Assessing India’s green energy promises

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As climate negotiators huddle in Copenhagen, India is promising to reduce its greenhouse emissions with a big boost in green energy. But as Miranda Kennedy reports, there are big question marks as to whether India can deliver. Download MP3 (AP Photo: Rafiq Maqbool)

• Miranda’s report on India’s resisting steep cuts in greenhouse emissions
• BBC coverage of the Copenhagen summit
• Impact of climate change (interactive map)
• Environment coverage on The World

Pride vs practicality in India’s climate stance

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As negotiators gather for global climate talks in Denmark this week, India is resisting steep binding cuts in greenhouse emissions. Reporter Miranda Kennedy tells us why. Download MP3 (Photo of Kolkata factory: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)

• PBS Newshour: Population boom. Warming. Vex India’s famers.
• BBC coverage of the Copenhagen summit
• Impact of climate change (interactive map)
• Environment coverage on The World

Climate science fracas

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The United Nations is conducting an investigation into claims that British scientists manipulated data on global warming to support their argument that it’s man made. The World’s Laura Lynch has the story.

China and US jockey on climate

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China is going above and beyond in preparation for next week’s climage change summit in Copenhagen. Officials have come up with a plan for reducing greenhouse gases. But they’re also outlining ways to clean up its air, land, water, and in the process, its image. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Orville Schell of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations.

Ontario’s green energy plan

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Ontario’s new green energy plan is the most ambitious in North America. It would phase out coal-fired power plants within five years and agressively push renewables and conservation. Opponents say it will push up energy costs and harm business and consumers. Anita Elash has the story from Toronto. Download MP3

• Environment coverage on The World
• Copenhagen climate summit 2009

President Obama will go to Copenhagen

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President Obama is to pledge a cut in greenhouse gas emissions in the US in several stages, beginning with a 17% cut by 2020, the White House says. The offer will be made at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, which Mr Obama will attend. Anchor Marco Werman talks with our environment editor Peter Thomson about the President’s mission in Copenhagen. Download MP3

• BBC coverage of the Copenhagen conference
• Environment coverage on The World
• White House statement on President attending conference

Copenhagen Climate Summit: Deal or No Deal?

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Negotiators from around the world are meeting in Barcelona in the last round of climate treaty talks before a global summit next month in Copenhagen. The Copenhagen meeting was supposed to produce a new treaty to address the rising threats from global climate change. But as the World’s Marina Giovannelli reports, prospects for an agreement this year are growing dim. Download MP3

• BBC coverage: Copenhagen summit
• Environment coverage on The World
• State of the planet in graphics

Fired employee claims bias against environmental views

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Tim Nicholson, a former employee of the British property firm Grainger, who claims he lost his job due to his environmental beliefs. A British court today ruled that Nicholson could sue his former employer under laws normally used to protect people from religious discrimination.

Raising Bangladesh

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Some of the countries most at risk from climate change are low-lying nations. And chief among them is the South Asian country of Bangladesh. Rising seas threaten to inundate this already disaster-prone land. But Bangladesh is experimenting with new ways to protect itself. One possible solution uses floods to prevent floods. Reporter Daniel Grossman has our story. Download MP3 (Photo: Dan Grossman)

• Illustrated transcript

Climate change meeting

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for urgent action on climate change, saying negotiations on reducing emissions were proceeding too slowly. He said failure to reach agreement at December’s climate talks in Copenhagen would be “morally inexcusable”. Alex Gallafent reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Summit on Climate Change

Sarkozy pushes for carbon tax

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French President Nicholas Sarkozy wants to impose a carbon tax on households and businesses that emit greenhouse gases. But the French say they feel too taxed already. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Guillaume Debre of the French TV Channel TF-1.

Green adventures

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The World’s Laura Lynch meets an eco-adventurer who’s combined low-tech and high-tech to turn a scrapyard bus into a green mobile home. Now he’s planning a voyage around the world using sustainable fuels and a low-carbon budget.
Follow the bio truck expedition online

Dealing with CO2 emissions

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Human beings emit over 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. It’s a global problem, connected with sea level rise and changing global temperatures. There have been many calls for reductions in CO2 emissions, but others look to technology to sequester or trap CO2 below the earth’s surface. Ashley Ahearn reports how some of the most promising research in this field is happening in Iceland. Download MP3

• CO2 fixation in basaltic rock in Iceland
• Fighting Global Warming by Turning CO2 into Stone
• BBC animated guide to climate change