It’s Getting Hot In Here

These mountains in the depths of district of Chamba in the state of Himachal Pradesh (India) used to have a lot more snow.

In recent times I’ve been reading a lot about climate change not being real. First the climate gate scandal followed by the many articles attacking the IPCC for incorrectly publishing information on the glaciers melting in the Himalayas by 2035. Climate scientists, economics, politicians and business persons are being interviewed left, right and centre.

The question on the lips of the public is – what is the truth? The truth is such an interesting thing – where more often than not, it is a human tendency for a person to believe what they want to hear.

I pose a question to all people who are jumping on the bandwagon of denying the Himalayan glacier melt due to an error made by the IPCC, and denying the existence of climate change. How many of you have been to the Himalayas? How many of you have spoken to the citizens in the mountains of India and Nepal who have spent their whole lives there?

Very few of you – if any. Continue reading ‘Are the Himalayan Glaciers melting? Why not see for yourself?’

I wrote this poem on new years and thought I would share it:

The morning that followed
Our message was echoed.
A failure! A failure!
My heart in despair.

The science lost, funding tossed,
No commitment in sight.
A stench of injustice,
The result: A failed plight.

“What more did you expect?”
Accusing voices chimed,
“Your efforts are a waste
Of carbon, cash and time”.

Continue reading ‘Poem: How will we remember Copenhagen?’

My favourite blog from the last few weeks came from Leela Raina of the Indian Youth Climate Network. Tracking one of the Indian negotiators at the UN negotiations in Bangkok, she came up with eleven cruelly funny reasons for “Why I Shouldn’t Date an Annex-1 Guy”. You can see the full link at http://www.whatswiththeclimate.org/2009/10/07/why-i-shouldnt-date-an-annex-1-guy/

Now I’m a happily married man with three beautiful children, but I still feel the need to defend the good name of at least some of us Annex-1 guys. So I’ve compiled a list of ten good reasons “Why Annex-1 Guys Can Be A Good Date After All” in response to Leela’s:

1.      He is not willing to COMMIT.

We’re not afraid of commitments. We Europeans have already opened our hearts, and we’re ready to go even further if shown a little more love. We’re not alone. Our Japanese buddies have shown they’re in the mood for love, and after Bangkok nobody could doubt how serious those Norwegian guys are.

And we’re looking for a long-term relationship. We’re not just after a five year fling, or a relationship that ends in 2020 – we’re offering the best years of our lives, right up to 2050.

Continue reading ‘Why Annex 1 Guys Can Be A Good Date After All’

Who knows what it feels like to go hungry for a meal, a day, or a few days? Probably most of us. But who knows what it feels like to go hungry for a week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks?

Very few of us.

When I think of people going hungry for weeks on end, I think of the people on this planet who are living in drought ridden land which won’t yield the crops they have been waiting for. I think of those people who are thwarted by the changing monsoon patterns who can’t predict when to plant their seeds. I think of people who have been victims to a hurricane or flood and have loss access to food and water. I think of the victims of climate change: past, present and future.

But that’s not all.

When I think of people going hungry for weeks on end I also think of determination, dedication, vision and sacrifice. I think of the hunger strikes lead by Gandhi in India’s fight for independence from a British oppression. I think of civil society rising up and reclaiming their power and asking for what is just, what is right. I think of non-violence, of peace and of love.

And now, I think of the Climate Justice Fast.

Continue reading ‘Fasting for Justice on Climate Change’

If there is anything I’ve learnt is if you want to achieve anything one day, then you are going to have to make that day today.

Many people talk about one day when we’ve stopped dangerous climate change, however again I’m not sure if people realise what it will take politically, technologically, infrastructure wise, values wise. It will require a whole new type of thinking, a whole new heart, a whole new world.

That one day needs to start today.

We will only make these changes if we start living our day to day lives in the way we want to change the world. Through our physical actions, our values, our choices as active consumers, citizens and community members. If we start this today, then one day our children and grandchildren will look to us with gratitude. Just as young Indians today honour the generation that struggled for our independence, and Westerners pay their respects to the enormous sacrifices made during the great wars, one day we too will be thanked, for doing whatever it took to ensure that our descendants on this earth could have dreams of their own.

However I know that to achieve extraordinary results, we must be willing to do extraordinary things. To inspire a generation, we ourselves must be inspirational. We cannot afford to wait around for miracles. We must be the change we need to see. Continue reading ‘If we want to stop climate change one day…’

Last year my grandfather told me that you get a revolution when people are pushed to the extreme.

Photo credit: Benka Morvan

This means that climate change one of the hardest issues to act upon, because although climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity, by the time we are pushed to an extreme it will be too late. Especially in the countries that need to take the largest steps.

Does that mean we can’t create a revolution?

No it doesn’t.

I believe that humans are not only motivated by fear and despair; but are also motivated by love. And it is love for their children, love for animals and love humanity that is driving the change today. Continue reading ‘A Revolution of Love’

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.

On the 2^nd of June India stood up once again to question the science stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), one of the top scientific bodies to prove the existence of climate change. And although it sounds ridiculous, if you look deeper into the Indian argument there is some legitimacy. Or so I believe.

Now when we hear that the IPCC science is being challenged, we automatically assume that means that the challenging party thinks that climate change isn’t happening. That is not the case here. India signed off on the IPCC because it accepted the reality of climate change as described by the report.

So what is India challenging?

The IPCC reports, besides only talking about the impacts of climate change, also state a pathway of emissions reductions for developed countries required to limit emissions to a point of 450ppm equivalent. This scenario gives us a 50% chance of avoiding disastrous climate change, defined as a limit to global temperature increase of 2 degrees. The pathway they stated for a 450ppm scenario was that developed countries need to reduce emissions by 25-40% based on 1990 emissions levels by 2020, and a “significant” deviation from business as usual in developing countries. Continue reading ‘Is India questioning the science?’

In yesterday’s interaction Mr Pradipto Ghosh’s, an Indian negotiator, the major message was that these negotiations need to ensure that India can continue its growth.

I agree with Mr Ghosh’s comment. India does need to “grow”. With the largest population of people living below the world’s poverty line, with 400 million people who can’t access commercial energy, with major issues social justice, we cannot afford to agree to a deal that will impede on our development. Before we tackle problems of tomorrow we need to tackle the problems of today.

However in my opinion the detail is in the definition of growth and development. Will it be through lots of big dirty coal power plants? Or clean renewables? Will it be through excessive consumption by the upper class? Or through increasing the living standards amongst those poorest in India? The devil is in the detail. Our growth needs to ensure energy security, food security, water security and equity within our own country. We can’t continue growth in our business as usual style. Continue reading ‘My first date with the Indian negotiators in Bonn’

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’