The president of the European Commission has threatened to impose carbon tariffs on imports unless the US agrees to a global climate change deal.
Rad.
Australia’s newly elected Rudd government has announced its plans to use air surveillance and unarmed ship surveillance of Japan’s corporate whaling fleet. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the vessels would collect evidence to assess whether legal action could be taken against the whalers. The two vessels would collect photographic and video evidence of the fleet’s activities to help Canberra decide if it could take action against the whalers in international courts, the minister said. “We are dealing here with the slaughter of whales, not scientific research,” Mr Smith told a news conference in Canberra. “That is our start point and our end point.” Australia has also announced its intention to lead a formal international protest against Japan over the issue.
In the meantime, the U.S. is pushing Japan to suspend its hunt of humpback whales, and the American ambassador to Tokyo said Wednesday an agreement to stop it may have already been reached. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer said Japanese and U.S. negotiators were working on an American demand that the hunt — part of a scientific research program allowed under international rules — be halted. The Ambassador said, “I think we had an agreement this morning or last night between the United States and Japan that humpback whales would not be harvested, I think, until maybe the international whaling conference in June.” Such a delay would push the timing of any resumed hunt beyond the seasonal presence of humpbacks, effectively delaying this season’s planned humback hunt.
The UN Climate Change Conference, hosted this year in Bali, opens tomorrow. The Exective Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) today rolled out his expectations for the conference. He emphasized that political will is what will be necessary to achieve climate action and challenged international ministers with the question, “what is your political answer to what the scientific community is telling you so very clearly?” His remarks are available below. Webcasts will be available throughout the duration of the conference.
The Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (that’s their EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service all rolled into one) released a study entitled “A Barrier to Our Shared Environment: The Border Wall between Mexico and the United States”. According to the report, the border wall that is being constructed by U.S. government contractors could cause floods, the extirpation of 11 animal species with the interruption of their migration routes, and the fragmentation of flora and fauna populations. The jaguar, the Mexican gray wolf and the bison are among the species that would be adversely impacted.
h/t treehugger
see also, a Grist story from October on this same issue
The International Panel on Climate Change today released its Synthesis Report. Among the key findings:
Climate policy makers are thus entering into the Bali round of climate negotiations well armed with a strong science and policy document. No doubt our fine (mis)representatives will show up intent on emphasizing climate volunteerism over actionable commitments. I hope that other nations snub u.s. like we’re the smelly kid at a pizza party.
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