Deadline Extended for Global Climate Talks
The global climate talks have been extended an extra day and will continue until Saturday. A new version of the text will be presented on Saturday morning and not on Friday as previously planned. The French foreign minister said negotiators were “extremely close” to an agreement to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. The deal, when signed, would come into action in 2020.
The biggest hurdle has proven to be climate finance – the funds to help developing nations cut greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change. An analysis by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) concluded that financial contributions for climate assistance were already strong, at about $62 billion per year. The contributions come from developed country governments, development banks and private-sector institutions. The target is $100 billion per year, but there is still some time to make up the gap by 2020.
Some countries, including India and Brazil, have criticized the OECD study and accused it of faulty accounting. Indian government economists said the OECD added up loans made to developing countries and double-counted aid money, the Guardian reports.
The Guardian offers a live update for the latest developments from the U.N. climate summit as the negotiations enter the final stretch.
Grocery Bills Remain High Despite Subsidy
A program intended to cut the cost of grocery bills for people living in the Canadian Arctic has not improved, according to a new study. The Canadian Press reports that Nutrition North, a $60-million program run by the government of Canada, has not shown that the savings are being passed on to consumers.
Food costs more in the north due to the high cost of shipping it from other parts of Canada. The cost of running a retail store is also higher than in other parts of the country. Nutrition North was launched in 2011, and provided a subsidy to retailers, which would then be applied to shoppers’ bills.
But a 2014 report by the auditor general found the program lacked accountability to show that the full subsidy was going to consumers. According to the new analysis by Tracey Galloway, who studies aboriginal health issues at the University of Toronto, the problems remain and there is a lack of accountability.
U.S. Invests in Icebreakers
The U.S. coast guard will build a new heavy endurance icebreaker. According to USNI News, the coast guard has made plans to replace the Polar Star, a 35-year old heavy icebreaker. Production could begin in five years and a single ship may cost as much as $1 billion.
According to the report, the coast guard says it needs five or six icebreakers: three medium and two or three heavy icebreakers. But the head of acquisition has said that the medium endurance icebreakers won’t come soon. The coast guard is looking to Canada and Finland for their research into icebreaker design and capabilities in an attempt to cut costs.
The decision comes at a time when Angus King, the U.S. senator to Maine, a non-Arctic state, is looking to the north as a way to boost his state’s economy. Maine, he says, has the first commercial ports in the U.S. for ships taking an Arctic route from Asia.
Recommended Reads
- The Huffington Post: This Glacier’s Vanishing Act Is Beautifully Heartbreaking
- World Wide Fund for Nature: The Need for Renewable Energy in the Arctic
- CarbonBrief: Scientists Discuss the 1.5C Limit to Global Temperature Rise
Top image: U.S. Coast Guard plans to expand its icebreaker fleet.