BusinessWeek

Canada hopes to achieve a North American climate-change deal with U.S. president-elect Barack Obama, the country’s foreign affairs minister said Wednesday.

Source: Environmental Leader

“U.S. investors have filed 54 global warming shareholder resolutions with U.S. companies, nearly doubling the number filed two years ago.”

“Al Gore, elevated to almost prophetic status for his campaign against global warming, on Sunday night unveiled a new $300m advertising blitz intended to force a debate on climate change during the presidential elections.”

CDP News

This project marks a significant step in advancing public disclosure and reporting on climate change related issues. Cities will be able to use the project to learn from peers on climate change management and the project will shed light on the level of awareness and preparedness of the cities on this issue. It will also demonstrate to companies, investors and the general public how individual cities are dealing with the risks and opportunities climate change presents.

Planet Ark

A coalition of US states and Canadian provinces that have banded together to cut greenhouse gases will launch their carbon cap and trade system in 2012, according to a draft plan released on Wednesday.

Toronto Star

A pact designed to preserve the Great Lakes is in reality a “slippery slope” that threatens severe harm to the world’s largest body of fresh water, a top U.S. environmental lawyer has warned Canadians.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to modify the federal health standard for smog. “The EPA has said, based on various studies, cutting smog to 75 from 80 parts per billion would prevent between 900 and 1,100 premature deaths a year and lead to 1,400 fewer nonfatal heart attacks and 5,600 fewer hospital or emergency room visits.”

As concerns over food shortages increase, UN’s Secretary General warns the United States and Europe to cut back on their production of biofuels. Leaders have previously pledged to increase production as a means to fight climate change.

ENN / Reuters

The Bush administration released a climate change assessment on Thursday – four years late and pushed forward by a court order – that said human-induced global warming will likely lead to problems like droughts in the U.S. West and stronger hurricanes.

The New York Times

A report by researchers at the Brookings Institution states that city residents in the United States produce less carbon dioxide from energy consumption than their country counterparts.