Major Industrial Nations Criticized for Setting Weak Emissions Reductions Goals

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As the world approaches the much anticipated Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, European environmental leaders are expressing disappointment with countries such as the United States, Canada, Ukraine, and Russia.

“If industrialized countries are unwilling to do their bit, we can’t expect others to do theirs. We are calling upon developing countries to follow the European example in reducing emissions by pledging to cut them by 30 percent by 2020,” said Environmental Commissioner Stavros Dimas to the members of the European Parliament in an address earlier this week, discussing anticipated challenges in Copenhagen.

Mr. Dimas highlighted the following three major challenges that he expects will arise during the conference.

• How to lower emissions in industrialized economies.
• How to guarantee that developing countries accept ambitious goals for emissions reductions.
• Where to find the necessary funding to help developing countries meet the targets.

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Easier Said Than Done: Sharing Low-Carbon Technologies with Developing Countries

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While everyone seems to agree that climate change is a real and pressing issue that needs solutions, little agreement seems to be coming in terms of how to go about it.

Among the key weapons against climate change is the implementation of large-scale low-carbon technologies around the world, though several significant obstacles impede this progression, according to a report released this month by the Center for American Progress, a member of the Global Climate Network, which also collaborated on the report.

The report, Breaking Through on Technology: Overcoming the Barriers to the Development of Low-Carbon Technology, contains interviews of over 100 people (officials of companies in the private sector and government policymakers) in eight different countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States) done between January and March 2009.

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