Two different meetings of environment and energy ministers of the 27 EU member states have encountered a serious problem. Both councils said they were convinced the world needs a 30% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2020 to tackle climate change, but both did offer no more than 20% in the end, saying this is their [...]

Government representatives, parliamentarians and business leaders of more than 20 countries will be meeting in Washington from 14-15 February to debate climate change and energy security.
Since the publication of the Stern report on the costs of climate change, the new majority in the American Congress and the recent IPCC report, climate fever has once again [...]

Just one month after the European Commission presented its lofty ambitions for a new EU strategy to combat climate change and secure energy supply, member states are effectively trying to bury the dream of a common European energy policy.
In preparations for the Energy Council meeting of ministers on 15 February it has become clear that [...]

With the latest IPCC report behind us, there seems to be little doubt that the scientific debate is over and that it is now up to political, business and NGO leaders to come up with real actions instead of slogans.
But do they already understand how radical the needed reforms will be and if they do, [...]

Since it became politically fashionable in the 1980s, the word “sustainable” has become so vague and misused that several ecologists have advised to give it up alltogether.
American journalist and writer Richard Heinberg tries to rehabilitate the the term in one of his latest essays. He offers five axioms of sustainability which should form the basis [...]

After months of difficult negotiations, the Netherlands will get a new centre-left government. Former Prime Minister Balkenende has reached a coalition agreement with the social-democrats of opposition leader Bos and a smaller religious party, the Christian Union.
According to Dutch newspaper NRC, the new government will spend more than 850 million euros for environment and clean [...]

In an interview with German newspaper “Bild am Sonntag”, EU environment commissioner Dimas has urged the current President of the EU, Germany, to take more leadership in combating climate change.
The Greek environment commissioner is currently fighting two battles with the German government: one on Germany’s new commitments for the European emissions trading scheme and one [...]

In Paris, 46 countries urged the world to give the UN’s environment agency more powers to combat global warming. The Paris Declaration calls for a world-wide mobilisation against the ecological crisis. Read Le Monde for more.
Do we really need another bureaucratic talkshop?

Here are some of the better comments i have found on the new IPCC evaluation:

UK’s chief scientific advisor David King: “We cannot let the Kyoto debacle happen again” (The Guardian)
UK environment minister David Miliband: “Kyoto can be made to work” (Newsweek)

Feel free to alert me to other interesting reactions.
Former environment commissioner Margot Wallström writes on [...]

First sustainable energy week of the European Commission
31 Jan: Commission proposes new standars for transport fuels - read EurActiv 1 Febr 2007
31 Jan: Commission postpones once again a decision on CO2 emissions from cars, under heavy lobbying pressure from the German car industry
IPCC present first part of fourth assessment report on climate change.