Albert Einstein once said that "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". So it was that I spent the last few days in Doha, perhaps anticipating that something might just be different this time around - after all there were things to be done and a whole new agreement to be crafted by 2015.
Climate change negotiations have concluded in Doha, Qatar as the 'Doha Gateway' was passed within minutes and with much confusion. The outcome represents a historic shift with the introduction of "loss and damage" into the agreement, but will do little to actually limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
This week sees the start of the 18th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP18 for short, in Doha, Qatar. This should be a busy transitional COP, with much on the agenda to resolve and important steps forward being taken toward a long term international agreement.
What can't be emphasised too strongly here is that these are analyses of real deaths and actual weather. They are not simulations or models - and it reflects the great strength of the INDEPTH Network that it is possible to analyse factual information in this way from parts of the world where reliable data are usually in short supply.
Research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that natural disasters between 1980 and 2002 caused an average of 17 deaths per windstorm in the US, compared to nearly 2,000 in Bangladesh.
It's not just down to me to tackle poverty. It's not just down to me individually, to my organisation, or to the UK. The sooner we stop abdicating responsibility and expecting 'someone' to sort it all out, the better.
Anyone who followed COP 17 in Durban would have noticed that the UNFCCC and its Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres, are active Tweeters. But one...
After two busy weeks, the Durban COP was extended by a full day and then went well into a second, with long nights of negotiation along the way. Event...
With delegates, energy/environment ministers, business representatives and NGO leaders arriving in Durban for COP 17, attention again turns to the pressing issue of actually reducing global emissions.
