CLIMATE SPECIALS

COP28’s Fossil Fuel ‘Transition’ Deal Ignites Debates On U.S. Production

DUBAI -- The new international climate agreement reached here to “transition away” from fossil fuels is already igniting calls from environmentalists for the U.S. to lead such a shift by halting liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, even as the oil sector is resisting such restrictions on domestic production and exports. “The Biden administration must lead a clear path forward for the rest of the world by stopping the expansion of the fossil fuel industry, starting with swift action to curb...

Lawmakers Pitch Permit Streamlining To International Audience At COP28

DUBAI -- Lawmakers who favor legislation to streamline energy project permitting offered their pitch to an international audience at the recently concluded United Nations climate summit here, arguing the issue is conducive to achieving bipartisan agreement and can help the U.S. achieve progress on its carbon emission goals. “This is absolutely doable,” argued Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) at a Dec. 9 event hosted by the Atlantic Council on the sidelines of the climate conference, though he and others acknowledged that...

Dubai Climate Deal Appears Unlikely To Stall Carbon Border Momentum

DUBAI -- The new agreement from this year’s international climate talks here appears unlikely to stall momentum behind efforts in the United States and Europe to advance carbon border policies, despite complaints from some major developing countries that such trade measures will harm their economies. Top U.S. lawmakers during the two-week summit, formally known as the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations climate treaty, also argued that the European Union’s new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM)...

COP28 Seeks Fossil ‘Transition’ But Success Hinges On Future Actions

DUBAI -- Negotiators here have reached a landmark climate agreement calling, for the first time, to “transition away” from fossil fuels but officials are warning that its success depends on how strongly countries choose to implement it, especially given what some have criticized as the document’s “loopholes.” “We needed a green light, we’ve got an amber light. So there is still a great deal of work to be done -- but there are paths forward, there are signals, very, very...

EDF Touts Enforcement, Verification Benefits Of Methane Satellite Data

DUBAI -- Satellites that measure methane leaks and other emissions are poised to provide crucial data that can be used to enforce or verify various programs related to the pollutant, according to environmentalists, who cite Europe’s carbon import standards and the oil and gas sector’s new voluntary methane compact. The Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Mark Brownstein during a Dec. 8 side event at the conference touted his group’s planned early 2024 launch of its MethaneSAT, which will provide granular data...

Countries In Dubai Reach Historic Deal To ‘Transition’ From Fossil Fuels

DUBAI – Countries at global climate talks here have reached a historic agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels, formalizing the first reference in any United Nations deal to addressing what experts say is the root cause of climate change and potentially sending a major signal about the future of world energy markets. The final agreement , reached midday Dec. 13 roughly 24 hours after the two-week conference was scheduled to conclude, “calls on” countries to “contribute” to a number...

COP28 Heads To Overtime As Officials Try To Bridge Fossil Fuel Splits

DUBAI – The two-week global climate negotiations have officially gone into overtime as countries’ negotiators scramble to bridge multiple stark divides including on potential restrictions on the use and production of fossil fuels. Officials as of late afternoon Dec. 12 had yet to release an updated draft of a final agreement since a proposal floated late Dec. 11 that drew strong condemnation from the United States, the European Union and small island states that are particularly vulnerable to climate change...

COP28 Heads To Overtime As Officials Try To Bridge Fossil Fuel Splits

DUBAI – The two-week global climate negotiations have officially gone into overtime as countries’ negotiators scramble to bridge multiple stark divides including on potential restrictions on the use and production of fossil fuels. Officials as of late afternoon Dec. 12 had yet to release an updated draft of a final agreement since a proposal floated late Dec. 11 that drew strong condemnation from the United States, the European Union and small island states that are particularly vulnerable to climate change...

COP28 Draft Deal Suggests ‘Reducing’ Fossil Fuel As Deadline Nears

DUBAI -- Prospects appear to be growing for a landmark call to “reduce” the global production and use of fossil fuels as negotiators scramble to reach a final deal at this year’s climate talks in Dubai, though environmentalists are sharply criticizing the latest draft as not compelling countries to take any steps to limit coal, oil or gas. The draft agreement is a “watered-down menu of compromises,” said Catherine Abreu of the environmental group Destination Zero in a press gaggle...

COP28 Draft Deal Suggests ‘Reducing’ Fossil Fuel As Deadline Nears

DUBAI -- Prospects appear to be growing for a landmark call to “reduce” the global production and use of fossil fuels as negotiators scramble to reach a final deal at this year’s climate talks in Dubai, though environmentalists are sharply criticizing the latest draft as not compelling countries to take any steps to limit coal, oil or gas. The draft agreement is a “watered-down menu of compromises,” said Catherine Abreu of the environmental group Destination Zero in a press gaggle...

