The United States is at a critical juncture in its future climate policy directions. Biden’s electoral victory and the appointment of former Secretary of State John Kerry as special envoy present opportunities, yet America remains deeply divided. By engaging in transatlantic climate cooperation not only with allies, but also sceptical parts of society, Europe can help drive the climate conversation forward.
The pandemic and racial justice protests call for justice and crisis preparedness – an opportunity also to act on climate change. Successfully taking advantage of this momentum, however, requires a climate strategy that ensures everyone has a voice and a stake. Here, Paul Joffe builds on a previous correspondence about how to begin that effort in this time of crisis.
The Online Regional Dialogue for the Americas serves as a platform to open the conservation around key issues and questions on the future of multilateralism and its impact at the global, regional and national levels in the Americas.
At a meeting of the Arctic Council, secretary of state Mike Pompeo refused to identify global warming as a threat, instead hailing an oil rush as sea ice melts. The US refused to join other Arctic countries in describing climate change as a key threat to the region, as a two-day meeting of foreign ministers drew to a close on Tuesday in Ravaniemi, Finland.
Changes are occurring that could make climate action a driver of the domestic agenda for economic and social progress and for international cooperation. With the help of market forces and technological advances, the tide is moving toward climate action. Paul Joffe argues that a key to success is a strategy that draws public support and makes climate policy a force in a larger industrial renaissance.
In a move that underscored Donald Trump’s isolation on trade and climate change, the two major economies inserted a reference to the Paris Agreement into Ceta.
San Francisco’s Global Climate Action Summit ended on 14 September with non-state actors sending a call to action to governments ahead of the crucial COP24 in December, while highlighting their pivotal role in reducing emissions and reaching climate targets.
The Exhibition on Environmnent, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) highlights the unprecedented environmental pressures and climate extremes that the world faces today. It was recently updated to encompass topical issues of sustainable development and peace, including the 2030 Agenda. adelphi's ECC Exhibition is shown during the HLPF 2018 by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations with support by the German Federal Foreign Office as part of the Climate Diplomacy Initiative.
Trump fired Rex Tillerson, a former Exxon CEO who supported staying in the Paris climate accord. Pompeo is a Koch brothers ally and climate policy critic.
In November 2017, the U.S. government released its first ever Global Water Strategy – to our knowledge also the first of its kind globally. The opening page cites President Trump claiming that ‘[w]ater may be the most important issue we face for the next generation’. This priority may surprise observers of the current U.S. administration.
Climate change is no longer a niche issue, but is now part of broader political and economic agendas. In the U.S., for example, those supporting climate action face a broad alliance of opposition extending beyond climate change across many issues, as well as dysfunctions in the U.S. policy making process. For these reasons, Paul Joffe argues that climate diplomacy requires a strategy that goes beyond climate change to address the full range of these drivers.
Top officials from Canada, Mexico and the US are now renegotiating the 23-year old North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). On the campaign trail, candidate Trump consistently called NAFTA “the worst trade deal ever,” and, in one of his first official acts as president, he signed an executive order to renegotiate the agreement. The first round has just ended, so we are about to get an important clue about the direction of travel of climate diplomacy and policy in Canada, Mexico and the US.
The Commission’s Energy Union chief on Tuesday (27 June) urged all cities to join the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, an initiative which has gained more weight since Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The speech US President Donald Trump made in the White House Rose Garden on 1 June sparked intense debate around the world.
The E3G G7 coal scorecard assesses how G7 countries are addressing the challenge of reducing coal-fired power generation. It analyses the market and policy contexts of their domestic use of coal and their international influence. This third edition of the G7 coal scorecard updates the overall ranking based on developments over the past 12 months. It also provides an assessment of the situation in the USA and the initial impact of the new Trump Administration.