In response to growing frustration that the U.N. climate negotiations are not producing real-world results, individual nations, states and business are cobbling together patchwork solutions to preserve forests, produce clean energy and scrub pollution from the air.Under this new approach, businesses in California will offset their greenhouse gas emissions by funding tropical forest preservation in Mexico and Brazil; Japan will help pay for nuclear power plants in developing nations; and...

Cracks have developed among India and three other developing countries on accepting legally binding emission cuts at the climate change summit here, with Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh saying there is concerted pressure on the country and China to accept such cuts.“There are differences within BASIC [Brazil, South Africa, India and China]. India and China are united on this issue. Brazil and South Africa are united,”...

Japan's refusal to commit to a second period of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol calls into question the very existence of the Protocol, ironically named after a city in that country.Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh met his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday and was categorically informed that there was no question of a second commitment under the Kyoto Protocol for Japan.This was not a negotiating tactic at all, it...

India has agreed to allow a market mechanism in a forestry scheme, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), though critics claim this may weaken the traditional forest rights of tribals.However, Environment minister Jairam Ramesh insisted REDD schemes would have no impact on India as most of the money will go to Brazil and Indonesia. “We will receive a negligible amount,” he said, while noting India didnot oppose the market...

While the Gujarat government may have announced a 'farmer-friendly' land acquisition policy developed by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation's (GIDC), farmers have so far given mixed reactions to it. Right ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit scheduled in January,GIDC has gone all out to ensure a hassle-free land acquisition process, as the upcoming meet is likely to generate demand for large tracts of land for industry.Saurabh Patel, state industries minister,...