Current Releases
News
Nigeria leads the way on low-carbon industrial strategy
18 March 2011
The Global Climate Network's Nigerian member organisation and the country's Industry and Commerce Ministry announce a ground-breaking industrial strategy to promote low-carbon development in Nigeria.
Spending on clean energy projects in developing countries needs to double and this will only happen if richer countries put in up-front cash, says Global Climate Network
02 November 2010
Investment in clean energy, such as wind and solar, in developing countries must double on average between now and 2020, a new Global Climate Network report shows. Governments of richer countries must come forward with some up-front cash to help give the private sector confidence to make the transformational investments needed.
Renewables to renew British communities? £115 million potential to boost local life
10 September 2010
Research carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research for the British Gas Green Streets challenge calculates that community buildings could raise millions of pounds by installing microgeneration technologies like solar panels. With many of these buildings at the heart of communities struggling to raise funds and threatened with closure, this energy windfall has the potential to boost their stretched finances and aid their survival.
Atmosphere of mutual trust at Geneva climate finance talks
06 September 2010
Ministers from over 40 countries gathered in Geneva last week for informal talks to build consensus on key elements in the climate finance debate, ahead of December's UN summit in Cancún. The Global Climate Network reports on on what was discussed.
The world waits on US climate action: GCN panel of climate experts emphasizes importance of US leadership
26 July 2010
Last Thursday, a dintinguished panel of climate policy experts from around the world gathered for a debate on the importance of US leadership in tackling anthropogenic climate change. Center for American Progress - the GCN's American partner - hosted the event at their offices in Washington DC.
Global climate policy leaders argue for U.S. leadership on climate change
22 July 2010
The rest of the world needs the United States to lead on cutting carbon pollution and to jump-start a clean energy race, an influential group of climate change experts from China, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom will say Thursday, July 22.
GCN patrons call for global drive to alleviate energy poverty
20 July 2010
Global Climate Network patrons John D. Podesta and Rajendra K. Pachauri today called on world leaders to do more to deploy low-carbon energy sources in a bid to increase energy access for the world's poor.
UK Secretary of State Chris Huhne launches global carbon capture and storage initiative
20 July 2010
Chris Huhne, the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, today announced an international programme working with other countries to enhance and deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Governments join forces on clean energy action
20 July 2010
Countries representing 80 per cent of global energy use and US $50 trillion worth of GDP today launched a plethora of new initiatives to help transform energy systems and kick-start the global transition towards clean energy at the first Clean Energy Ministerial in Washington DC.
UK Green Jobs summit: grassroots coalitions can spearhead green employment drive
25 June 2010
Committed leadership from central government and strong coalitions working at the grassroots level could help pave the way for growing numbers of job opportunities in 'green' sectors and low-carbon industries in the UK. This was the conclusion reached at the end of a major summit hosted by ippr in London on Tuesday.
Bellona joins GCN
26 May 2010
The Norway-based Bellona Foundation, a technology-focussed non-governmental organisation, has become the Global Climate Network's ninth member.
TERI launches GCN India studies
22 April 2010
Strong government policies are needed to stimulate the development of clean energy technologies and bring millions of green jobs to India, according to two new studies launched by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Beijing climate adviser tells London audience: 'China will gain from climate protection'
23 March 2010
A top climate change adviser to the Chinese Government will today (Tuesday 23 March) tell an audience in London that China stands to gain from a shift towards clean energy. Professor Jiahua Pan will urge UK policymakers and campaigners to recognise the full ambition of China's plans to scale-up wind, solar and hydro power. He will also reveal how clean energy schemes could create millions of additional jobs in China.
EU Finance Ministers pledge to scrap 3% R&D spending target
18 March 2010
Finance ministers from EU member states are resisting plans to increase Research and Development (R&D) spending to 3% of GDP. This move casts doubt over the EU's ability to transform itself into an 'Innovation Union' by 2020 and is likely to have a detrimental impact on Europe's low-carbon aspirations.
