Arguing that the public discourse surrounding climate change has deteriorated, a group of 14 “eclectic” academics from Europe, North American and Japan have come together with a host of new ideas, namely shifting global focus away from carbon dioxide mitigation and towards more “quick fix” climate solutions.

The “Hartwell Paper” urges the world to look beyond the UN climate negotiating platform, beyond the disappointing outcome of Copenhagen, and beyond the so-called “ClimateGate” scandal to see the true complexities, and importance, of the issues at hand.  ”Climate change has been represented as a conventional environmental ‘problem’ that is capable of being ‘solved,’” said Mike Hulme, an author of the report.  ”It is neither of these.  Yet this framing has locked the world into a rigid agenda that brought us to the dead end of Kyoto, with no evidence of any discernible acceleration of decarbonization whatsoever.”

Hulme and his fellow authors believe the best way to move forward is by concentrating on ways to curb pollution from “black carbon” – a warming agent which is emitted from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels mainly in diesel engines and wood stoves.  This substance, the scientists say, may be the second most significant human-contributed warming agent after carbon dioxide.

The authors concede that carbon dioxide emissions will have to be reined in if long term warming is to be mitigated.  To do so, they advocate an agreement among developed countries to contribute 0.7% of GDP to support low-carbon technology development and deployment in developing nations, where a carbon tax would be instituted.

This report, however, has been harshly criticized by many other climate scientists who believe it is a mistake to shift global attention away from carbon dioxide.  ”The paper’s focus away from CO2 is misguided, short-sighted and probably wrong,” remarked Bill Hare from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

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China and India have formally agreed to ratify the Copenhagen Accord, the global climate agreement which stemmed from last year’s U.N. climate change convention in Copenhagen.

Over 100 countries have already approved the Accord, which aims to limit the increase in global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels.  The Accord also calls for spending on the scale of $100 billion a year to assist emerging countries in making adaptations to climate change.

China and India are two of the world’s fastest growing economies, and in recent years their rates of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have skyrocketed.  By joining the Accord, China and India have added legitimacy to the treaty and have demonstrated to the rest of the world that they are serious about addressing these important climate issues.

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Affluent countries are making good on their Copenhagen promises to provide monetary aid to poor nations grappling with the effects of climate change. Thus far, funding pledges for 2010-2012 are nearly $30 billion, including $15 billion from Japan and €7 billion from the European Union.

However, the “Copenhagen Green Climate Fund” planned in last month’s conference has not yet been implemented, making it likely that the donor countries will each determine how their aid packages are distributed and to whom.  Delegates from China, India, Brazil and South Africa have welcomed the pledge, calling the $10 billion expected to be released in 2010 an important symbol of rich countries’ willingness to help.

The Copenhagen Accord set forth a January 31^st deadline for nations to submit quantitative details on their voluntary emissions reductions targets and achievement strategies.  The United States has formally submitted its approval, and informed the United Nations of its intent to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.  Todd Stern, the chief U.S. climate change negotiator, said final emissions targets will be submitted following Congress’ passage of energy legislation requiring carbon cuts.

After a tense two weeks of negotiations and over two years of preparatory talks, delegates at the COP15 Copenhagen Climate Summit finally formulated a global agreement, reinforcing the need for strong international action on climate change issues.

The Copenhagen Accord is a non-binding agreement between developed and developing nations which aims to cap overall temperature rise to within 2° Celcius.  Over the next three years, $30 billion in financing from developed nations will help support emissions reductions projects in some of the world’s poorest countries.  Developed nations are working towards a long term, $100 billion a year financing plan by 2020.  Read more about the Copenhagen Accord…

The Copenhagen Accord is not a legally binding agreement, and many delegates are frustrated with the underwhelming results of the talks.  World leaders like Barack Obama, on the other hand, called the accord “an important breakthrough,” but stressed that much more action is needed to truly address the global threat of climate change.  Read more about world responses to the conference…

A new report from the intellectual property division of Thomson Reuters Legal’s Alternative Energy Powers Up shows

An analysis of patent activity from 1998 – 2009 shows Japanese innovation spurring wind technology patents, and strong solar power activity coming from China.  Higher R&D budgets in China, Japan and the United States have contributed to a rise in patent requests from companies both small and large.

“Our research indicates there is a real opportunity for niche players in this field to collaborate and partner with larger companies that have deeper resources,” said Susan Cullen, IP consulting services director and author of the report.  ”The future is bright for all the companies able to seize the opportunity before them.”

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Prime Minister-Elect Supports Plan for Tough Reductions

Despite increasing industry resistance, Japan’s Prime Minister-Elect Yukio Hatoyama pledge to forge ahead with an ambitious plan to scale back emissions 25% from 1990-levels by 2020.  This target aims higher than that of the previous administration, which aimed for an 8% reduction on 1990 levels.  Many are worried that the policy may adversely affect Japan’s industries in this tough economic time period.  Hatoyama is moving forward with the policy in the hopes that a larger global accord will be agreed upon at the Copenhagen convention.  “We can’t stop climate change just with our country setting an emission target,” he said.  “We will also aim to create a fair and effective international framework by all major countries in the world.”

Mistubishi and IHI Corp. Embark on $21 Billion Space Solar Joint Venture

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp. announced an ambitious new joint venture to construct a 2 trillion yen ($21 billion) space-based solar-power generator.  Equipped with 4 km² of solar panels, the 1 GW station will beam electricity back to earth in the form of microwaves.  Because of its space location, the station will be able to generate electricity continuously, no matter the weather conditions.  “It sounds like a science-fiction cartoon, but solar power generation in space may be a significant alternative energy source in the century ahead as fossil fuel disappears,” said Kensuke Kanekiyo, managing director of the Institute of Energy Economics, a government research body.  Mitsubishi and IHI hope to have the station completed within the next three decades, but must work to significantly lower costs in order to make the project commercially viable.