It’s Getting Hot In Here

In a press conference with the Indian delegation, Shyam Saran described his desires both inside and outside of the UN Framework. Particularly exciting was his call for a global platform for collaborative research on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Saying that the private companies cannot solve this problem on its own, he called for joint research conducted by countries like US, UK, EU, Japan and Australia with high high levels of both development and technical capabilities, but also integrating Indian researchers.

He made reference to recent concerns by developed nations regarding IPR protection in the face of climate change, and emphasized that innovators should be rewarded, and any architecture for technology  transfer should integrate buying patents or paying for this technology at fair prices by international agencies to ensure that creators get credti and Southern nations get low cost technology.

Joint research can begin outside of the UN framework — in our universities, in our companies, in our NGOs. Young people, and our connections to our own professors and mentors can be the link between nations. Many of us are already doing innovative work and research together, but many more of us can demonstrate how global collaboration could work. If you’d like to join us, please comment here with how you can help.

Ha empezado una nueva campaña que busca llevar la voz Latina al centro del dialogo internacional sobre el cambio climatico. 350Dominicana, inspirada por y aliada a 350.org, tiene como objetivo la organizacion de una cumbre regional en America Latina y el Caribe con fines de dialogar sobre el limite de 350 partes por millon de dioxido carbono que tiene la humanidad para prevenir daños catastroficos del cambio climatico en los siguientes 20 años. Para Republica Dominicana, estos daños incluirian:

1) La perdida de gran parte del sector turistico y las zonas urbanas por la subida del nivel del mar;

2) La perdida de recursos hidricos y agricolas por las sequias, la evaporacion, y tormentas tropicales mas intensas; y

3) El incremento de las enfermedades infecciosas.

La campaña 350Dominicana busca que el Presidente Leonel Fernandez proponga a la region una Cumbre Regional Sobre el Cambio Climatico que discuta las consecuencias de no actuar suficientemente contra el cambio climatico a nivel mundial. La Cumbre buscaria formar un consenso regional con principios y estrategias politicas que presionaran al resto del mundo a comprometerse a acciones justas y que puedan prevenir efectos catastroficos del cambio climatico.

Vea el video de introduccion: http://350dominicana.org/2009/06/07/350-dominicana-%C2%A1unete-ya/

Firme la peticion: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/compromiso-regional-definido-para-cumbre-sobre-cambio-climtico-en-copenhague-suena-la-alarma-firma

Suscribete al Boletin: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cmFxTUwwWUVMSS1DRjJIZEhIelZYSGc6MA..

Continue reading ’350Dominicana: Creando Una Voz Latina Contra El Cambio Climatico’

You take one step forward and one step back, and although you feel that there is a lot of movement you haven’t really gone anywhere.

In the past few days I’ve spoken to many delegates. From Thailand, Swaziland, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Zambia and the list goes on. And as I ask them about how they feel the negotiations are going, they all sigh and shake their head. Frustration is in the air as we hit midway of the second week.

The negotiations aren’t moving forward. People are feeling irritated. And I too am questioning what I am doing here.

Delegates, especially from the developing nations are once again feeling fed up with the continual talking, and insertion of more meetings. The Philippines delegate recently mentioned that despite her being away for a couple of years, the countries were discussing the same things. Every day people rush around, are running late and are stressed out. And as the negotiations “ramp up” more media arrives every day, reporting on the movement and noise as nothing moves forward.

Did you know they’ve inserted yet another two meetings in Bonn and Barcelona before Copenhagen?

I sometimes wonder if we’ll ever get to the deal we need. Most delegates tell me not to expect the “perfect” treaty. Which is the nice way of saying don’t expect it to be strong. However do say that they feel we will strengthen it after the Copenhagen treaty will be signed. I guess what this is teaching me is at the end of the day, we need to pressure our governments and decision makers on the ground back in our Capitals. We need to push our movements and prove that the public, their constituencies, care about the issue. It is also teaching me not to rely on our governments, and to be ready to accept that they may come out with a crap deal and we’ll have to “stuff” them and create the world that we want to anyway.

We need to be the change to create the change.

This Monday, people throghout the world came together at Peru’s consulates and embassies demanding an end to the systematic genocide of Peru’s indigenous populations.  This tragedy was brought about by the disastrous “Peru Trade Promotion Agreement” which stripped land rights from indigenous communities and opened them up for foreign investment resulting in widespread oil and gas drilling and logging.

Iternational trade treaties should be targets of groups working on international climate mitigation. As we have seen when Mexico signed on to NAFTA, free trade agreements export our unsustainable lifestyle, drive (mostly indigenous) coummunities into poverty, and deepen the destruction of previously protected ecosystems. All of these problems contribute to the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and destroy precious cultural know-how that has the potential to guide us to implement more sustainable versions of development.

Many groups and journalists showed up at the Washington D.C. protest (organized by Amazon Watch) including the Energy Action Coalition, Campus Progress, Friends of the Earth and the Quixote Center.

Check out this video about the protest in Washington D.C. and make sure to leave comments with links to media from protests you attended!

