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U.S. Department of State - The Shape of a New International Climate Agreement

state.gov

Remarks - Todd D. Stern
Special Envoy for Climate Change 
Chatham House
London, United Kingdom
October 22, 2013

Thanks so much. I’m very glad to be here at this distinguished venue. I appreciate the invitation.

Today, I want to talk about the promise and challenge of developing an ambitious, durable, new international climate agreement.

We are, of course, well past the time of doubting that our climate is changing, that it is changing rapidly, and that the pace of change is accelerating. We can see that climate impacts are already large, are very likely to increase significantly, and have the potential to be fundamentally disruptive to our world and the world of our children and grandchildren.

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Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign Spreads to Europe

Jamie Henn, Huff Post - Green, October 17,2013

The fast growing fossil fuel divestment campaign is headed to Europe.

This Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and allies like Greenpeace International's executive director Kumi Naidoo will lead a speaking tour to five cities in Europe to help spark a continent-wide divestment effort.

The tour is modeled on 2012's successful "Do The Math" tour which sold out venues in 21 cities across the United States and jumpstarted the fossil fuel divestment movement that has now spread to over 300 colleges and universities, 100 cities and states, and dozens of religious institutions across America.

Last June, 350.org replicated the tour in Australia and New Zealand (where they called it "Do the Maths"), helping launch a divestment campaign down-under. The tour there was equally successful, garnering national media attention and quickly scoring a few early victories, with a number of large churches committing to divestment and the New Zealand Greens adopting the goal.

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Climate Change Will Bring Conditions Outside Historical Variability In Coming Decades


Video: A video report on the predicted climate shifts.

huffingtonpost.com - October 9th, 2013 - Andrew Freedman

The mean annual climate of the average location on Earth will slip past the most extreme conditions experienced during the past 150 years and into new territory by between 2047 and 2069, depending on the amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases that are emitted during the next few decades, a new study found. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, used a new index to show for the first time when the climate — which has been warming during the past century in response to manmade pollution and natural variability — will be radically different from average conditions during the 1860-2005 period.

The study shows that tropical areas, which contain the richest diversity of species on the planet as well as some of the poorest countries, will be among the first to see the climate exceed historical limits — in as little as a decade from now — which spells trouble for rainforest ecosystems and nations that have a limited capacity to adapt to rapid climate change.

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The Oceans are Heating, Acidifying and Choking

newscientist.com - by Fred Pearce - October 4, 2013

CLICK HERE - State of the Ocean Report 2013

We know the oceans are warming. We know they are acidifying. And now, to cap it all, it turns out they are suffocating, too. A new health check on the state of the oceans warns that they will have lost as much as 7 per cent of their oxygen by the end of the century.

The cascade of chemical and biological changes now under way could see coral reefs irreversibly destroyed in 50 to 100 years, with marine ecosystems increasingly taken over by jellyfish and toxic algal blooms.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

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IPCC - Climate Change 2013 - The Physical Science Basis

ipcc.ch - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

"Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis" is the contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This comprehensive assessment of the physical aspects of climate change puts a focus on those elements that are relevant to understand past, document current, and project future climate change.

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND FOR LINKS TO THE FULL REPORT)

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Action on Climate Change is a Moral Imperative - New U.N. Report Underscores the Urgency

submitted by Margery Schab

eesi.org - Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Educating Congress on energy efficiency and renewable energy; advancing innovative policy solutions

For more information contact: Amaury Laporte at (202) 662-1884 or ***@***.***

"The emergence of the global warming problem creates an imperative for action that cannot be ignored." – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute's Board of Directors' unanimous statement, 1988.

In the past quarter century, the case for action has become ever more pressing, and the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body under the auspices of the United Nations, adds yet more urgency. The IPCC, first set up in 1990, has become the world's leading scientific authority on climate change.

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U.N. Climate Change Report Points Blame at Humans

cnn.com - by Dave Hennen, Brandon Miller and Eliott C. McLaughlin - September 27, 2013

(CNN) -- The world's getting hotter, the sea's rising and there's increasing evidence neither are naturally occurring phenomena.

So says a report from the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change, a document released every six years that is considered the benchmark on the topic. More than 800 authors and 50 editors from dozens of countries took part in its creation.

The summary for policymakers was released early Friday, while the full report, which bills itself as "a comprehensive assessment of the physical science basis of climate change," will be distributed Monday. Other reports, including those dealing with vulnerability and mitigation, will be released next year.

Here are the highlights from Friday's summary:

Man-made climate change is almost certain

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U.N. Report on Climate Change - Humans are to Blame - CNN video aired 09/27/13

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Four Cities in Vietnam Participating in the First Round of 100 Resilient Cities Challenge

On Sep 23, 2013, at 4:43 AM, Nguyen Ninh <REDACTED> wrote:

Dear Mike and Janis,

For your information, Da Lat City has been registered online for 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge.
So we have now four cities of Vietnam to be participated in the first round of 100 Resilient Cities Program as follows:
1. Rach Gia City - Phu Quoc Island
2. Ha Long City - Van Don Island
3. Da Lat City
4. Thai Nguyen City

. . . <REDACTED> . . .

Best regards,

Ninh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ST Vuong <REDACTED>
Date: Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Fwd: Your registration for 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge
To: Nguyen Ninh <REDACTED>
Cc: Nguyen Hoang Long <REDACTED>, "Nguyen Tuan, Anh" <REDACTED>, Hùng Nguyễn Mạnh <REDACTED>

Dear a Ninh;

I have registered to receive the formal application for this
project for the city of Dalat.
Kind regards,

VTS

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Soot From European Industrial Age Melted Alps Glaciers, Prematurely Stopped ‘Little Ice Age’

ibtimes.com - September 3rd, 2013 - Zoe Mintz

Soot from the mid-1800s may be to blame for the retreat of mountain glaciers in the European Alps.

According to a new study published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, soot, or black carbon, produced during the period of rapid industrialization caused the abrupt retreat of mountain glaciers after the long cold spell known as the Little Ice Age.

"Before now, most scientists have believed the end of the Little Ice Age in the 1800s was due to a natural climatic shift, distinct and well before emissions of carbon dioxide reached levels that could start to influence climate and glaciers in the 20th century,” lead author Thomas Painter, a snow and ice scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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