It\’s Getting Hot In Here

Whew! Another hot day in Bali! Well, okay, there are only hot days in Bali. In theory this is the weekend, but in fact it’s time for climate justice rallies, virtual (and non-virtual) marches, aerial photography stunts, strategy meetings, side events, and the occasional quick trip out of the city to remind ourselves that Bali is not just a convention centre.

The most memorable time so far was the ‘Fighting for our Future’ side event – an informal sharing and learning session organized for other people at the conference – we held to highlight the youth climate movement.

Presenter after presenter took the stage to show amazing work done by young people in Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, Canada, the US, and the UK to raise awareness and inspire action. There was more energy in the room than I’ve ever felt at the UNFCCC conference, and the session was packed. We heard about cycle campaigns, press stunts, lobbying, and even how to occupy your local coal-fired power plant without disrupting the national grid.

At the end, a woman in the audience stood up. “I’m from Kiribati,” she said, “which is two meters above sea level.” She had to pause to fight tears. “And I just wanted you to know how connected I feel to all of you. Thank you.” We all had tears in our eyes too. It’s rare to get such a powerful reminder of just what we’re all fighting for.

Unfortunately, the more I learn at this conference, the more I worry. The Kyoto Protocol is such a flawed process. Beyond the fact that nobody can work out when or how developing countries (and notable developed party poopers) should get on board, the framework convention itself is problematic.

A key issue at this week’s conference is REDD – reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries. The current issue of the New Scientist has an investigative piece which illustrates just how tricky this issue is. If a peat bog is drained to plant trees for paper or biofuels – which can count as forest cover under the UNFCCC – it emits huge amounts of CO2. In the case of biofuels, the farming actually emits about 30 times more carbon than is saved by burning biofuels instead of petrol.

I also attended a side event held by the gender and climate change group which highlighted the particular problems faced by women who depend on forests for their livelihoods. For example, the system of valuation for carbon credits doesn’t include forests’ role as havens of biodiversity, nor the fact that many people in developing countries need the forests to live.

“We don’t manage the forest,” said Anna Pinto from India. “We live with the forest. You don’t manage your family, do you?”

Yet under the Clean Development Mechanism, a system by which rich countries can offset their carbon emissions by funding ‘clean development’ projects in developing countries, in some places biodiverse forests are being replaced by monoculture tree plantations. So not only is deforestation causing massive carbon emissions, some communities are being victimized by the very parts of the Kyoto Protocol which are supposed to benefit them.

This is a huge problem, and one that isn’t going to be solved any time soon. As we’re constantly reminded, this meeting is supposed to be ‘process-oriented’; it’s setting out a roadmap to develop the next stage of the Kyoto Protocol. Yet that doesn’t stop us from trying to fix the loopholes that no-one ever anticipated, even if that means a huge amount of time and effort struggling through working groups and the minute details of negotiated text.

It’s easy to say that since the Kyoto Protocol is so complex and problematic, we shouldn’t bother with it. But that’s a total cop-out. Climate change is the most important issue facing our generation, and it’s a global problem. We don’t have the time to waste to make the process perfect. The IPCC estimates that we have a couple of decades to solve this problem, and others are saying that’s a generous estimate. Don’t be fooled by the US’s diversionary tactics – the UNFCCC process is our only hope of getting our ducks in a row before they float away in the rising tide.