US: Plans for cutting US greenhouse gas emissions to be launched by President Barack Obama on Tuesday face legal challenges that mean the fate of his climate policy will ultimately be decided in the courts. (FT/RTCC)
Obama’s plans to cut US greenhouse gas emissions could face legal challenges. (Source: US Army)
China/EU: The European Union said on June 21 it had started ministerial-level talks with China, to discuss rows over solar panels and other products, as tensions between the two risk escalating into a trade war. (Hurriyet Daily News)
Europe: Belgium, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the USA have pledged nearly $200 million in climate adaptation investment to the world’s poorest countries. Contributions will be channelled through the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund which are managed by the Global Environment Facility. (RTCC)
Afghanistan: The Kyoto Protocol came into force in Afghanistan this week. Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) says some 3,000 inhabitants die annually from respiratory diseases. (DW)
World: Think tank the Geneva Association overseen by executives from some of the world’s top insurance firms has warned that warming oceans have now locked-in shifts in climate regardless of how successful attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are. The shifts mean the industry will have to change the way it predicts the chances of risks like floods and droughts hitting. (RTCC)