Climate

Proposals for a strong agriculture agenda in Copenhagen

While IATP staff (among many other delegates, NGOs and even country delegates) have been struggling to stay on schedule in Copenhagen due to over-booking (on the part of the UNFCCC), our press conference today (December 15) went on as scheduled.

The waiting game in Copenhagen

In this information age, most of us just want the bottom line from our news. We read the headlines, skim some paragraphs, check out the graphics—information in short, efficient bursts. But if the climate talks fall apart, it will be important to understand how and why they weren't successful.

Eyeless in Copenhagen

We have been told, by more than one speaker of very different viewpoints about climate change, that nothing less than the future of the planet will be negotiated in Copenhagen.

Agriculture walks the tightrope in Copenhagen

At the massive global climate meeting taking place this week in Copenhagen, agriculture has played a largely secondary role.

Climate, agriculture and water

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that water will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Effects on water, whether flooding or drought, inevitably affect agriculture and food security; and of course agriculture, particularly heavily irrigated agriculture, affects both water and the climate.

Attention to agriculture in Copenhagen

I have finally set foot into Bella Center, where the UN Climate Conference (COP15) is taking place. I arrived here yesterday (Dec. 9).

Climate vs the speculators

In both U.S. climate legislation and within the global climate talks there are serious proposals to create a new carbon emissions derivatives market with big Wall Street speculators looking to cash in.

Agriculture change

At the climate negotiations in Copenhagen there will be a lot of talk about supporting more "climate-friendly" agriculture systems and there will be a lot of debate about exactly what type of agriculture is better for the environment. Some agribusiness companies like Monsanto are a

How U.S. climate policy treats agriculture

We can expect that the U.S. government's position on agriculture at the global climate talks in Copenhagen will reflect how agriculture has been treated in climate bills being written by Congress. Thus far, Congress has seized upon agriculture and forestry-related sequestration as a key tool to reduce the country's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Will Obama be the closer in Copenhagen?

Is President Barack Obama's decision to appear on the last day of climate negotiations in Copenhagen a game-changer? There certainly have been a lot of games played with expectations of the Copenhagen meeting over the past year.