Tierramérica



ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT


		El Protocolo de Kyoto, un acuerdo global para detener emisiones responsables del calentamiento del planeta, entra en vigencia el 16 de febrero. Tierramérica brinda en esta sección información y análisis sobre el tratado, las negociaciones post-Kyoto y las consecuencias del cambio climático.



	External Links UN Convention on Climate Change International efforts to tackle global warming IPCC predictions: Assessment on the effects of climate change Point Carbon: Market analysis on emissions trading Climate Chicago Exchange: The carbon market in the United States CDMwatch: Assessment of the clean development mechanism

Inter Press Service
The world's leading provider of information on global issues

UNDP
United Nations Development Programme

UNEP
United Nations Environment Programme

By Katherine Stapp

Car Industry Challenges California Law

In 10 years, all new cars in California must emit at least 30 percent less carbon dioxide, says the first law of its kind in the world. But car manufacturers have filed a lawsuit to halt the legislation. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler ''are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to addressing greenhouse gas emissions,'' Jason Mark, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Tierramérica.

By Tito Drago

Spain Lags Behind in Kyoto Protocol Compliance

Spain is the European nation with the biggest increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. Many companies are expected to turn to Latin America in order to meet their emissions reduction quotas. The energy company Endesa has announced it will invest 3.2 billion dollars in the region.

By Stephen Leahy

Inuit to Charge U.S. for Climate Change

The Inuit peoples of the Arctic regions hope the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will find that the United States, the leading emitter of carbon dioxide, is threatening their existence. Their action is seen as the first case that links climate change and the rights of indigenous communities.

By Diego Cevallos

''We'll need imagination after Kyoto''

Klaus Toepfer, the world's top environment official as chief of the United Nations Environment Program, spoke with Tierramérica in the lead-up to Feb. 16, the day the Kyoto Protocol on climate change takes effect.

By Diego Cevallos

Methane - A Greenhouse Gas Becomes Star of the Market

Latin America is joining the international movement for trade in methane emissions credits. Environmental activists are giving this approach the thumbs-down.

By María Amparo Lasso

Is Latin America Really a Carbon Market Pioneer?

Latin America could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 55 million tons through the sale of carbon credits. But this strategy doesn't convince the critics, who ask if the region would foment clean and renewable energy sources or would merely sell cheap carbon credits to the highest bidder from the industrialized North.

By Marcela Valente

U.S. Returns to Dialogue on Climate Change

The United States and the OPEC countries agreed to participate in a May 2005 seminar on climate change, but they reject new negotiations. ''It's a positive step,'' says Raúl Estrada Oyuela, who proposed the face-saving meeting, approved at the close of the 10th Conference on Climate Change, in Buenos Aires.

By Marcela Valente

Climate Change Worse for the South

Crop yields will decline, temperate zones will disappear and the number of people suffering hunger will increase, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The developing South will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, expert Prabhu Pingali told Tierramérica.

By Julio Godoy

The True Cost of Flying

Hundreds of flights by subsidized airlines in Europe are endangering the global climate and the ozone layer. For now, they fly free of environmental regulations.

By Mario Osava

The Dilemma of the Ozone Hole and Climate Change

Scientists hope by 2005 to launch alternatives to two chemicals used as replacements for ozone-depleting CFC gases but which themselves contribute to climate change.

From our files:

By Mario Osava

Brazil - A Bio-Energy Superpower

Exports of fuel alcohol produced from sugarcane, a renewable energy source, will be worth two billion dollars in 2004, an increase of almost 300 percent over last year.

By Gustavo González

Renewable Energy Not Always Sustainable

Latin America obtains more than 20 percent of its energy from ostensibly renewable sources. But much of it comes from hydroelectric dams, which can harm ecosystems.

By Diego Cevallos

Small Companies Far from Meeting 'Green' Standards

Pressure is rising in Mexico for small industries to be incorporated into a new initiative for measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By Stephen Leahy

Experts Back Pentagon Warning on Climate

Abrupt climate change, which could trigger catastrophes such as a decline of temperatures in Europe to Siberian levels, is indeed possible, scientists told Tierramérica.

By Marcela Valente

'The Kyoto Protocol is just a first step'

Tierramérica spoke with Joke Waller-Hunter, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and in charge of organizing the upcoming conference of parties to that agreement, to take place in December in Buenos Aires.

By Cristina Hernández-Espinoza

Doubts on Whether 20th Century the Hottest Ever

Some U.S. scientists question the theories that have served as the basis of the global fight against climate change, saying periods of unusually warm or cool temperatures are explained by natural fluctuations in the Earth's climate processes.

From our files:

By Sanjay Suri

¿Medimos mal el Clima?

Dos expertos provocan revuelo en el mundo científico, al rebatir las evaluaciones sobre cambio climático del planeta. Uno de ellos, David Henderson, dialogó con Tierramérica.

From our files:

By Mario Osava

Brazil's Clean Energy Effort Rides Ocean Waves

Surfers are not the only ones who will be enjoying the massive power of the Atlantic Ocean's waves on the Brazilian coast. For the first time in the Americas, ocean waves are to be used to generate electricity -- enough for 200 families in Ceará state. This new technology could satisfy 15 percent of Brazil's energy demands in 15 years, say experts.

By Ignacio Avalos

Can We Afford to Wait for Hydrogen Energy?

This clean energy source is at the center of a new utopia, but it will take decades before hydrogen is consolidated as a true energy alternative.

Por Francesca Colombo

'We must change the way we live'

Climate change is going to worsen and the only sensible thing we can do is learn to adapt to new conditions, scientist Vicenzo Ferrara said in dialogue with Tierramérica. A prolific author on the topic, Ferrara is the Italian representative of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

From our files:

Versión en Español

By Diego Cevallos

'We don't need scientific certainty in order to take action'

The consequences of failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on curbing climate change could be very serious, Mario Molina, Nobel laureate in chemistry, says in a dialogue with Tierramérica.

From our files:

By Ranjit Devraj

The Kyoto Protocol and Its Deserters

The multilateral treaty for controlling climate change is looking increasingly weak in the wake of the latest global meeting on the issue, held in India. The appeal issued in the final declaration for more ratifications of the treaty was not enough to compensate for the profound disagreements between governments.

From our files:

Viable but costly, solar energy is just beginning to find its way a half-century after it was proposed as an alternative. For developing countries, the use of this energy source could facilitate sustainable economic growth.

Climate Change

Predictions are now certain: planet Earth is undergoing a climate change that could have dire consequences for all forms of life. Thousands of delegates are gathered in India to try to reach agreements aimed at confronting this problem, debating at the conference known as COP 8.

Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Efforts are underway to convert 20,000 hectares of Brazilian pastureland back into the rich forest ecosystem it once was. Picking up the bill are polluting companies that want what is known as a carbon dioxide "sink" to clean up their sins against the environment. This is just one project related to global mechanisms aimed at reversing climate change.

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