Jan 31 Come and Gone ... With a Whimper

As the emissions reduction pledges under the Copenhagen Accord have trickled in prior to and since January 31st, the tally stands at 92 countries accounting for 83% of global emissions. The general malaise regarding the progress made in and since Copenhagen has continued. UN Climate Chief de Boer is trying to emphasize that the Accord was just a launching pad for for formal consensus-building negotiations incorporating the entirety of the UN community. Any accord-related news was overshadowed by the credibility crisis in the IPCC, the UN sponsored scientific research body on climate change, and its chief, Indian's R K Pachauri. Calls for Pachauri's resignation have come from several groups, including Greenpeace, after a controversy over reports regarding the rate of decay of Himalayan glaciers. Despite vocal support from de Boer and India's PM, India announced it will convene its own scientific body to analyze the risks of climate change.