Tommaso Boggia is the Climate Advocacy Associate at Campus Progress. Check out his other blog posts about the American Clean Energy And Security Act on FundingourFuture.campusprogress.org

Cross-posted from: here

This is from someone I know who had a conversation with Maryland Congressman Paul Sarbanes at an last night.

1. Leadership (I think Pelosi and/or Waxman) called a ‘whip” meeting for 5:30 pm tonight to talk about getting the bill passed on the floor. Sarbanes is going to that meeting.

2. He said it is a 50/50 chance that the Ag committee will even get to mark up the bill. Peterson is trying to cut a deal and if he succeeds then the committee will just vote once without any amendments.

3. The other interesting thing he said is that folks are doing political calculations about passing health care before climate change. There is a chance that the house won’t have time for both issues before July recess and he said the feeling is that voters would be most upset if health care doesn’t pass. Continue reading ’3 “Insider” Developments’

Hilary here, blogging live from the Rayburn House Office building, room 2322, where 18 young people have been waiting in line for the Hearing on Allocations since 5:45am. Dedicated young voters are rallying to attend today’s hearing on ACESA, demanding 100% auction of pollution credits, not free permits for polluters. We are making t-shirts, so that our message of “Free Allocations Hurt Future Generations” and “100% AUCTION” is clear. Some students are having a Bake Sale to raise money to buy off a politician- since apparently that is the only way to get language in federal legislation. Peebles wil be updating the blog as the morning progresses- and you can follow #powershift09 on twitter for hearing updates!

Continue reading ‘Youth to Congress: Bold Climate Policy, NOT Corporate Giveaways!’

If G-rated is suitable for children, Canada’s climate change plan is far from it. Up until today, Canada had committed to, and I quote “X %” of emission reductions by the year 2020. In one sarcasm-induced word: Awesome.

Mr. Michael Martin, Canada’s lead negotiator, joked at our last meeting that, “The X stands for 79.2% reductions.” Part of me wishes he hadn’t been joking. The stark reality is that Canada is suggesting that it commit to just under -2.7% below 1990 levels by 2020. To put this in perspective, that is less than half the size of our original Kyoto Protocol commitment, with triple the length of time frame.

I am unbelievably keen to read the text of the submission that Canada made to the UN Secretariat that explains why Canada thinks this target is a good idea. I certainly can’t think of a reason on my own, though I do trust that the government works in the best interest of the people, so this submission must have something solid in it to back this up. It must, right?

Continue reading Canada’s Targets: X-RATED?

Cross-posted from: HERE

I’d also like to add in that I recognize this bill needs to be a helluva lot stronger in many areas, and that it’s short-term target is not what the science demands. However, the organizations that wrote this letter have to keep political gravity in mind. I intend to have a column out by the end of the month about why environmentalists should still fight for this bill despite its flaws.

So environmental groups sent a letter to Pelosi regarding 3 ways in which the climate bill can be strengthened. One interesting coincidence to note, is that I had been hearing about this strategy for about 10 days of now of 3 ways the national groups were coming up with to strengthen the bill. One of those ways was to increase the Renewable Electricity Standard(RES) from 20% to 30%, with energy efficiency gains built into the RES. Continue reading ‘Letter to Pelosi’

Thought y’all would be interested in checking out this invitation from some of the world’s top climbers to get someplace high on October 24. If you’re like me, the mountains are a big inspiration for doing the work that we do, whether it’s the outrage of MTR that motivates you to protest or some time unwinding in the wilderness that refuels you for the struggles ahead. Please pass it on:

Dear fellow climbers –

We have access to parts of the world few of our fellow citizens ever see, and we have a particular set of skills not many share. We’re asking you to bring those two things to bear next Oct. 24 in a one-day project that we hope will have some measurable impact on changing the world.

Because you’ve been up high, you’re aware that global warming is fast melting the world’s glaciers.  In fact, scientists who have drilled glacial cores around the world tell us this melt is growing ever faster, to the point where in the lifetimes of all of us it may endanger not only the alpine world but also the billions of people who live downstream and depend on these glaciers for drinking and irrigation. So far, though, the political response to climate change has been too slow.

Continue reading ‘Invitation to Action from World’s Top Climbers’

The true cost of oil

At least 84 indigenous people have been killed fighting to defend their traditional territories from oil exploration. As part of a free trade agreement with the US, Peru has altered their constitution and implemented new laws stripping indigenous tribes of their land rights and opening their lands to oil companies. In response there has been a massive uprising for the past month with tribes around the country shutting down major highways, rivers, oil installations, trains, and other critical infrastructure. To put it bluntly these new laws are a death sentence for the indigenous of the Peruvian Amazon.

It is often easy to get caught up in the abstractions of climate change, with our parts per millions and international treaties. This is not an abstraction. This is life and death for thousands of people. And may I add it is death being fueled by our addiction to oil. If we are serious about climate justice we need to provide solidarity to those resisting genocide in Peru.

Contact the Peruvian Embassy at:

Address:
1700 Massachusetts Ave., N.W
Washington D.C. 20036
Driving Directions
Telephone: (202) 833-9860 to 9869
Fax: (202) 659-8124
Email: webadmin@embassyofperu.us

Or organize a demo at one of their consulates around the country. They are located in:

DC, Miami, New York, LA, Chicago, SF, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, and Denver.