Amid Splits, Top Democrat Renews Push For Flexible Hydrogen Guide

DUBAI -- Amid deep divisions within the Biden administration and among Senate Democrats, a top senator is renewing his push for officials to adopt flexible implementation guidance for the clean hydrogen production tax credit, noting that high-profile debates on the measure are even occurring at international climate talks here. During a Dec. 9 side event at the conference, Senate environment committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) highlighted the “real time” debate about the Treasury Department’s forthcoming implementation guidance for the “section...

Senators Press White House To Detail Plans For Curbing Fossil Fuel Finance

Half a dozen Democratic senators are pressing the Biden administration to further detail plans to fulfill a 2021 commitment made at global climate talks in Glasgow to curb public funding for “unabated” fossil fuel projects abroad, arguing that the U.S. has failed to follow through on this pledge. The senators “hope to protect taxpayer funding from fueling the climate crisis or increasing global instability,” says a Dec. 8 letter to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan from Senate environment...

Lawmakers Downplay Expectation For Major U.S. Green Climate Fund Pledge

DUBAI – Lawmakers during global climate talks here appear to be downplaying expectations for Hill approval of the Biden administration’s new pledge to provide $3 billion for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) that supports climate work in developing nations, even as they tout the country’s ongoing support for climate-related efforts overseas. Republican lawmakers “aren’t willing to invest more in the Green Climate Fund,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Appropriations panel that oversees State Department and other...

Lawmakers At Climate Talks Offer Measured Take On Fossil Fuel Debate

DUBAI – Even as Biden administration officials are pushing for negotiators to agree to “largely” phase out fossil fuels at the ongoing climate change negotiations here, key Democrats visiting the conference are taking a more measured approach to the signature debate at the event. The lawmakers’ reticence to embrace a clean “phaseout” of all fossil fuels – which environmentalists are seeking – even includes top Senate Democrats who are attending the proceeding’s final weekend. “It is good to aim high,”...

Latest COP28 Draft Agreement Expands Options Amid Uncertainty

DUBAI -- Negotiators at the international climate conference here are floating the most detailed draft agreement so far on key summit debates, though the measure largely expands the number of options ministers must agree on before the conference ends Dec. 12, instead of indicating that officials are nearing agreement on most topics. The latest draft “decision” document released Dec. 8 would formally conclude the inaugural “global stocktake” (GST) of collective progress toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which...

Climate Finance Tensions Mount At COP28, Jeopardizing Mitigation Goals

DUBAI – Tensions are mounting during international climate talks here about the sufficient level of financial support from the U.S. and other wealthy nations to fund climate work in less-development countries, a debate that could have major implications for whether the summit can produce stronger mitigation goals such as phasing out fossil fuels. Any final agreement with strong goals to mitigate climate change – which is a top priority of the Biden administration – “is going to be highly contingent...

Biden Officials At COP28 Flag Optimism On Nuclear Fusion’s Potential

DUBAI -- Biden administration officials during the ongoing international climate talks here are expressing optimism about the commercial potential of nuclear fusion energy, a technology that for decades has been touted as a promising clean energy option but has also faced numerous technical hurdles. During Dec. 6 remarks at the climate talks, White House climate envoy John Kerry flagged the participation of former Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in a new plan from nearly three dozen countries to advance fusion...

Biden Officials At COP28 Flag State Action As Key To Achieving Paris Goal

DUBAI -- Biden administration officials during ongoing global climate talks here are highlighting states’ role helping to close the “gap” in greenhouse gas cuts needed to achieve the country’s climate target under the Paris Agreement, with a new report suggesting state policies could halve that gap. “There’s no way to overstate the importance of states especially but states and cities” in helping the U.S. meet its target to halve economy-wide emissions by 2030, said Rick Duke, the State Department’s deputy...

California Helps Expand Subnational Methane-Reduction Effort At COP28

California officials say they have helped expand a worldwide subnational-government initiative to reduce methane emissions, as part of activities at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, which they claim will help countries meet their pledges to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas in a broader, separate agreement. “The science is clear that tackling methane emissions is one of the best investments we can make to fight climate change now and produce benefits in the near future to leave...

Kerry Backs Fossil Fuel Phaseout With Limited Carbon Capture At COP28

DUBAI -- U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry says countries will have to agree to some “phasing out” of fossil fuels along with carbon capture if they are serious about cutting greenhouse gases by 2050, making clear the Biden administration’s stance on a recently released draft text that is the basis for ministerial talks during the conference’s second week. He told a Dec. 6 press conference here that if countries are going to maintain their commitments to limiting global temperature rise...

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