Monday, November 30, 2015

Obama Arrives In Paris For COP 21 / CMP 11 Climate Talks

<> Obama Arrives in Le Bourget for Climate Talks - Obama and Xi Meet in First Moments of Climate Change Conference -- President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China held a bilateral meeting ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in Le Bourget, near Paris, on Monday

<> "The Eyes of the World are on Paris" COP21 Opening Ceremony; The nations of the world gathered today in Paris to reach a new and universal climate change agreement, in the knowledge that they have already delivered an almost universal set of national responses to meet the long-term climate challenge before the conference even begins -- over 150 heads of state and government arrived at the conference venue -- the largest group of leaders ever to attend a UN event in a single day.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

EPA Pulls Registration for Dow's Enlist Duo Herbicide Citing High Toxicity Levels

<> EPA Pulls Registration for Dow's Enlist Duo Herbicide Citing High Toxicity Levels - U.S. EPA, responding to litigation, has announced it is revoking the registration of "Enlist Duo" -- approved by the agency just over a year ago, Enlist Duo is a toxic combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D that Dow AgroSciences created for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops, designed to withstand being drenched with this potent herbicide cocktail.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

UN report finds 90 per cent of disasters are weather-related

<> UN report finds 90 per cent of disasters are weather-related - A new report issued by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) shows that over the last 20 years, 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events -- the report, entitled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters -- since 1995, 606,000 lives have been lost and 4.1 billion people have been injured, left homeless or in need of emergency assistance as a result of weather-related disasters

Monday, November 23, 2015

Alberta Announces Climate Leadership Plan

<> New Alberta climate-change plan includes carbon tax for individual Albertans, cap on oilsands emissions - Alberta's new climate-change plan, announced Nov 22, will introduce a carbon tax on every Albertan, phase out coal pollution and plants by 2030, set a greenhouse-gas-emissions cap on oilsands production and pump money back into the pockets of Albertans and businesses to help with the transition.

Friday, November 20, 2015

IEA Ministerial Statement on Energy and Climate Change

<> IEA Ministerial Statement on Energy and Climate Change - "We, the ministers with responsibility for energy attending the International Energy Agency (IEA) 2015 Ministerial meeting, recognize that a transformation of the world's energy system is essential and must be a uniting vision if our common climate change, development, economic, and energy security goals are to be achieved. . ."

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders Statement

<> Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders Statement - "We, the Leaders of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam, met today to mark the conclusion of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. . ."

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

White House Issues Veto Warnings For Senate-Passed S.J.Res. 23 & 24

<> White House Issues Veto Warnings For Senate-Passed S.J.Res. 23 & 24 -  The White House has issued a Statement of Administrative Policy indicating the President would be advised to veto the resolutions for S.J.Res. 23 – Disapproving EPA Rule on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Electric Utility Generating Units; and S.J.Res. 24 – Disapproving EPA Rule on Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Electric Utility Generating Units

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Paris climate summit to be pared back, says France PM

<> Paris climate summit to be pared back, says France PM - The conference will be "reduced to the negotiation" with "concerts and festive events" likely to be called off in the wake of the country's worst ever terrorist attack

Monday, November 16, 2015

France promises 'enhanced' COP21 security after terror attacks

<> France promises 'enhanced' COP21 security after terror attacks - Climate summit will go ahead but foreign minister Laurent Fabius indicates policing levels will be increased as a result of IS assault -- an estimated 40,000 delegates are expected to attend the Paris climate talks, which run from November 30-December 11, along with 127 heads of state.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Coming to the Table: The Importance of a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Justice

<> Coming to the Table: The Importance of a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Justice - As the conversation about climate change has grown, a new emphasis on climate justice has emerged, focusing on the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities -- climate justice has become a high priority focus of the environmental justice movement. [links to the 2015 HHS Climate Justice Conference Report and other conference materials, including a video from the meeting]

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Paris COP 21/CMP 11 Information Hub

<> Paris COP 21/CMP 11 Information Hub - The Paris 2015 UN climate change conference (30 November to 11 December) is where governments will reach a new and universal climate change agreement -- the information hub provides a quick access point to find out how to participate and to navigate through the many pieces of information and news that are available.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Administration and Fire Chiefs Around the Country Take Action to Reduce the Risk of Wildfires in the Wildland Urban Interface Exacerbated by Climate Change

<> Administration and Fire Chiefs Around the Country Take Action to Reduce the Risk of Wildfires in the Wildland Urban Interface Exacerbated by Climate Change - The increase in wildfires is particularly dangerous in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where houses, structures and people are at risk of structure loss, injury and death -- since 1990, 60 percent of new homes built in the United States have been built in the WUI, increasing the amount of land at risk in the by 4,000 acres per day; 46 million single family homes, several hundred thousands of businesses, and a population of more than 120 million.

Monday, November 09, 2015

Statement by the President on the Keystone XL Pipeline

<> Statement by the President on the Keystone XL Pipeline - [As Friday's WIMS Environmental HotSheet was being sent, President Obama was announcing that the State Department had determined that the Keystone XL Pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States.] 

Friday, November 06, 2015

Montreal Protocol Amendments Avoid 0.5 Degrees Celsius Warming by 2100

<> Statement from EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on Decision Reached at the 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol - Oct 5. Countries across the world took the historic step to work together on a 2016 Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to reduce the production and consumption of harmful hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), greenhouse gases that can be up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change -- the amendment will achieve substantial greenhouse gas reductions and could avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100.

Thursday, November 05, 2015

TPP trade deal: text published online

<> TPP trade deal: text published online - Release offers first detailed look at 12-state Trans-Pacific Partnership, world's largest free trade agreement -- the New Zealand government, which signed on to the deal, put the contents of the agreement on its website on Thursday, saying it would continue to undergo legal review -- many activists have criticised the fact that the 12-state agreement was surrounded by secrecy

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Obama will decide on Keystone pipeline before he leaves office

<> Obama will decide on Keystone pipeline before he leaves office - White House officials said Tuesday that President Obama intends to decide the fate of the Keystone XL oil pipeline during his tenure, rather than suspend the federal review process at the request of the project's sponsor.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

TransCanada Asks State Department to Pause Keystone XL Review

<> TransCanada Asks State Department to Pause Keystone XL Review - TransCanada Corporation announced on Nov 2, it has sent a letter to Secretary John Kerry of the U.S. State Department asking the Department to pause its review of the Presidential Permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline -- the company believes there is sound precedent for making this request.

Monday, November 02, 2015

Global Response to Climate Change Keeps Door Open to 2 Degree C Temperature Limit

<> Global Response to Climate Change Keeps Door Open to 2 Degree C Temperature Limit - A new report, assessing the collective impact of over 140 national climate action plans, indicates that together they can dramatically slow global emissions into the atmosphere -- also, the aggregate impact of the "Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)" will lead to a fall in per capita emissions over the coming 15 years.