by Daniel Firger Associate Director As a result of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, speculation is mounting that Japan will be unable to meet its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol and may declare “force […]
International
by Daniel Firger Associate Director Europe is doubling down on decarbonization. On March 8, 2011, the European Commission (EC) released its widely anticipated “roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050.” The roadmap calls for both short- and longer-term cuts in EU-wide GHG emissions: 20% below 1990 […]
by Daniel Firger Associate Director When Ross Perot spoke of “that giant sucking sound” back in 1992, he was warning of NAFTA’s potential to drive manufacturing jobs south of the border to cheaper Mexican facilities. These days, the sucking sound is loudest in China – not Mexico – and it […]
Qiuyan Zhao & Gregory E. Wannier In the face of increased focus on Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions across the developing world, CCCL former visiting scholar Qiuyan Zhao has released a report highlighting some of the ways that China might measure its own contributions to climate […]
Daniel Firger Associate Director This article first appeared in The Huffington Post It’s not yet February and the biggest climate change story of the year may already be written. The story is simple enough–as the U.S. drags its heels on clean energy, China marches ahead. China’s leaders may be concerned […]
Daniel M. Firger Associate Director Foreign companies are buying up U.S. coal mines. In a statement on November 12, the chairman of Coal India Ltd., a state-controlled entity and the world’s largest coal producer, with a near-monopoly on Indian coal mining, confirmed that the firm was in talks with several […]
Daniel Firger Associate Director and Fellow In response to persistent concerns that China intentionally undervalues its currency, the renminbi, the U.S. House of Representatives voted September 29 to give the Obama administration sweeping new authority to impose retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) indicated he would press […]
Daniel Firger Associate Director and Fellow In what may be an ominous shot across the bow for green jobs advocates, Japan on September 13 submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization alleging that a Canadian renewable energy law violates WTO non-discrimination rules. [1] At issue are a set of […]