15
June 2009 - Bonn, Germany — As another round
of Bonn climate talks limps to a close,
and the UN Climate Summit to be held in
Copenhagen, Denmark, in December this year
draws closer and closer, it’s a good opportunity
to take a look at the progress that’s been
made so far…
On the plus side, almost
everything is now on the table. On the minus
side, almost everything now on the table
is still on the table, and doesn’t look
likely to be going anywhere fast. In fact,
one draft document that was 50 pages long
at the start of the Bonn meeting is now
closer to 300 pages long. Given that one
of the purposes of this meeting was to narrow
options down, it’s safe to assume that ‘progress’,
therefore, has not been significant.
On the other hand, money
from the industrialised world to help developing
countries to switch to clean energy, keep
tropical rainforests intact and adapt to
unavoidable climate impacts is still missing
from the table. But the biggest space of
all is where the robust, effective emissions
cuts for industrialised countries should
be. The science demands that, as a group,
these countries need to cut emissions to
40 percent below 11000 levels by 2020. So
far they have offered - at most – 15 percent.
Unless they raise their game considerably
over the next six months, the world will
be heading for a global temperature rise
of 3° C and the distinct possibility
of irreversible climate impacts.
We can’t carry on like
this and still hope to get the outcome the
planet needs at the Copenhagen Climate Summit.
Something has to change.
Leaders need apply
The climate change issue
has to be passed right to the top of the
political ‘food chain’. Heads of governments
must take responsibility for protecting
the climate and, in so doing, protecting
the planet and its people.
Think about it. There’s
probably not a single ministry or government
department that remains untouched by this
issue; energy, environment, foreign affairs,
treasury – the list goes on. And every single
one of them will have its own perspectives
and priorities. In every capital city around
the world, the person who has the ‘big picture’
- the person who sits at the desk where
the buck ultimately stops - needs to stand
up, step up and lead.
Next chance for action
Next month, the heads of the world’s richest
countries will get together in Italy for
the G8 Summit. This will be an historical
opportunity for these leaders to break the
deadlock and send a strong signal of intent
by agreeing deep cuts in emissions and putting
money on the table for developing countries.
In December around 15,000
assorted politicians, negotiators, journalists,
observers, caterers and cleaners will set
up camp in the Copenhagen Bellacentre for
the two week Climate Summit. We expect world
leaders to be there, acting in our name
and taking responsibility for our future.
+ More
The campaign that launched
1000 geeks
International — If saving
our climate was a game of poker and all
the various stakeholders - our heads of
state, the energy industry, environmentalists,
etc - were players, there would be one player
at the table who hasn't yet shown their
cards. The hold-out in this particular game
is the Information Technology (IT) Industry,
a player who is sitting on a lot of chips
in a high stakes game, despite holding a
winning hand.
Don't blame the game,
blame the player
The IT Industry has already boasted about
its potential contributions to cutting carbon
emissions: more than 15 percent by 2020
- globally. To put that in perspective the
emissions cuts needed globally to avoid
the worst consequences of climate change
are at least 50 percent by 2050, making
the IT Industry no small-time player in
determining the fate of our climate - better
yet, our entire planet.
Why is the IT industry
holding back? They stand to gain huge profits,
and they can win global love and admiration
by developing and offering technology solutions
to cutting global emissions. They ought
to be lobbying hard for the tough restrictions
that will put their services in demand.
While governments around the world debate
climate policies the IT industry is playing
its cards close to its chest instead of
advocating for science-based greenhouse
gas emissions cuts. This is no way to play
the game! They should be betting big, not
getting ready to fold.
Show us your hand
Nobody likes a hold-out.
So, we're talking to you Nokia, Cisco, Sun
Microsystems, Intel and Fujistu. You too
- Sharp, IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and
Toshiba. And don't think you're getting
off easy either Microsoft and Sony. It's
time for your CEOs to lay their cards on
the table. This includes: not only providing
IT climate solutions, but also accurate
measurements of the positive impact those
solutions will have overall. Using your
influence to lobby for a deal at the upcoming
climate negotiations in Copenhagen at the
end of this year, which will increase demand
for IT climate solutions by the rest of
the economy. Taking steps to reduce your
own emissions and increasing your use of
renewable energies.
Get on with it! - you
say?
Who will push the IT Industry to lay its
cards on the table? Greenpeace? Nope. Techies.
Techies are the IT Industry's main constituency:
they are its employees, customers and fans,
and when they collectively demand climate
leadership, and greener gadgets, and futuristic,
awe-inspiring IT climate solutions from
the CEOs of major IT corporations the industry
will sit up and take notice. That is why
the Cool IT Challenge is running on techie
power.
Greenpeace has scored
the CEOs of all the major IT corporations
mentioned above on their climate leadership
and is now inviting techies, as well as
activists and concerned citizens, to place
their bets on the CEOs most likely to improve
their scores. Their performance will be
monitored closely in the lead up to the
UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, as this
summit presents an opportunity for the IT
Industry to really lay down their cards
and use their influence to push for a positive
outcome at the climate negotiations taking
place there. Greenpeace will regularly reevaluate
the CEOs performance, update their scores
accordingly and allow Cool IT Challenge
bets to be adjusted.
The IT Industry is holding
winning cards when it comes to our climate:
influence, innovation and potential - tell
them to pony up. There is too much at stake
for them to fail to rise to this challenge.
