Jake Schmidt

Three years ago, the Group of 20 countries pledged to phase out environmentally-harmful and ineffective subsidies. The leaders of these twenty influential countries have since made many other promises to deal with climate change and the range of global sustainability challenges, including at the recently concluded Clean Energy Ministerial. As...

By a vote of 148-0 South Korean lawmakers have just approved a national emissions trading program to reduce the global warming pollution from its largest sectors by 2015.  South Korea is the...

In 2011, new clean energy investments rose to a record $263 billion -- a 6.5 percent increase from last year.  The United States rose to the top in 2011 after having fallen behind China and Germany last year.  But the 27 countries that make up the European Union (EU-27) as...

If you are the leader of a small island state – like the Maldives – and every day you are faced with the threats posed by global warming what would you do? Well now you can see...

We are partnering with other organizations to launch a new competition -- “Win a Date with History”." This is your chance to let world leader’s know exactly what you want them to do at the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Have a powerful speaking voice, good...

Twenty-two high level representatives have just released their report – Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing—which sets out specific recommendations to “put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into economic policy as quickly as possible.”  The report reinforces the push to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel...

Starting January 1, 2012 all aircrafts that choose to use European airports have to reduce their carbon pollution that is causing global warming.  It is a very simple program that has unfortunately generated opposition from some airlines...

As Nelson Mandela famously said*: “It always seems impossible, until we are done.” 

That is exactly how it seemed at the United Nations COP-17 climate negotiations over the past two weeks  – extremely difficult (and even impossible at times). The negotiations lasted more than than...

This year the lanyards given out by the environmental groups have a famous Nelson Mandela quote that is quite fitting for the current state of play in the final days...

For the last two global warming negotiations – in Copenhagen and Cancun – there were serious efforts by countries to get a “mandate” to negotiate a new legal agreement that would strengthen international efforts...

Four days into the global warming negotiations in Durban, South Africa countries are beginning to draw clear lines in the sand.  The European Union has signaled that they are unwilling to back down from their position that Durban needs to adopt a clear mandate to negotiate a new legally binding...

Nelson Mandela famously said: "I am fundamentally an optimist…Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when...

“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change…”  Those were the words of President Obama before taking office.  President Obama has taken the critical step to require that U.S. vehicles get more miles per gallon and reduce their carbon pollution.  Now he is facing...

Name an environmental law strongly supported by both Republicans and Democrats, America’s timber industry, purchasers of wood products, labor unions, and environmental organizations.  Stumped?  Actually there is such a...

Tomorrow, the Senate Appropriations Committee is set to mark-up the 2012 fiscal year appropriations bill which outlines the amount of funding that will be invested in international action on global warming.  A new letter from 15 major environmental, faith-based, development, and conservation groups urges the Senate to defend long-standing...

The State Department – the same US government agency in charge of international global warming negotiations – is poised to make a decision which would help expand tar sands in Canada.  Expansion of tar sands in Canada will dramatically increase Canada’s global warming pollution according to a new Canadian...

Several new reports released over the past few days show that renewable energy keeps growing, with more countries implementing policies or incentives to spur renewable energy deployment.  The studies found that renewable energy accounted for $211 billion in new investments in 2010 – an increase of 32% from the previous...

Carbon pollution from fossil fuel use reached the highest level yet in 2010, according to the International Energy Agency.  So should we throw up our hands?  No, this is a wake-up call that countries need to significantly speed up the pace of their action to reduce emissions.  And when...

Why would a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have anything to say about the steps that Europe is taking to reduce carbon pollution from aviation?  The answer should be nothing.  But unfortunately the US Senate is considering language passed by the House of Representatives that would signal...

If an airline claimed to be “green” but was actively working to gut carbon pollution standards, what would you do? Since that is exactly what American, Continental, and United Airlines are doing, major environmental groups sent a letter to the airlines asking them why they are spending their customers’ money...