It’s Getting Hot In Here

The typhoon season is technically over in South East Asia, which gives us some time to start thinking over what has happened over the past few months. A lot was learned during 2007 in the disaster management and disaster risk reduction field. Some events showed us that we are improving in how we respond to extreme weather events; some showed that there still a lot that we need to figure out. Vietnam, where I live, was affected by five typhoons in 2007, and some of the worst floods ever experienced in the history of the country.

In the midst of record-breaking statistics, one reality became evident to me. While much has improved in curbing the economic losses of disaster and the damage to national infrastructure, the vulnerable and most affected groups in every storm continue to be the poor and the marginalized. Issues of environmental justice continue to shock me in South East Asia, and sometimes I feel lost and discouraged. While I know this reality is not unique to South East Asia, the projections for the region are particularly worrisome. Asia, the most populated continent in the world, is already experiencing increased intensity of severe weather events with greater risk of flooding, particularly in megadeltas and coastal areas. This increased intensity is a deadly mix considering the growing pressure over natural resources, particularly freshwater supplies, and the unsustainable development patterns, especially land use.

Continue reading ‘The people behind the dike: concerns from the corners of Asia’

This year the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the developing world has set new records- though, setting new records for highest floods, most damage, most killed, etc, etc, seems to be common, and the media stops paying attention once the story becomes old. But for those affected, the real impacts of climate change are more than just another story on the news, and the urgency of action has a whole different meaning. When disasters hit, you realize how vulnerable we are and how little everything else matters. We often talk about the impacts of climate change, but not often we listen to those stories.

I write from central Vietnam. The provinces of Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh were hit by a powerful typhoon two weeks ago, typhoon Lekima, and reconstruction is underway. People here are afraid. Lekima was the fifth typhoon to hit Vietnam this year. Farmers and villagers know that ‘more frequent and severe” weather events is not something on the IPCC reports, it is the reality killing their children. Lekima hit at the end of the harvesting season, and most crops are lost. We don’t really know what is going to happen after the food stocks run out in two months. For those communities that lost everything, the government and some NGOs have provided rice and instant noodles to fight hunger for the moment. But nobody knows how long it will take for thousands of people to recover their livelihoods. We have finished cleaning up the schools, so children can hopefully go back to school by next week- but most of the schools’ materials have been destroyed, and it will take weeks until new materials arrive. Meanwhile, the government is trying to assess how to deal with the damages to infrastructure and avoid having to request a loan from a global financial institution. While those polluting engage in rhetorical discussions over how to reduce their emissions, many countries in the developing world are paying for the consequences - ironically, many are having to get to loans from rich countries to pay for the cost of climate change. People here wonder when the next typhoon will hit, and wonder if there is any point in reconstruction.

Continue reading ‘Dispatches from the South: When Disasters Hit’

Although the Bush administration pledged to become a global leader in fighting climate change a few months ago, Mr. Bush is already failing to show the most basic skills (and manners) for global leadership. While most Heads of State of the world are gathering at the United Nations General Assembly this week to discuss how to combat climate change and create momentum for the upcoming meeting of the UNFCCC in Bali, Mr. Bush has decided not to attend. How does he plan to exercise global leadership when he refuses to engage in dialogue? That’s not clear to me. Refusing the invitation of the UN Secretary General is a sign of unwillingness to engage in constructive dialogue - but that’s not new to the administration. Instead, Mr. Bush has called 16 countries to a private meeting in Washington, DC to discuss his agenda on global warming. In order words, he has hand picked countries to come to the table, and said that the only way he will talk about global warming is if he sets the rules.

But to make things even worse, the little action on fighting climate change that Mr. Bush has available to is flawed. Last week, a report was published stressing the weaknesses and limited impact of the US Climate Change Science Program, particularly on informing decision-making (really? uninformed decision-making in the US?…nahhh). So, an uninformed president will try to show the 16 nations attending the private meeting how to solve the climate crisis. Perhaps it’s best to just let Mr. Bush play leader alone, and try to get the rest of the US to set the stage for real leadership in 2009. Hopefully, this ‘global leadership’ will not get on the way of the good spirit and willingness to speak of future action for stable climate uniting Heads of State in New York. The Heads of State gathered in New York should know that, regardless of what the Administration says, the emperor has no clothes.

