It’s Getting Hot In Here

Well, that was refreshing.

A few hours ago, the new US administration made their first public input into the UNFCCC process! It was yet another pleasurable reminder that G.W. Bush is gone, and that his legacy is slowly dying.

Todd Stern, the new, much-celebrated, US Special Envoy on Climate Change, opened his speech with a message that he transmitted ‘direct from President Obama’:

“We’re very glad we’re back. We want to make up for lost time, and we are seized with the urgency of the task before us.”

This was received with a rapturous, enthusiastic round of applause – the sound of hope ringing in the room.

“You will not here anyone on this very skilled US team cast doubt upon the science of global climate change,” said Stern, again demonstrating how substantive a shift occurred on November 4. Every climate campaigner in the room, when reflecting back to the dark days of climate scepticism in the US administration, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that moment.

Stern even said that ‘the US acknowledges their responsibility as the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases’. Another big step forward. Another sign of hope. With all this hope, it would have been so easy to get carried away.

Thankfully though, Tuvalu, an AOSIS member, brought the room back town to earth after America spoke, warning us to take the words of the US with a grain of salt:

“It is beholden on me as a representative of the most vulnerable country in the world to speak out. We welcome the United States remarks… but we hope the rhetoric is matched by reality.”

With this in mind, I’d like to offer some advice to US activists – don’t pause your campaigning to celebrate the government’s rhetoric. Let’s not be stupid about this. Don’t ‘give them time’ without criticism, naively hoping that they’ll do the right thing, translating good words into real action. If you don’t push them, hard, then you won’t be rewarded. We learned this the hard way in Australia, after the election of Kevin Rudd, November 24 2007. Let me tell a story to illustrate…

Continue reading ‘UN climate talks, Bonn: USA is back – but still not good enough’

For the next two weeks, there will be daily blogs on ItsGettingHotInHere.org from the Bonn meetings of the UN.

For more Bonn coverage on IGHIH, click these links :

1. The pre-sessionals (Friday 27th)

2. AOSIS rocks it on mitigation targets (Saturday 28th)

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Yesterday evening’s pre-sessional, ‘Workshop on issues relating to the scale of emission reductions to be achieved by Annex I Parties’ saw about 10 presentations from different nations, followed by some scientific/technical/economic presentations, all discussing mitigation potentials are necessary, possible according to the research, and ‘at what cost’.

Japan, Australia, the EU, New Zealand, China, South Africa and Iceland all made presentations, but the final presentation, from AOSIS – the Alliance Of Small Island States, the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world – really kicked serious butt.

Continue reading ‘Covering the UN climate talks, in Bonn: AOSIS rocks it on mitigation targets’

Hot on the heels of Obama’s statements that a carbon market similar to the European Union’s greenhouse gas regulatory scheme would be centerpiece to his climate policy, Friends of the Earth has released a great overview of the proposals on the table.

They warn that the lynchpin of US and global climate policy seriously risks replicating the boom and bust, experimental marketplace created in the last 10 years for mortgages and other debts. Like those markets, carbon trading is increasingly sparking fraud and wreaking havoc on prices. Moreover, it risks superseding, distracting from — and even discrediting — more legitimate efforts.

Some excerpts – detailing the emergence of “subprime carbon”  and “bundled carbon securities” – follow.

You can download the whole report here.

Continue reading ‘Subprime Carbon: With “solutions” like these, who needs problems?’

Sitting next to Sakura from ProtestBarrick.net at the Women, Action, and Media conference in Massachusetts.

She gave me the scoop that there’s going to be an awesome conference on mining in Toronto on April 26.

It’s going to cover all sorts of nasty mining (gold, uranium, tar sands) in the context of cultures, environment, and economics. Lots of cool speakers from around the world and local Indigenous leadership. 50% of gold mining is happening on Indigenous land and Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of mining and dirty extraction in Canada, the US, and around the world.

“Probably the coolest thing about the conference is its focus on activism around these issues,” says Sakura. “The conference organizers really want to build a movement within Canada in solidarity with communities affected by mining.”

In 2008, over 75% of the world’s mining and exploration companies were headquartered in Canada and currently Canada has no laws to prevent the abuses of their companies abroad.

Sounds like something we should change. Check out www.miningsustainability.org for more info. Or email paulyork.2008@gmail.com

By AMY BRISSON abrisson@delcotimes.com

CHESTER — A handful of members from the Chester Energy Justice Network and a small group of students from Swarthmore College hosted an informational meeting about soil contamination at the planned soccer stadium site and the cleanup process Thursday night. “Just following through with the cleanup, that’s what we’re pushing,” said Desire Grover, a community activist and founder of the GhettoPrint Web site.

