Recession Pinches Climate Change Progress

Amid recession worries and economic hardships, much of the industrialized world has pushed international goals of curbing climate change far off into the future. Politicians are wavering over caps on carbon emissions, citing the economic costs of cutting emissions. —JCL

Reuters:

International action on climate change looks likely to drift over the next two years as politicians waver on tougher carbon caps in the wake of the financial crisis.

Recession in industrialized countries has focused attention on the cost of cutting emissions. And green motivations suffered a huge blow with the failure of U.N. negotiations to deliver a deal in Copenhagen in December.

Talks resume next week in Bonn, Germany, but a new draft text is as vague as ever on targets and a timetable to cut carbon emissions.

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Wikimedia Commons

A coal power plant in China. As many countries look toward economic recovery, some are turning their heads away from climate change responsibilities.