A message from Erin Kenzie, of SustainUS:

The SustainUS Agents of Change program is now accepting applications for its delegation to the UN Climate Negotiations, COP13, happening in Bali this December. COP13 will determine the future of international policy on climate change, and youth must make their voices heard. The SustainUS delegation, comprised of key leaders in the youth climate movement, will have the unique opportunity to represent American (and US-based) youth at the COP. Delegates will work with each other and with international youth in advance of the conference to educate themselves, develop policy priorities, acquire skills in effective lobbying, and engage the broader youth population in a conversation about international climate policy.

Please download the application to learn more about this amazing opportunity or visit the SustainUS website for more information about our organization. The application deadline is June 17th!

The next meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change/Kyoto Protocol will be taking place in Bali, Indonesia in December. Bali will determine the future international policy on climate change, and youth must make their voice heard. Between now and December, youth from across the globe will organize to bring a sense of urgency and rationality to the meeting. The future of the UNFCCC process is up for debate, and with it the future of international action to stop climate change. If the UNFCCC cannot respond to the urgent conclusions contained in the report of the IPCC, the ability of the international mechanism to respond to global challenges might become irrelevant.

Continue reading ‘The Road to Bali: So much at stake’

Science Magazine just published a peer-reviewed article with some scary findings. The southern ocean has slowed its natural process of carbon absorption. The reason: climate change and ozone depletion. The breakdown in efficiency of these sinks was a expected, but not for another 40 years.

Because of feed-back mechanisms, the decline of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean carbon sink means that atmospheric CO2 levels may be higher in future than predicted. Continue reading ‘The Oceans Have Had Enough’

The fifthteen session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) will meet at UN Headquarters in New York next week and youth will take the floor to lay out the future that we envision. As this implementation cycle, CSD-15 will review progress in the area of Energy for Sustainable Development; Industrial Development; Air pollution/ Atmosphere; and Climate Change.

In preparation, Youth climate leaders from around the world will converge on the Youth Energy Blast in New York on April 29, 2007 at Columbia University with the mission of sharing their skills and preparing for the 15th Session UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD-15). Continue reading ‘Youth prepare for climate and development negotiations’

As biofuels start making their way into national energy supply, we need to start thinking of ways to promote them in a sustainable and rational manner. The BioenergyWiki is a new collaborative website that provides information on all aspects of bioenergy and biofuels! The site is a *wiki,* which means that users can easily add to and edit the
website content and develop a shared repository of knowledge.  The site is working to provide information on everything from international policy on renewable fuels
like to ethanol to information on new “energy crops” like jatropha, as
well as on the challenges of ensuring sustainability.

If you are already knowledgeable about an aspect of bioenergy, please come and share what you know with others! If you are not knowlegeableyet, visit the Wiki now! Continue reading ‘Bringing sustainability into Bioenergy- Check out the BioenergyWiki’

The United Nations Security Council, the supreme global body on issues of security and peace, will debate climate change for the first time on April 17. The United Kingdom wants the issue to be considered a matter of global concern, and will have Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett preside over the debate. In March, when the UK announced their intention to bring the issue to the agenda,China and Russia expressed some opposition to the holding the debate.Meanwhile, the United States had no opposition to considering the issue at the Security Council.
In preparation for the debate, the UK has circulated a concept paper arguing that climate change could provoke new wars, change borders, disrupt energy supplies and force mass migration. The paper outlines six areas where climate change could affect global security: border disputes, migration, energy supplies, other resource shortages, societal stress and humanitarian crises–with some estimates that up to 200 million people could be displaced by the middle of the century. (Image source: AP)

This morning the IPCC, the supreme global scientific body on climate change with scientists from all over the world, released their 4th assessment report examining the expected impacts of climate change based on all science available. The report stresses on the potential extinction of hundreds of species, the increased risk of coastal damage, extreme weather, and implications of different degree scenarios to food supply and health. Ironically enough, the report also finds that countries in northern areas, the countries emitting the majority greenhouse gases, are likely to enjoy of better agriculture and other benefits due to warmer winters. No wonder why so many industrialized countries are doing as little as possible to stop what will be a disaster for poor and vulnerable communities in the world.

Next month, the IPCC will be releasing its updated report on options to mitigate climate change. Hopefully, out of empathy, those who need to listen will stop thinking of their pockets and realize that we have one climate and one chance to do things right. Is anybody listening? I truly hope so.

You can find the full report at www.ipcc.ch, or follow press coverage by most major media sources worldwide. (Image source: NASA)