The meeting was Part 3 of a series of programs hosted by Energy Justice and the Delco Alliance for Environmental Justice to draw attention and educate residents about air, water quality, public health and the environment. It will be followed by a demonstration Saturday, in which members will carry signs urging developers and officials to “Clean It Up” while handing out information packets to nearby residents. The planned $115 million stadium development on the Chester waterfront will be built on what the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has designated a soil-contaminated “brownfield” site. Continue reading ‘Chester, PA Students and Teachers Monitoring Major League Soccer Stadium Brownfield Cleanup’

This cutie pie letter from WV coal thug Chris “Profits over People” Hamilton just made my day–basically it’s a to-do list of all the things they are going to work real hard on to make sure all our mountains get exploded and to keep the grumpy old EPA from following their silly laws.

In some ways, it is annoying, because the coal industry is copying everything we do. In other ways, it’s funny, because we did it everything in their to-do list better and first, and they look stupid doing it. Then again, it’s annoying, because they have a lot of money and 2000+ lobbyists. 

Anyway, Ghandi said (and a colleague reminded me), first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. There’s nothing about, “Then they copy you and send out an email about it” but I think we’re close to the winning part nonetheless. 

Anyway, after you read below you’ll all know what your plans are from May 5-7 and May 20-21st are. 

Continue reading ‘Dear Diary: I love coal and my bff mountaintop removal 4-ever’

It’s so easy to become swept up with life in India. There are so many stories here – inspiring and sad. So many people from all walks of life. Such stark contrasts of rich and poor, enlightened and corrupt.

I want to take you all on my journey during the IYCN climate solutions road tour. I want to introduce you to the people I met; To see the landscape as it changed; To show you the different languages, music and dances. To introduce you to the farmers, village women, and the labourers, to introduce you to the cleaners on the street, to the vice chancellors, politicians and CEOs. I wish you could see the fired up students who want to create a revolution and overthrow the corruption, to the idealistic children wanting to protect the environment, and to the masses who want change. I want to introduce you to the social workers and brilliant minds that are transforming the world. Continue reading ‘Redefining Development: Reflections from the Roadtour’

Washington, DC – The United Nations climate process is an obsession with a subset of the environmental community, the only route by which Global Warming can be tackled on the scale it requires. To many others, it can be vague or confoundedly policy heavy, with a jargon and acronym laden language impenetrable to outsiders. Many large US-based environmental organizations have siloed their staffs, with an international climate team staying focused on the UN Process, while field teams focus on domestic legislation. Almost all of them rely on a skeleton crew at the Climate Action Network, where a few staff members in a small walk-up office juggle the process both of developing a coherent policy position for environmental organizations at the UN level, as well as coordinating joint communications, southern capacity building, and logistics.

However, the UN climate process is coming to a defining moment, at Copenhagen, this December. With the Obama administration moving rapidly on turning on its head the old Bush climate policies, it would appear that the stars are aligning for a global climate treaty to be crafted with the United States onboard, the accomplishment that escaped the Kyoto Protocol. However, the road to Copenhagen goes through the American Midwest and despite the rolling plains, the road appears to be rocky.

The Kyoto Protocol was never brought to the US Senate, where a a two-thirds vote is required to pass a treaty, as a resolution aimed at attacking the treaty passed 95-0. The only senator that Vice President Gore thought he could bring on for sure, was the late Senator Wellstone. Now, it appears as environmental and industry lobbyists head to the Hill to clash over a climate treaty, there is a growing strand of Washington thought that promotes delaying domestic legislation until after the Copenhagen conference, to 2010. The Guardian recently published an article titled, “Barack Obama May Delay Signing up to Copenhagen Climate Change Deal” highlighting the role of “as many as 15 Democratic senators who represent “rust-belt” states dependent on coal mining, steel production and heavy manufacturing, all big emitters of carbon.”

I sat through a talk at the Brookings Institution, a heavyweight beltway thinktank, where Carlos Pascual said “We can’t let the calendar defeat us.” and urged a longer-term outlook, due to the same roadblock role of Democratic Senators from the Rust-Belt and Midwest. I may put up the video, as it is a textbook portrayal of Washington ‘conventional wisdom’ being established on an issue. In response to my question about this position, the concept that the political calculus may shift in the midwest was never even considered, let alone the role of the emergence of a broad-based citizen’s movement on global warming.

Two days before, I was in the middle of the largest lobby day on climate in history, as the participants of Power Shift 2009 – including student leaders from each of the states those senators represent – came to visit their representatives in the midst of a freak snowstorm capping off an extraordinary conference where participants, including a seemingly endless array of administration officials, arrived in shirtsleeves.

Yet, in Washington, the global climate treaty is seen as a matter for experts, lobbyists, and academics, not citizen activists. Despite the appointment of Van Jones to the White House to work on Green Jobs and reports like the McKinsey report outlining that stabilizing emissions has a close to net zero cost, the lens of climate vs. economy is still alive and well, as dirty industry leans on senators facing rising unemployment and shuttered factories in the Midwest. Big environmental groups are working on a plan to synchronize their international and field programs, but is it too late to influence a conference in December, where many of the decisions will be made in the lead up?

Copenhagen is likely the last opportunity where Europe will invest its political capital in a global treaty, if the United States does not join. Developing countries, both the highly vulnerable developing and island nations, and China, with its major climate efforts announced in Bali and Poznan, are losing patience. Yet, the Midwest is still the linchpin, even if Obama uses Congressional-executive agreement to pass the treaty as law. Minnesota seems to be the model for a midwest embracing climate solutions as key to its success.

