Mini blog

UN Climate action tweet this morning showing

the slow down of emissions due to INDCs. 

Apparently it is not yet enough..

As COP21 is such a hot topic at the moment I am going to try and do a series of mini blogs between my main posts that cover some of the latest news articles as well as a few interactive bits and bobs that I cannot fit into the main series.

News:

Just after I finished my post on whether we really need a new international agreement on climate change I came across an article on the WHO. They argue that COP21 is more important for everyone's health than might be at first appreciated with interventions to tackle climate change likely to have knock on benefits for our health. 7 million people die a year as a result of air pollution and this is only exacerbated by climate change. Alarmingly experts also warned in June that the threat to human health from climate change is so great that it could undo the last 50 years of gains in the development of global health. These articles are in my opinion further compelling evidence for the importance of an international agreement on climate starting in 31 days in Paris.

News emerging this morning (BBC/Guardian) is that the climate pledges put forward by 146 countries in the lead up to COP21 are not sufficient enough according to the UN to limit warming to the target 2 degrees (see next blog) with a capability of reducing warming to only  2.7C by 2100. The pledges known as the INDC's or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are part of a spur of action in the run up to climate talks in Paris and have been received as a positive shift in policy by asking nations what they are willing and able to do to curb emissions. The recent news announced by Christina Figueres, the UN climate chief potentially comes as a damaging blow. Nevertheless the INDCs still mark a significant improvement from no action at all. A future blog over the coming weeks will analyse the INDCs in greater detail looking at the pledges of individual countries as well as other initiatives in the lead up to COP21.

Climate Neutral Now:

One further UN initiative that everyone can try themselves is Climate Neutral Now which allows you to measure your carbon footprint, reduce and offset though UN certified emission reductions projects which are being added to all the time. It is quite alarming to see how large our carbon footprints really are. As more and more projects are added it seems like it could be an effective way to act and offset.