state on Friday, relented, and allowed the protest to go ahead. For two weeks activists had been planning a day for […]

Australia to join Coalition of High Ambition? #COP21 #climate report by @takvera #auspol

On Friday afternoon with the talks drawing to a close I attended a press conference called by the Marshall Islands. It featured Tony DeBrum, the Marshall Islands Foreign Minister, as well as several ministers in the Coalition of Ambition here at the Conference of Parties. This new grouping is not a negotiating bloc, but a […]

#Climate red lines in the #COP21 UN Blue Zone and for Paris reports @takvera

Thursday was a long night with negotiators working on a draft text released at 9pm Thursday evening. Friday was set aside for bilateral discussions. A new text is due on Saturday morning. There is still much at stake in these negotiations, and we will not know the full final outcome until the gavel goes down […]

#FossiloftheDay for Julie Bishop’s endorsement of #coal for Australia reports @takvera

Australia and Argentina shared a first place Fossil of the Day award for Wednesday 9th December at the UN Climate Change conference in Paris, for fostering coal projects when the world is rapidly turning away from coal due to the impact of greenhouse gases in driving climate change. Leader of the Australian Greens Senator Richard […]

Aviation and shipping emissions shamed by #FossiloftheDay at #COP21 reports @takvera

There are many intricacies to negotiating a climate agreement covering greenhouse gas emissions. One of the areas easy to overlook is aviation and shipping sector emissions. Emissions from aviation and shipping are projected to grow, so it is important that they are considered in any climate agreement. Aviation is responsible for almost 5 percent of […]

Corporate Greenwashing and conflict of interest at UN climate conference #COP21 reports @takvera

I was surprised at what I found of the extent of conflict of interest between the sponsors of the UN Climate Conference, the French State and the UNFCCC secretariat. On Thursday evening I left the UN climate conference at the Le Bourget centre straight after the Fossil of the Day ceremony at 6pm to attend […]

Australia agrees to 1.5 degrees inclusion in #COP21 Draft climate agreement reports @takvera

As Environment Minister Greg Hunt departs after the first week and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop takes over negotiations at the UN climate conference, Australia has supported inclusion of the 1.5 degrees limit in the main draft text along with the 2 degrees limit, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. This is an important goal for […]

City summit commits to 100 percent #renewables by 2050 #go100RE reports @takvera from #COP21

A meeting of nearly a 1,000 city mayors from around the world meeting in Paris signed a declaration on Friday that supports a municipal transition to 100 percent Renewable Energy. Read the declaration (PDF) Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said according to a report on Citiscope, “As I told the negotiators when bringing them our contribution, […]