Supporting US workers through the 'tool belt recession'
04 March 2010
Today, 2.1 million trained construction workers in the US are without a job. Employment in the construction sector and related industries are suffering more compared to other parts of the economy, resulting in sustained high unemployment and significant available manufacturing capacity. Energy efficiency retrofits can provide a real help for construction unemployment and provide a significant boost to local economies.
One Year After Recovery: US Jobs saved and created
17 February 2010
One year on, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has already saved or created approximately 1.8 million jobs nationwide and will continue to create more jobs as infrastructure projects ramp up in the next year, according to new analysis from Washington DC.
Global Climate Network launches drive for low-carbon economy in South Africa
27 January 2010
A network of nine independent think tanks in high emitting countries, including in BASIC countries, is launching a new initiative Wednesday aimed at providing analysis for a low-carbon economy. IMBEWU, a Johannesburg-based sustainability legal specialist and the South African member of the Global Climate Network (GCN) is hosting the launch.
US stimulus creates green jobs
19 January 2010
The clean energy investment in President Obama's recovery or stimulus act has saved or created an estimated 63,000 jobs and this total is expected to rise to as many as 700,000 once all the measures are in place.
US Stimulus Money to provide training for thousands of low-carbon jobs in deprived communities
13 January 2010
US Secretary of Labour Hilda L. Solis today announced $150 million in grants for training and placement services in low-carbon and clean-energy sectors to support the poorest of American communities.
COP 15: 'Disappointing but not surprising'
21 December 2009
The cumbersome process and overloaded agenda meant failure was programmed into the system from the beginning. So instead of changing the narrative of human history, COP 15 has written a few notes in the margin.
GCN in Copenhagen: China signals intention to move forward on MRV
18 December 2009
The international community could be given greater insight into China's domestic measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In his address at the opening session of the final segment of COP-15 on Friday, Premier Wen Jiabao said the China would "increase transparency" of its emission reductions and "actively engage in international exchange, dialogue and cooperation". This has increased speculation that Beijing is on the verge of striking a compromise which could make its climate actions 'measurable, reportable and verifiable' (MRV).
GCN in Copenhagen: Leaked UN paper shows poor countries doing more on climate than rich
18 December 2009
A draft paper apparently written by officials at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's secretariat suggests that the combined voluntary pledges of developing countries to cut carbon emissions are greater than those of developed countries. The paper also indicates that together, developed and developing country action is likely to lead to global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius.
GCN in Copenhagen: Japan set to pledge $10 billion in climate funds
15 December 2009
Japan is due to commit $10 billion by 2012 as part of a fast-start finance package aimed at helping poor countries manage the adverse impacts of global warming, a leading Tokyo daily reports today.
GCN in Copenhagen: US Recovery Act to create 900,000 new clean-energy jobs
15 December 2009
US Vice President Joe Biden today released a report outlining the progress made in advancing clean energy investments and creating jobs by the Obama Administration since taking office.
GCN in Copenhagen: Chu offers US money for clean technology
14 December 2009
As world leaders prepare to travel to climate talks in Copenhagen, Stephen Chu, the US energy secretary, has annouced that US will commit $85 billion towards a $350 billion clean technology fund for poorer countries. The money will help reduce poor families' dependence on kerosene lighting and contribute towards energy efficiency labeling for products from developing countries.
GCN in Copenhagen: Queues lengthen and oceans acidify
14 December 2009
As the UN climate summit in Copenhagen resumes - and queues of delegates outside the city's Bella convention centre lengthen - the UK releases new data on ocean acidification.
US and China government advisers support low-carbon shift to create jobs
11 December 2009
Close advisers to the US and Chinese governments have supported progressive action on climate change to create millions of new jobs. They are co-authors of a new report - Low-Carbon Jobs in an Interconnected World - forecasting the creation of around 20 million job opportunities by 2020 in eight countries as a result of the move to use more low-carbon energy.
20 million job opportunities in a low-carbon economy, argues the Global Climate Network
11 December 2009
International pursuit of low carbon policies has the potential to create 20 million jobs between now and 2020 in low-carbon energy in eight of the world's leading economies (including the US, China, India and the UK) argues a new report published today (Friday).
