Policy Watch

Developing countries can reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions through voluntary actions, but they need the full support of developed nations, says Sonja van Renssen.

Meeting agreed targets for the decarbonization of Europe's energy sector is a tall order, but progress is being made — Sonja van Renssen reports.

Rotting food and other biological waste produce potent greenhouse-gas emissions. Tapping these gases and improving recycling rates would reap multiple benefits, reports Sonja van Renssen.

As scientists raise alarming questions about the true carbon cost of some biofuels, policymakers must decide how best to promote low-emission versions, reports Sonja van Renssen.

With carbon capture and storage technology still in its infancy, there's a danger that enthusiasm for renewables will edge out CCS before it can prove itself, reports Sonja van Renssen.

Helping to build the innovative capacity of developing countries is key to setting them on a path to low-carbon development, writes Sonja van Renssen.

Policymakers are in a tangle over how to account for the higher 'well-to-wheel' emissions of fuel extracted from sand, Sonja van Renssen reports.

With its short-term focus, the financial sector is largely turning its back on the climate challenge, shows a new study. Sonja van Renssen reports.

Sectors such as steel manufacturing are looking to make the same products using less raw material. Adopted more widely, this approach could go a long way to cutting emissions, writes Sonja van Renssen.

The European Union faces the challenge of integrating new measures to achieve energy efficiency with existing climate policies, reports Sonja van Renssen.

Adaptation is still mitigation's poor cousin, in political and economic terms. However, efforts to better define adaptation — and the areas that would benefit most from climate aid — may help in achieving parity, finds Sonja van Renssen.

Military and intelligence experts become increasingly focused on the “climate security” threat. Keith Kloor reports.

Last week, India laid out an ambitious plan for solar energy. Anna Barnett looks at how far it will go in reducing the country's carbon footprint.

Canada's voters have rejected the Liberal party's strong environmental platform to re-elect Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Hannah Hoag looks down the road ahead for Canadian climate policy.

September's meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has a weighty agenda, but the first order of business is a birthday party. Anna Barnett reports.

With warming expected to worsen public health problems, policymakers are being urged to fight disease and climate change simultaneously. Brian Hoyle reports.

Water supplies are at risk of drying up as the climate warms, but mitigating climate change could mean shifting to water–intensive alternative energy sources. Brian Hoyle reports.

With new climate and energy legislation, the EU aims to stride boldly ahead of its previous climate policies while protecting its economy from less-green competitors. Anna Barnett reports.

This month, Kevin Vranes at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research in Boulder, Colorado, reviews recent climate legislation passing through US Congress.