IRC Rome's List: Energy & Environment

December 22, 2015 -- "World leaders recently convened in Paris to forge an historic agreement to take shared global action on climate change. While the Paris agreement is just a first step, it does encourage hope, and could fundamentally change the way global development unfolds."

November 30, 2015 -- "Every day, we are seeing and feeling the effects of climate change -- here and across the globe. It poses a clear and present threat to our economic and national security. No country is immune from the consequences of climate change, and no country can act alone. "

October 22, 2015 -- "Like adolescents just before a large growth spurt, developing countries are lined up and hungry for new sources of energy, which play a critical role in boosting economic growth. In Africa alone, about 60 million homes and businesses are poised to access power for the first time in the coming years."

October 14, 2015 -- "On October 14, at the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 public and private sector representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Sodexo USA reported on exciting efforts from the United States to tackle the global wasted food challenge and to make an impact against hunger and climate change. "

October 8, 2015 -- "When world leaders gather in Paris in December to negotiate a global agreement on climate change, they will have a powerful ally standing behind them and urging them onward: mayors. In fact, mayors have already helped set the stage for success in Paris, by establishing models of cooperation that provide a strong foundation for the negotiations."

October 5, 2015 -- "Last week, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Ministers from the world’s major economies and a range of other nations participated in the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (the “MEF”)."

October 5, 2015 -- "Thank you very much and good morning to all of you, and let me begin by thanking our very, very generous hosts. President Michelle Bachelet, thank you very much, and my colleague and friend, Heraldo Munoz, the minister – foreign minister of Chile, who exhibited extraordinary leadership when he stood up in Washington and said, “We are going to do the next conference,” and here we are with a really beautiful setting and a truly moving, remarkably beautiful and inspiring video and opening."

September 1, 2015 -- "Global leaders convened at GLACIER to highlight international and domestic priorities in the Arctic with a goal of generating momentum and expediting progress towards addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the region."

August 11, 2015 -- Los Angeles, or LA, may be among the U.S. cities with the dirtiest air, but it’s breathing much more easily than it did a few decades ago, when cars, refineries and backyard incinerators spewed greenhouse gases and particulate matter unchecked.

August 7, 2015 -- Even before the world’s nations gather in Paris this December to settle on a global plan against climate change, the Obama administration has announced new guidelines that will, by 2030, reduce U.S. carbon emissions by nearly a third.

August 3, 2015 -- President Obama is announcing the finalization of America's Clean Power Plan, the biggest step we've ever taken to combat climate change. This plan sets the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants, while providing states and utilities with the flexibility they need to meet those standards.

August 3, 2015 -- Climate change is no longer just about the future that we're predicting for our children or our grandchildren; it's about the reality that we're living with every day, right now.

July 9, 2015 -- "Imagine a world without light above a dim path at night or no wall outlet for charging your phone beside your bed. Unfortunately, a world without power is reality for two out of every three people in sub-Saharan Africa."

July 7, 2015 -- "Last year, the United States brought online as much solar energy every three weeks as it did in all of 2008, and the solar industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. And since the beginning of 2010, the average cost of a solar electric system has dropped by 50 percent."

July 1, 2015 -- "Leaders from around the world are signaling loud and clear that taking action to address climate change is a top priority. As an important step, China, the Republic of Korea, Serbia, and Iceland all formally submitted their greenhouse gas emissions targets this week to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."

June 24, 2015 -- "If your house was ever damaged in a storm or flood, or you had to pay more for food because drought struck your region, you have insight into the harsh consequences of climate change. A warmer world could jeopardize the homes and livelihoods of millions and bring crises to ecosystems, agriculture, clean water and other systems that humans need."

June 10, 2015 -- "According to the London-based Climate Action Programme, recent growth in such bonds worldwide will continue. The organization projects a tripling in the size of the green-bonds market, from $37 billion in 2014 to $100 billion in 2015."

June 9, 2015 -- "Climate change poses a threat to every country on Earth, and we all need to do what we can to take advantage of the small window of opportunity we still have to stave off its worst, most disastrous impacts."

June 9, 2015 -- "Today, delivering on a major commitment announced by President Obama at the UN Climate Summit in New York last September, the Administration is announcing the launch of an international public-private partnership to empower developing nations to boost their own climate resilience. "

June 7, 2015 -- "World Oceans Day, June 8, reminds of us the importance of our oceans and maintaining their health. As we continue working and developing on and near the water, we cannot forget the impacts on our ocean – and we need to work vigilantly to protect it."