GCN at Copenhagen: Soros proposes $100 billion climate fund
10 December 2009
Financier and philanthropist George Soros believes $100 billion to finance near-term action on climate change can be found by using assets known as 'Special Drawing Rights' or SDRs. SDRs are usually used to help countries with immediate liquidity problems and have been used recently to meet the short-term needs of countries particularly badly hit by the finance crisis.
GCN in Copenhagen: Climate talks hang in balance over Island's Treaty Proposal
10 December 2009
Talks at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen remained suspended on Thursday morning after a proposal from Tuvala, a pacific island nation under threat from see-level rise, caused deep rifts among developing countries.
GCN in Copenhagen: Leaked Danish draft may be red herring
09 December 2009
A leak of the Danish hosts' proposed final agreement for the climate talks currently underway in Copenhagen, that has reportedly caused consternation among developing world negotiators and environmental activists, may be a red herring.
GCN in Copenhagen: US regulator move boosts climate talks
08 December 2009
International climate negotiations have received a boost from the US with news that its federal environmental regulator, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is within its rights to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases even if the Senate does not approve legislation to cap emissions. The news is expected to increase international confidence in the US's willingness to act on climate change.
GCN in Copenhagen: Brown urges EU to go to 30 per cent
08 December 2009
The European Union should not equivocate over its willingness to set a 30 per cent reduction target for 2020, Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister has said ahead of a critical meeting of EU heads of state that overlaps with the climate summit in Copenhagen.
GCN in Copenhagen: Climate action will not be costly, says GCN patron
07 December 2009
Follow this page to keep up to date with the Global Climate Network's activity in Copenhagen. You can also follow them on twitter and read their blog.
Environmental Regulators call for increased financing in support of emissions accounting
22 October 2009
A high-level meeting of environmental regulators concluded on Saturday with agreement that greater resources are needed to ensure comprehensive and accurate reporting of greenhouse gas emissions data in developing countries. The Global Climate Network co-facilitated the meeting and provided a discussion paper to frame thinking ahead of the talks.
GCN recognised at think tank awards
21 October 2009
GCN founder member the Institute for Public Policy Research, which also hosts the Network's secretariat, has been named the UK's Green Think Tank of the Year, in part because of its involvement in the global alliance.
Global Climate Network G20 Press Conference
25 September 2009
Energy experts from the Global Climate Network are meeting blocks away from this week's G20 meetings to launch the interim findings of an ongoing GCN study, Creating Opportunity: Low-Carbon Jobs in an Interconnected World. The study argues that governments stand to beneft from the creation of tens of millions of new jobs in a new global low-carbon economy, but only if they invest in climate-friendly innovations and industries and drive coordinated policies to create and sustain markets for clean-energy technology.
Despite recession, cash is needed for climate technology revolution, says ippr
08 July 2009
If there is to be a global deal on climate change countries like the UK will have to find cash to pay for low-carbon technology, says the think tank ippr.
GCN urges technology focus in climate talks
31 March 2009
Technology should be placed 'front and centre' in ongoing climate negotiations, Global Climate Network members will tell climate negotiators at a meeting in Bonn on 2 April 2009. Launching interim findings from an eight-country study of the importance of and barriers to low-carbon technology, Network member institutes from Germany, China, Australia and Brazil will suggest that technology is not currently given enough emphasis in ongoing negotiations aimed at implementing the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change.
G20 leaders must make recovery packages low carbon, say GCN members
31 March 2009
The directors of two of the founding member organisations of the Global Climate Network have called on G20 leaders to green their economic stimulus packages. In separate submissions to 20 on the G20, a pamphlet published 1 April 2009 by ippr, John Podesta of the Center for American Progress and Jiahua Pan of Beijing's Research Centre for Sustainable Development have each urged leaders meeting in London not to forget the urgent fight against climate change.
Global Climate Network warns of threat to credibility of UN climate talks
08 December 2008
Existing proposals by industrialised countries for 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reductions will not ensure the world avoids dangerous climate change and may undermine a future international agreement, say members of the Global Climate Network, the newly formed international network of think tanks and research institutes.
