Jan 21st, 2010 9:01 PM UTC
By A.M.
|
Yesterday the House of Representatives passed unanimously HR 4462, a bill to accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Just now, the US Senate unanimously approved that bill. This was a strong bipartisan effort with Senators Baucus (D-MT), Grassley (R-IA), Nelson (D-FL), and LeMieux (R-FL) speaking in support of the bill. And as text messaging donations has become popular, the bill makes clear those deductions qualify for the tax benefits.
|
Dec 17th, 2009 4:07 PM UTC
By A.M.
|
 This morning as weary-eyed negotiators made their way to the Bella Center for the final 48 hour push in the climate negotiations which seemed all but deadlocked, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caffeinated the room with big news – a US commitment to long-term financing for adaptation, mitigation, and deforestation for the world’s poorest people. One of the key hurdles to the negotiations to date has been this item of long term financing. Short term financing numbers, also referred to as the fast track fund, have been on the table for some time: a $10 billion per year commitment for years 2010, 2011, and 2012. The actual mechanism and its transparency are still being worked out, but commitments have been pouring in from the EU, Japan, and others towards the fast track fund, and the US has stated that it will contribute its fair share.
The long term, and the scale of the long term financing, has however been an issue with varied opinions and much debate. So this morning when the US announced its endorsement of long term financing, with a number attached to it – $100 billion per year by 2020 – the negotiations seemed to get rejuvenated. This number is also in line with the African proposal which calls for $10 billion per year in fast track funding for years 2010, 2011, and 2012; $50 billion per year by 2015; and scaling up to $100 billion per year by 2020. All of this is however, contingent on a global effort.
From Secretary Clinton’s announcement, “And today I’d like to announce that, in the context of a strong accord in which all major economies stand behind meaningful mitigation actions and provide full transparency as to their implementation, the United States is prepared to work with other countries toward a goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion a year by 2020 to address the climate change needs of developing countries. We expect this funding will come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance. This will include a significant focus on forestry and adaptation, particularly, again I repeat, for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.”
Read the full statement here:
For immediate release and posting.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release December 17, 2009
2009/T17-1
(more…)
|
Dec 16th, 2009 1:57 PM UTC
By A.M.
|
Just some notable names that are in Copenhagen this week: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Laureate Wangari Matthai, and many other leaders from across the spectrum – business, government, non-profit.
The US delegation is ramping up after a steady stream of cabinet officials the first week. Sen. John Kerry will be delivering a major speech here on Wednesday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making a surprise visit on Thursday. And President Obama is here on Friday. Other members of the US delegation on the ground are Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern.
Over 110 heads of state are expected for the high-level summit on Friday. Representing the Africa Group will be Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.
|
Dec 16th, 2009 10:56 AM UTC
By A.M.
|
REDD. It stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. But even that term is now outdated; it is now REDD+. The plus has been added to include other forest management activities such as afforestation and sustainable land management. With the Congo Basin and so many other forest opportunities for Africa, the operationalization of REDD+ can benefit Africa in great scales.
The good news is that this issue is moving forward in Copenhagen and there is common will by both developed and developing countries to get it operationalized. Australia, the United States, G-77, and Alliance of Small Island States have all indicated support for finalizing REDD+ in Copenhagen.
|
Dec 15th, 2009 6:30 PM UTC
By A.M.
|
On Friday the clamor around Copenhagen was boiled down to seven pages. The LCA text – Long Term Cooperative Action under the Convention – was released by the Chair. This is the base text from which further negotiations will take place. You can read it here. When an item is bracketed in the text, it means that a decision has not yet been made on that particular issue, needs more work, and may need to be elevated to leaders.
The LCA text is not without controversy, and many have their concerns, but it does provide a promising base framework for adaptation and mitigation for the world’s poorest people. Absent from the text is the scale of financing – countries have still not put their cards on the table. Importantly though, it puts forward that financing to developing countries must be “new and additional.” But there needs to be even more clarity, that this is “new and additional” from already promised levels. This is exactly the message of ONE’s campaign to world leaders.
|
Dec 15th, 2009 9:31 AM UTC
By A.M.
|
Not sure if three US Senator names were ever more widely talked about in Copenhagen. The world knows that the US Senate is the parameters under which the US is negotiating, so on Thursday when Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced their framework for climate action in the Senate, the news made its way around the world rather quickly.
Consequential to Africa was this language the Senate framework: “…we acknowledge the role the United States can play to help provide long-term financing to assist developing countries adapt to climate change, generate energy cleanly and reduce emissions for deforestation.” You can read the Senators’ letter to President Obama and the framework here.
|
Dec 14th, 2009 5:29 PM UTC
By A.M.
|
As statements are being made at Copenhagen, it might be good to know who’s who. Every country is able to speak on its own behalf, but generally the conference is organized into negotiating groups – this allows countries with the same priorities to speak with a unified voice and gain more influence in the negotiations.
The G77 and China is a group of 130 developing countries that also belong to other subgroups. The G77 and China have been represented by Sudan during this first week.
The subgroups include the Alliance of Small Island States which is a group of 43 countries that as you’d expect, are small islands. They have been represented by Tuvalu. The Least Developed Countries is a group of 49 countries that are defined as least developed, and they have been represented by Lesotho. And The Africa Group is the group of African states being represented by Algeria.
This week you saw some cracks in the G77 and China, an interesting development in terms of priorities for them as a bloc going into week two.
The European Union is the group of 27 countries in the EU which are being represented by Sweden. The Umbrella Group is a loosely composed group of industrialized countries outside the EU which include Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. They have been primarily represented by Australia.
The one thing all the groups seemed to agree on in the opening session was quick start funding for adaptation. Lesotho made the point that adaptation is the highest priority for LDCs, and the financing needs to be over and above existing aid commitments, in order for the Millennium Development Goals to be reached.
|
|
