-The Telegraph   There is no jargon in Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s brand of economics — there are only blankets and bicycles and other such mundane things that he feels the poor need. And he even got a nod from a man who has received the Nobel Prize for economics. Speaking at a discussion, flanked by Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, an economics Nobel laureate and Lord Meghnad Desai, professor emeritus at the London School...

-The Hindustan Times   Had the world's leaders decided to ensure that global warming would increase to 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, perhaps to 5 degrees Celsius, instead of the 1.5-to-20 degrees Celsius threshold (over preindustrial temperatures) that scientists believe earth can tolerate, they couldn't have acted more purposively than they did at the Durban climate conference. If this sounds like a harsh judgement that radically differs from the official spin that...

Just when the government felt it had sorted out all the wrinkles in the Nuclear Liability Act, eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee has said the crucial rule restricting the liability of supplier to just five years in case of an accident is ultra vires and invalid. Mr. Sorabjee was answering questions from international environment activist group Greenpeace on the detailed guidelines for the Nuclear Liability Act, announced on the eve of last...

A 73-page draft negotiating text was issued at the end of the first week of climate talks in the South African city of Durban. The text, issued by the chair of the Bali track of the negotiations, is an "amalgamation" of draft texts and will provide the basis for the final document that will be considered by the Conference of Parties or the general assembly of the 193 countries and...

Like stags fighting, the first days of each annual UN climate summit start with delegations circling each other politically, looking for weaknesses, gauging strengths. The summit that began this week in Durban, South Africa, has been no different - and though it might seem that little has been accomplished so far, a number of blocs have at least made their positions clearer than ever before. And that's vital if effective negotiations are...