Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The Petersberg Climate Dialogue, co-hosted by Germany and Mexico, saw ministers and negotiators from 45 countries meet from May 2nd-4th in an informal setting to discuss the "building blocks" of a new global climate agreement. The aim was to focus on specifics, avoiding the sensitive political issues that have undermined recent negotiating sessions. "This meeting was a very important contribution to building trust and confidence," commented Norbert Röttgen, German minister for environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety.

Topics discussed during the Petersberg Climate Dialogue included mechanisms for the measuring, reporting and verification of emissions reduction pledges, short-term financing for poor countries and halting deforestation. "We have reached consensus on forest protection, and there are good perspectives for consensus on technology transfer - a result is possible, at least in Cancún," said Röttgen. Information about individual projects, including South Korea's Green Growth Institute, was also presented at the meeting. Switzerland has announced that they will host a similar dialogue, focused on global financing, in July.

Plant leaves account for less than one per cent of total methane emissions, according to scientists from the University of Edinburgh. "Our results show that plant leaves do give rise to some methane, but only a very small amount," said Andy McLeod. "This is a welcome result as it allays fears that forestry and agriculture were contributing unduly to global warming." A previous study had suggested that vegetation might give rise to much greater emissions of methane.

Scientists in the United States and Australia have warned that heat and humidity may combine to exceed the highest tolerable wet-bulb temperature for human life as global warming develops over coming centuries. "Whole countries would intermittently be subject to severe heat stress requiring large-scale adaptation efforts," said Matthew Huber from Purdue University in the United States. "One can imagine that such efforts, for example the wider adoption of air conditioning, would cause the power requirements to soar, and the affordability of such approaches is in question for much of the Third World that would bear the brunt of these impacts. In addition, the livestock on which we rely would still be exposed, and it would make any form of outside work hazardous."

Asian nations, particularly China and the Republic of Korea, are leading other major nations as green investments play a major role in their economic and employment recovery packages, according to a new book authored by Edward Barbier. "The financial and economic crisis triggered a fundamental awareness that investments in the environment may be the key to tackling multiple challenges from climate change and food shortages to natural resource scarcity and unemployment," commented Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme, the book's co-publisher.

Five hundred towns and cities in the European Union (EU) have pledged to exceed the EU's greenhouse gas emissions target of a 20 per cent reduction below 1990 levels by the year 2020. "Smart green buildings, smart transport and logistics and, in general, the whole concept of smart cities are job-intensive activities that contribute directly to the local economy," said José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. "Crucially, they also make a positive contribution to other issues, such as social integration, quality of life, well-being, and the attractiveness of our cities." Under the Covenant of Mayors initiative, the cities will share knowledge and low-carbon strategies. Almost half the towns and cities are from Italy, with one hundred from Spain.