National Legislation Key to Combating Climate Change

AMBIENTE

A majority of major economies have made significant progress in addressing climate change, with countries like South Korea and China taking aggressive action so they can benefit from energy- and resource-efficient economies,

a new report released Monday found. The study by GLOBE International and Grantham Research Institute profiled 33 major economies in an annual examination of climate and energy legislation. 32 of them, including the United States, made significant progress in 2012, while only Canada regressed.
“The study reveals a major trend is underway. More and more countries are acting on climate,” said Adam Matthews, secretary general of GLOBE International, an organisation of legislators. While major international climate conferences such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) held in Doha in November and December 2012 have made little progress, cities, states and national governments around the world are taking action.
The political reality, Matthews told IPS, is that local and national climate regulations and legislation must come first. “An environment minister in Doha couldn’t commit his country to an ambitious carbon reduction target unless the country has already decided to chart a new economic course,” he said.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, agreed with Matthews’ analysis. Countries do not have the “political space” to move at the international level unless they have already moved at the domestic level, she said in a statement.
“Domestic legislation is critical because it is the linchpin between action on the ground and…international agreement,” she said. (...)

The article:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/01/national-legislation-key-to-combating-climate-change/

More about:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/13/climate-laws-un?intcmp=122

http://www.carlocarraro.org/argomenti/politiche-climatiche/dai-paesi-emergenti-nuovi-progressi-per-il-clima/

From Globe Int'l website:

http://www.globeinternational.org/index.php/news/item/study-reveals-legislators-hold-the-key-to-tackling-climate-change

The 3rd GLOBE Climate Legislation Study:

http://www.globeinternational.org/index.php/legislation-policy/studies/climate

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The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) of Nations:

http://sedac.ciesin.org/data/set/epi-environmental-performance-index-pilot-trend-2012

Informazione di base:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Performance_Index