Following the legacy of Wellstone, Senator Klobuchar and Senator-elect Franken are strong supporters of climate action. Minnesota has emerged as regional wind powerhouse, erecting turbines at a blistering pace, yet the most promising project for the rust-belt is called ARISE. A blueprint for launching green manufacturing at shuttering plants, with an alliance of labor, students, and local government officials, it is charting a new path forward for the region. Michigan is shedding jobs at an atrocious rate, but one of the few bright spots is the opening of a new high-tech battery plant for GM’s Volt and a solar energy materials plant.

Renewable energy has been demonstrated to produce four times the employment of fossil fuel investments of the same size, so the Midwest should be clamoring for renewable energy investments. Yet, utilities, railroads, and car companies remain opposed to strong climate legislation. Washington seems to have made up its mind about which side Democratic senators from the midwest will be on, but political winds shift, sometimes dramatically, when social movements or events change the dynamic.

Will the students returning from Power Shift form the backbone of a coalition of faith groups, labor, and young people able to connect the dots between Copenhagen and clean energy in the Midwest? The fate of what many climate scientists think might be the last chance to act before critical tipping points are hit lies in the balance. Will Steger, the polar explorer, is bringing an expedition of young people from the Midwest to Copenhagen – instead of his more usual arctic treks. Perhaps there, they will be able to tell the story of how they took a different road to Copenhagen than expected and surprised Washington.

(Author’s Note: We are still working to post videos of the Climate Hero Tour, check back during the weekend!)

Guest post from CALPIRG State Board member, Jenn Engstrom.

So it’s 10:00pm on the Thursday of my spring break and I’m in a church in Los Angeles with twenty other college students staking out spots on the sanctuary floor and spreading out sleeping bags. It is the end of another
packed day on the Climate Hero Tour and students are debriefing today’sevents and preparing media materials for tomorrow. We woke up this morning in San Diego and headed for the County Administration Building for
a press event with a representative from San Diego State Senator Christine Kehoe’s office. Kehoe’s staff member accepted a Climate Hero Cape in honor of the Senator’s work to fight global warming including authoring a
bill last year that requires California’s largest utilities companies to purchase renewable energy produced by any customer.

After doing cheers, singing songs, and generating our first Spanish media hit, students hit the pier to gather photo petitions. Passersby posed with our very own “Captain Cool Down” to show their support for strong global warming legislation and to thank our Congressional Climate Heroes for doing their part. Not only did we succeed in getting 55 photo petitions but we also took pictures with a global-warming fighting pirate and his pirate ship! After spending an hour at the beach doing what most people do on spring break, we then hit the road for LA for an evening of trainings on messaging and how to talk about our very important issue.

Tomorrow’s event in LA will be the last stop on our tour but of course not the end of CALPIRG’s efforts to build the Congressional Climate Heroes we need to pass comprehensive global warming legislation this year. We need you to join our efforts, and invite all of your Congressional representatives to an in-district meeting during the April Recess. Go to the Energy Action Coalition website to send an invite!

COP15 in Copenhagen this December – the meeting where governments are set to decide whether they will come together to lead on solving climate change peacefully, or whether they force us to take things into our own hands – is not the only UN meeting on climate change this year. There are three important ‘intersessional’ meetings of the UNFCCC bodies and working groups – ‘Bonn 1′, in Germany for the first two weeks of April, ‘Bonn 2′, for the first two weeks in June, and ‘Bangkok’ in September. In addition, there is a meeting of heads of state in New York in September as well. This blog series covers updates on the negotiations as ‘Bonn 1′ and the youth activities there. There are between 20 and 30 youth in attendance, from Europe, Australia, Africa and North America.

The program of events at Bonn 1 is found here.

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Friday 27 March, 2009

Welcome to Bonn! Would you like some acronym soup? It’s our signature dish, served fresh at the UNFCCC pre-sessionals today, before next week’s AWG-KP & AWG-LCA inter-sessionals where nations of the world will meet to discuss LULUCF, REDD and REDD+, and MRV-able commitments from Annex 1 nations, among various other things.  I hope that the G77, AOSIS, the LDCs and JUSCANZ will be able to reach agreement.

I am in a big room at the ‘Maritim’ hotel in Bonn, Germany, for the ‘Pre-Sessional events’ – before the proper negotiations start on Sunday. There is a long desk on a stage at the front of the room, where the Chair of the session sits, alongside a rapporteur and the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer – who looks positively bored. I sort of feel sorry for him. There are rows of desks for the 196 countries of the world, with two seats of each. Then maybe another 300 seats for NGO representatives at the back of the room, which quickly filled up. For people who arrived late (like myself and about 50 others) we can sit on the floor in the corridors. There are also far too many lights on – a large star-shaped arrangement of decorative lightbulbs, crystals and mirrors adorns the ceiling.

Continue reading ‘Covering the UN Climate Talks, in Bonn: The ‘pre-sessionals’’