Why Beijing will resist demands for abatement. A new report by Patricia Adams.
China’s climate power game
China’s Communist party won’t curb the country’s CO2 emissions – doing so could lead to their overthrow.
China won’t cut back on its CO2 emissions
China won’t commit to curbing its fossil fuel use; instead, it will squeeze the West for billions in climate subsidies. That’s the conclusion of a study released today by economist Patricia Adams of Toronto-based Probe International for U.K.-based Global Warming Policy Foundation.
Sweden’s governments collapsing under weight of refugees
The crush of refugees, straining governments to the breaking point, now represent 4 per cent of Sweden’s 2016 budget.
“Carbon Crooks” now available to US viewers
“Carbon Crooks,” the compelling 2013 documentary on fraud in carbon markets and the failure of carbon trading to address climate change, is now available to U.S. viewers.
China’s smog battle ongoing but skies are clearer for Beijing
The problem of smog is declining faster in Beijing than elsewhere in China, where air pollution remains at hazardous levels, reports Greenpeace. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, are making a “big deal” of going after small-time or individual polluters rather than industrial polluters. Why the smoke screen?
China initiates enormous Yangtze water diversion scheme
The Yangtze River has been slated to accommodate yet another project in the name of “development” and “drought prevention”: the Dian Zhong Water Diversion Project, a 661-kilometer endeavour with some high hopes pinned to it.
Cold War II? Nyet
Putin knows where Russia’s real threats lie.
A year as a wife
A profile of Meng Qun, wife of prominent civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, detained in May 2014 for attending a Tiananmen protest discussion.
Safety within Syria
Safe zone for migrants are far-fetched ideas with little prospect of success.
China releases two NGO activists ‘on bail’ ahead of president’s US trip
Guo Yushan and He Zhengjun, detained former members of the influential Beijing Transition Institute (now shuttered), have been released on bail by Chinese authorities. Some analysts see the move as a symbolic concession to US concerns over Beijing’s human rights record. What might their release mean going forward? Radio Free Asia reports.
Obama’s migrants
The chaos in Europe over migrants from the Middle East began with the Obama-promoted Arab Spring.
Uncertainty over Barro Blanco’s CDM approval
As tensions rise over western Panama’s UN-approved Barro Blanco dam project, the highly contested dam looks set for completion … eventually. Carbon Market Watch reports.
Uncivil society
A new draft law spooks foreign not-for-profit groups working in China.
Dams ‘destroying Mekong fish stock’
Hydro development of the Mekong River is causing downstream flow to become uneven, driving fish away and throwing the region’s food security into jeopardy. The Nation reports.
Probe International 