Climate Change

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a meeting of business leaders in Copenhagen that "climate change is the defining challenge of our time."

"OSLO -- A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the climate bill approved Thursday by the House Energy Committee is 'not enough' to stem warming to the degree hoped for in the next climate treaty.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he expected the eight committees with partial jurisdiction over the new House climate bill to act swiftly.

"Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday ordered [Washington] state to reach agreement with its single largest polluter to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by half over the next 15 years."

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a 'green new deal' on climate change on Thursday and urged for a final push in negotiations ahead of a key summit to be held in Copenhagen in December."

"The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill by a vote of 33-25 on Thursday evening. It’s a landmark occasion, the first time a serious climate bill has made it this far in the House."

U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide related to energy use fell 2.8 percent last year, driven down by high oil prices and the sagging economy -- the steepest drop since 1982.

Two days of secret meetings in China during July 2008 may have laid the foundation for a new cooperation between the U.S. and China on climate change.

"A climate change bill working its way through Congress this week has been packed with amendments aimed at giving the coal industry a chance to survive if technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions is eventually perfected and deployed."