Mock COP Campaigners Progress & National Governments Commitments

What is MockCOP 26? Read on to find out! ClimaTalk speaks with Mock COP26 activist Kelo Uchendu about his involvement. Mock COP hopes to not only host their ministerial summit, but showcase ‘My Climate Reality’, a virtual reality project in which youth on the front lines of the climate crisis can share their stories with UN leaders during the November conference.

How does European Carbon Trading Work?

‘Carbon trading’, ‘emissions trading’ or ‘carbon markets’ refer to an approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which turns the right to emit greenhouse gases into a commodity with economic value. This approach is called a ‘cap and trade system’, in which a ‘cap’ or upper limit on greenhouse gas emissions is chosen, and then an accordant number of permits is distributed among emitters (any companies in the industries targeted by a system). Emitters can only emit the amount of CO2eq (CO2 or equivalent) specified by the number of permits they have, else they receive a financial penalty. The cap is designed to limit emissions, whilst the ‘trade’ part of the mechanism is implemented for economic reasons.

Silent Spring and Modern Environmentalism: A Fable for Tomorrow

Published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is credited as being one of the first books that took the chemical industry head-on, critiquing the environmental orthodoxy of its time[1]. Its poetic use of language sought to properly engage the general public in environmentalism for the first time. For this, Silent Spring received raucous applause from environmentalists and has since never been out of print [2]. But what made its content so compelling? And, as we reflect on the six decades that have passed since its publication, what impact has Silent Spring had on how we think about conservation today? Over the next 2 articles, we will begin to answer these questions. However, to properly understand Silent Spring, we first need to understand the period in which it emerged.

Biden’s Climate Team

- Joe Biden made it clear throughout his campaign and after entering office that tackling the global climate crisis was a key focus for his government.  - As president, he outlined a new approach to the climate crisis in an Executive Order released on January 27th.  This established multiple new climate-related roles in the Executive Office of the President and integrated officials from other departments into the drive to curb environmental degradation.  - In this article, Marion Willingam discusses what this means for the US’ renewed commitments to tackling the climate crisis.

In Summary: The Biden Climate Summit

On April 22-23, 2021 the White House hosted a virtual summit bringing together forty world leaders with the aim to set new, firmer targets aimed at reducing carbon emissions and transitioning the global economy to a cleaner, more sustainable model [1]. The Biden Summit was preceded by announcements from the United Kingdom and the European Union setting forth new goals that would see both reduce their emissions by 78% (on 1990 levels by 2035) and 55% (on 1990 levels by 2030), respectively.

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