U.S. says rich nations likely to miss carbon targets

Rich nations as a group are unlikely to reach the deep 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions urged by developing nations as part of a new U.N. climate treaty, the top U.S. climate envoy said on Friday.

Climate pressure ‘building on US’

Climate negotiations are to begin in Bonn with pressure building for the US to deliver deeper emissions cuts.
Delegates are dealing with the reality that although they are wrangling with the Obama administration, US Congress will help determine the final outcome.

Emissions traders expect U.S. carbon market soon

Carbon market professionals hope speedy U.S. Congressional approval of a federal cap and trade scheme will boost emissions trading, which is threatened by recession and slow U.N. climate talks.

Is Antarctica Cooling After All?

While most of the planet has been warming for decades, part of Antartica, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet — has actually been getting colder. At least that was the general consensus. A major study by Pennsylvania State University; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City shows this may not be the case at all. The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.

Building ‘Climate Positive’ Communities

It’s one thing to put up a LEED-certified building, but quite another to develop an entire urban community with enough energy-efficient bells and whistles that its on-site emissions are actually less than zero.

Climate link to mockingbird songs

Unpredictable weather seems to stimulate chatter among birds – as well as humans – according to researchers.

Critical Climate Bill Clears House Committee; WWF Praises Landmark Vote

Lou Leonard, Director of U.S. Climate Policy for World Wildlife Fund, today praised passage of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy Security Act, by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Passage of the bill marks the first time climate change legislation has cleared a House committee.  House leaders have said they expect the legislation to be voted on later this summer. 

Fifth Warmest April for Globe

The combined average global land and ocean surface temperatures for April 2009 ranked fifth warmest since worldwide records began in 1880, according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Detroit Automakers Spurn Ethanol Mandate

Battered by depressed new car sales and waning political power in Washington, the automotive industry still has some fight left.

Obama takes aim at climate-warming car emissions

President Barack Obama took aim at climate-warming greenhouse gases on Tuesday and ordered the struggling auto industry to make more fuel-efficient cars under tough new national standards to cut emissions and increase gas mileage.

Global warming could be twice as bad as forecast

Global warming’s effects this century could be twice as extreme as estimated just six years ago, scientists reported on Tuesday.

New Ocean Circulation Experiment has Potential Big Climate Model Impact

New research by Duke University, in conjunction with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is casting doubt on long-held theories of North Atlantic Ocean circulation patterns. This research, supported by the National Science Foundation is important since oceanic circulation is one of the key factors in current atmospheric circulation models, and therefore critical starting points for climate modeling.