Drug trials point the way to understanding aviation and climate change

October 12th, 2009 MONTREAL - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has submitted a plan at a global conference on civil aviation here, detailing its steps to curb future emissions from the airline sector, WAM news agency reported Monday. The meeting was organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal Oct 7-9.

October 7th, 2009 BANGKOK - "When I have only one pair of shoes, it makes sense to stay with that pair." With these words, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer Wednesday came out clearly in favour of retaining the Kyoto Protocol to tackle global warming, despite strong efforts by many industrialised countries to dump it. The issue has become the main point of contention in the Sep 28-Oct 9 talks here in preparation for the climate summit in Copenhagen this December.

October 6th, 2009 BANGKOK - Rich countries have been framing the climate debate to suit themselves rather than looking at the way global warming affects most of the world, which is why a global treaty is proving elusive, India's top climate negotiator said here Tuesday. "They don't talk about equity, they only talk of how to protect their lifestyles," the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran told a group of Indian NGO representatives.

October 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - India has proposed annual bilateral dialogues with the United States and the European Union to exchange notes on the issue of climate change, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said. The proposed dialogue with the Europeans and the Americans could be on the lines of the first India-China energy dialogue scheduled to take place in New Delhi Oct 21, he said at a press conference here Friday at the end of his US visit.

October 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - With the US showing a better appreciation of India's position on climate change, New Delhi hopes to have in place an energy partnership when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comes here on a state visit in November. The ultimate objective is to "have some articulation and finalisation of institutional partnership in the field of energy, environment and climate change", Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Friday winding up his visit to the US.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has said climate change had hindered the progress on programmes focused at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Nepal. Madhav Kumar, who is in New York, to attend the 64th United Nations General Assembly took part on the Opening Session of the High-Level event and Interactive Round table on Climate Change convened by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Former US President Bill Clinton has described Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as one of the world's smartest leaders. Clinton, who was introducing Rudd as a panellist, along with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, in the opening session of the four-day climate change conference to discuss key global issues, said: "In my opinion, he is one of the most well-informed, well-read, intelligent leaders in the world today." According to The Times,he also praised Rudd for his government's recognition of the need to take urgent action on climate change and for its advocacy of the Group of 20 major economies as a preferred vehicle than the smaller G-8 to deal with issues such as the global financial crisis and climate change.

September 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States' top climate official said there had been a "narrowing of differences" after a meeting of the world's 17 top polluters that are critical to reaching any international deal on curbing climate change. Todd Stern, the US State Department's envoy on climate change, said Friday some "concrete initiatives" that could help broker a deal were considered during two days of talks by the climate officials in Washington.

September 17th, 2009 NEW YORK - The Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, T. K. A Nair met the UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and discussed the country's stand on climate change on Thursday.

September 15th, 2009 LONDON - Democratic freedoms will be in danger around the world unless governments step up immediate efforts to tackle climate change, according to a think tank based here. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday, the second International Day of Democracy, the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development (FDSD) has warned of "formidable environmental and natural resource challenges just around the corner - and climate change is the biggest of them all".

August 24th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Participants at the World Water Week conference here have urged the governments to include the problem of water shortage in the negotiations on climate change. Access to drinking water has a significant impact on economy, health, agriculture and other spheres of life, they said.

July 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US and China signed a document on climate change and clean energy Tuesday that sets out a path for improving cooperation between the world's two leading polluters. But there were few details on what the "memorandum of understanding" entails.

July 20th, 2009 NEW YORK - The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Monday said there remained a "glaring gap" between the policy and science on climate change. "We need to connect science and policy," Rajendra Pachauri said at a news conference organised by the United Nations Environment Programme.

July 11th, 2009 ON BOARD AIR INDIA ONE - India and China need to resist pressure from industrialised countries on the issue of climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. The developed countries are by far the biggest polluters of the environment since the start of the Industrial Age.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US is already being struck by the effects of climate change and the threats will only grow if the world does not speed up its efforts to reduce pollutants blamed for rising temperatures, the US government warned Tuesday. In a much-anticipated report that was compiled over years by US agencies and independent scientists, the government painted a broad picture of the threats that the United States faces from climate change.