Lima Call for Climate Action

It seems that a weakened agreement was reached for all nations to voluntarily announce emissions cuts.  But without concrete milestones, the aggregate cuts are likely to fall short of what's needed to hold warming to 2 degrees Celsius.  There's a split between what rich and poor countries want to see happen.

Also, a National Bureau of Economic Research paper says warmer temperatures slow productivity and a summary of the year's climate stories.

Update (December 18):  Recent pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions by Europe, China and the United States are not enough to keep warming within the 2 degree threshold.

Update (December 22):  Lindsay Abrams gives a climate change overview for 2014.

Update (December 24):  Joe Romm reminds us that although climate change in the works is irreversible, additional change is not unstoppable.

Update (December 27):  Rebecca Solnit sees hope in climate activism and writes that while the physics of climate change is inevitable, the politics are not.

Update (January 10, 2015):  Michael Klare warns that Big Oil isn't going down without a fight.