YCELP Blog

Exploring Canada’s Climate Perspectives: Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu on Canadian Climate Policy

2012-02-01T16:37:13+00:00

In January’s Climate Change Solutions: Frontline Perspectives from Around the Globe webinar, Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu, law professor at the University of British Columbia and author of the new book The Case for a Carbon Tax: Getting Past Our Hang-Ups to Effective Climate Policy, joined the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy to discuss climate policy from Canada's perspective. His presentation, “Climate Policy in Canada: (Snow)Boots on the Ground,” explained the nuances of Canadian policy that outsiders may miss by focusing only on the similarities between Canada and the United States.

Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

2012-01-30T19:36:57+00:00

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network recently released the 2012 Environmental Performance Index. Wherever possible we collected and processed data in time series, to permit not merely comparisons across countries but also consistent comparisons over time. This has made the EPI a much more powerful diagnostic tool because trends are often much more revealing than static patterns.

Fourni fishermen hope FPA will safeguard stocks, livelihoods

2012-01-30T14:16:17+00:00

Students enrolled in Yale Law School's Environmental Protection Clinic work with client organizations, including environmental groups, government agencies, and international bodies, to address environmental law and policy problems around the world. Some of their ongoing work has been with the Greek NGO Archipelagos -- Instute of Marine Conservation, and this past fall a group of students traveled to Fourni to work with the mayor and fishermen there on establishing the first Fisheries Protected Area (FPA) in Greece.

2012: The International Year of Sustainable Energy for All

2012-01-24T16:17:41+00:00

The United Nations has named 2012 the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All,” setting three goals: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

China’s Long March Towards Better Environmental Conditions

2012-01-09T15:30:11+00:00

Given its burgeoning economic growth, its rapidly expanding industries, large population, and growing consumer class, many in the environmental field have an intense interest in how China will address its environmental problems.

Will China’s Panda Market be a Bear or a Bull for International Carbon Linking?

2011-12-22T16:06:22+00:00

The Ring of Fire around the Pacific Rim is ablaze with the new carbon trading schemes, and investors worldwide are taking note of these developments.

Bridging Gaps in Durban: What Can China do?

2011-12-09T18:31:46+00:00

One of the most persistent themes at the climate negotiations in Durban has been how to bridge gaps -- the divide between the developed and developing nations, many of whom disagree about whether the Kyoto Protocol should be extended into a second commitment period; the hole in climate finance pledges from developed countries; and the ambition or emissions gap between the Copenhagen pledges and the stabilization of global temperatures below a 2 degrees Celsius increase from pre-industrial levels. We had a chance to discuss some of these issues with Chinese energy expert Jiang Kejun, Energy Research Institute, NDRC. The following post is republished from China FAQs: The Network for Climate and Energy Information.

Propelling the Durban climate talks - China announces willingness to consider legally binding commit

2011-12-08T14:21:23+00:00

When China launched its first official pavilion at a UN climate conference, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat Cristiana Figueres was there alongside China’s NDRC Vice Minister Xie Zhenhua to cut the ribbon. Swarmed by journalists in the standing-room only conference center of the China pavilion in Durban, Figueres applauded China for being a “trend-setter” in global renewable energy, resonating around the world and during the first week of climate negotiations in Durban. The following post is republished from China FAQs: The Network for Climate and Energy Information.

Chinese experts discuss absolute emissions limits in Durban

2011-12-06T19:35:45+00:00

The idea of a total cap on energy consumption in China, first suggested last March before the National People’s Congress, has reemerged in Durban -- and surprisingly there are now suggestions that China might consider some kind of a cap on carbon emissions. This has been suggested apparently as part of domestic policy rather than as a negotiating position, but details are very sketchy. This post is republished from China FAQs: The Network for Climate and Energy Information.

Google’s decision to shutdown Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal should be a wakeup call

2011-11-30T14:22:46+00:00

Google announced last week that it has shut down Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (RE