Week in review – policy and politics edition

by Judith Curry
A few things that caught my eye this past week.
UN climate commitments
A look at past UN climate negotiations offers valuable context for forthcoming Paris talks [link]
Limiting global warming to 1.5C is still possible, say scientists [link]
Germany’s 2020 GHG target is no longer feasible [link]
China’s emissions have been plummeting lately [link]
The grim promise of India’s coal-powered future: [link]
Assessment of Canada’s UN climate pledge [link]
The need for accelerating R&D on low emissions technologies [link]
Policy analyses
Breakthrough Institute:  How technology liberates the environment [link]
The IMF says we spend $5.3 trillion a year on fossil fuel subsidies. How is that possible? [link]
Rupert Darwall:  On climate, science and politics are diverging [link]
Enhancing Flexibility in International Climate Change Law [link]
World Bank: Getting to zero net emissions takes a policy package that prices carbon & incentivizes clean tech [link]
Energy
UK coal use falls to lowest level since the industrial revolution [link]
A detailed look at why the UK’s homes are using less energy [link]
How do the economics of #nuclear stack up? MIT’s John Parsons compares to other energy options [link]
The Breakthrough Institute’s FAQ on nuclear power [link]
New @EIAgov analysis on EPA power rule impact: more gas, renewable, efficiency; less coal, GHG [link]
Parsing what the new @EIAgov report is actually saying about the economic impact of @EPA climate rules.[link]
Climate change dominates marathon Shell annual general meeting – [link]
Shell reveals plans for its #Arctic oil wells: [link]
Why Alaska’s Inupiat Are Warming to Offshore Oil Drilling [link]
A clean energy revolution is tougher than you think [link]
Nevada’s big utility is about to strangle the state’s rooftop solar program [link]
Reading’s cow-poo powered bus sets a speed record. It’s faster, cleaner and less smelly than a diesel bus! [link]
Water policy
Indian states reject massive river linking scheme [link]
Nepal earthquake highlights dangers of dam building in Tibet [link]
China to give Brahmaputra flow data to Bangladesh [link]Filed under: Week in review

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