USA

I think we would all agree that it is a disappointment that the US Senate didn't take up a climate bill that included a cap and trade system to finally put a price on carbon and begin reducing emissions.

The US and Brazil have signed an agreement whereby US$21 million (£13.5 million) of Brazilian debt will be put into a fund for the protection of the country’s rainforest and tropical ecosystems.

The US has agreed that instead of paying back its debt, the money will be utilised to protect the Caatinga and Cerrado ecosystems and conserve the rainforest on the Atlantic coast. These three areas in Brazil are currently under threat of serious deforestation but do not receive as much attention or publicity as the Amazon region.

Call it a hot topic. A study suggesting that intentional forest blazes could significantly cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from wildfires in the Western United States has prompted a piquant scholarly quarrel. The exchange highlights the challenge forest managers may face in balancing plans to use fire to restore forest ecosystems with efforts to curb carbon emissions.

The winds of change are blowing across the climate change policy landscape. With legislation stalled in the Senate, attention now shifts to state and regional initiatives.

The Center for Climate Strategies has issued a report laying out in detail the cost/benefit analysis underpinning 23 policy options and their expected net cost per ton of greenhouse gases removed.