Climate change policy

More than 15,000 researchers from around the world have signed an update to a 1992 'doomsday' document, warning that "time is running out" in the battle to sustain the future health of the planet.

World carbon emissions are set to rise 2 percent this year to a new record, scientists said on Nov. 13, dashing hopes that global emissions had already peaked.

The European Commission has proposed that the exhaust fumes of all new passenger cars and minibuses in the EU be 30 percent lower in 2030 compared to 2021, the EC press service said. The share of the EU in global sales of new passenger cars has fallen from 34 per cent before the financial crisis (2008-2009) to 20 per cent to date.

The 23rd Conference of the Countries part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 23) started in the former German capital Bonn.

Sofia, together with eight other European capitals - Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Copenhagen, Vienna, Brussels and Helsinki, sent a joint letter to European institutions, which calls for uniform measures against air pollution from transport, inform Sofia Municipality, reports investorbg. 

There is a "catastrophic" gap between national pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the actions needed to cap global warming below two degrees Celsius, the UN's environment chief warned Tuesday, days ahead of global climate talks in Bonn, AFP reported.

Green bonds, also known as climate bonds, are liabilities issued to finance green projects, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency or clean water projects. They’re proving more and more popular. In 2016 alone, the volume of newly issued liabilities more than doubled from €32 to €68 billion worldwide compared to a year before.

On Tuesday, the fractured Dutch government announced a coalition of several leading parties and put forward a roadmap for the Netherlands' future. Besides reaffirming the country's support of the EU and offering tax and immigration plans, the coalition said that it wanted all new cars to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030.

The Paris Climate change agreement is a matter for all oil and gas companies and the U.S. is expected to revise its position toward the Paris Agreement, Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of Total said on July 11.      

For those present at the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, this week's events will prompt similar feelings of disappointment, anger and even disbelief that in the face of all the evidence, politicians sometimes get it wrong.