Day 8 Policy Updates: Coal-land

By Anna Odell and Bohdan Zymka SBSTA closed early Sunday morning (late Saturday night) and SBI closed this morning before the stock-taking plenary. Overall, the G77 remains unified in the face of growing political pressure, particularly on the issues of loss and damage and finance. The G77 has stated that they won’t discuss post 2020 finance until pre 2020 finance has been addressed, and LDCs...

What the HECK is up with REDD+?!?!: A Summary Of My Struggles Up Until Now

by Lara Shirley This is part of a REDD+ trilogy featured here on : Lara is angry and confused, Lara is just angry, and Lara gets technical. Stay tuned for the next installment! REDD+ is complex, illogical and confusing. I kind of dislike it a lot. After having spent what feels like far too much time on it – although compared to many here, it’s barely a millisecond – I thought I would spare...

Press Release: Climate activists thrown out for solidarity with victims of typhoon Haiyan

12 NOVEMBER 2013 The UN climate talks opened on Monday in the backdrop of the devastating impacts of Typhoon Haiyan one of the strongest storms ever to hit landfall. Yeb Sano, climate commissioner for the Philippines made an electrifying and emotional appeal for action on climate. Delegates held an unprecedented 3 minute silence in solidarity, and Mr. Sano broke down recounting how his brother...

First day, first actions, first signs of hope

by Lucas Burdick                 This is a late post, and very much a developing story. “Climate change means we face a future where super typhoons will no longer be one-in-one hundred year events…” said head negotiator for the Philippines, Yeb Sano, at the opening plenary of the COP. You could hear the tiredness in his voice and as he spent much of...

COP19 Warsaw: The Big Fights, Red Lines and Initial Predictions

by Anna Odell and Maria Alejandra Escalante Thousands gather in Warsaw as typhoon Yolanda (internationally named typhoon Haiyan) ravages the Philippines, leaving up to 10,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and destroying entire communities and towns. This catastrophe, the largest typhoon in recorded history, cannot go unacknowledged, and those parties responsible for...