In just two days, hundreds
of country delegations will once again come
together for the UN Climate Summit – this
time in Cancun, Mexico. Last year many of
you took action, joining the 17 million
people demanding action by heads of state
on a climate deal. We didn’t get that deal
last year and to be honest, we do not expect
that deal will be completed this year either.
So you ask, what can we expect from the
summit this year? I’m not a climate expert
but I know some, here is what I’ve gathered
so far.
Don’t expect to see
Barry in Cancun
This year will not see almost every head
of state clearing their schedule to fly
into Cancun to feign efforts for a climate
deal, like last year. Mexico has made a
concerted effort to reach out to all leaders
and their governments to make this process
as inclusive and attended as possible. We
are expecting quite a few heads of state
although not the same kind of wide spread
attendance we saw last year. But, don’t
let that fool you, that doesn’t mean they
can’t make serious progress at this meeting.
Delegations also have the power to get on
with placing the building blocks we need
for a global deal here. At the end of this
meeting we might not have a photo of all
of the leaders of the developed world hand
shaking on stage, but we could still have
what we need to move on to a global deal
that will combat climate change and pave
the way for an energy revolution.
No bow on the climate
deal by the holidays
It’s clear that the fair, ambitious and
legally binding deal that we need won’t
be completely wrapped up by the end of this
meeting. Last year, 17 million of us demanded
that the deal promised in 2007 in Bali be
delivered at its promised date in Copenhagen.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen. We do
not expect that they will deliver that deal
in its entirety this year either. Hopefully
what they will do is nail down the properly
constructed building blocks to make sure
that deal happens and happens the right
way.
This meeting is about
choice
Right now, a clean energy future is a choice
that is still within reach. An international
climate change agreement could catalyse
and help pay for a world with clean, secure
and independent means of energy guaranteed
for generations to come. It could keep natural
and ancient forests standing and forest
peoples thriving, as well as protecting
many forest species and helping to stop
catastrophic climate change.
Governments have to
fess up and acknowledge the emission cuts
they have promised so far are not enough,
make the right decisions on the structure
of an agreement and decide how they provide
new money for developing country action
and adaptation. They have to agree how start
to loosen the ties on money to stop deforestation
in developing countries and close the loopholes
around rules for forests and land use that
could increase emissions from industrialized
countries.
In order to make this
happen, governments must agree to a number
of building blocks as I mentioned earlier.
Here is what we need countries to do in
Cancun:
reiterate their goal
to keep global temperature rise well below
2°C, and review this number in light
of the fact that a 1.5° rise will have
dangerous impacts;
acknowledge that the
current emission reduction commitments will
not allow us to avoid dangerous climate
change - and agree on a process to increase
those commitments;
set up a Climate Fund;
agree a work plan to decide on innovative
sources for long-term climate finance;
establish a mechanism
to tackle emissions from deforestation and
ensure this mechanism protects both biodiversity
and indigenous peoples' rights.
+ More
Breaking tradition in
Cancun
Blogpost by Jess Miller
- November 30, 2010 at 2:54 Add comment
The first day of the COP16 has come to close.
There was lots of traffic, security, speeches,
ceremonies, all following the normal first
day traditions of a UN climate meeting.
For the next two weeks though, what I hope
to see is countries breaking tradition and
making the crucial decisions on how to combat
climate change. Decision that will build
a foundation for and energy revoliution
and a great and safe future.
The most important decisions
to be made in Cancun, and some of their
implications, are:
The choice to keep temperature
well below 2C. Rising temperatures will
have impacts on the food you eat, as crops
and fish will suffer if we go over that
limit. It will also determine how many wars
over energy, food, water and other supplies
we will have. If you like to eat and don’t
like wars, this is an easy one.
The choice on a mechanism
to stop deforestation and freeing up the
money to do so. This one, apart from being
critical to keep temperature from rising,
will also determine if we’ll have a chance
to find cures to many illnesses, which are
now hidden in the forests. It will also
mean life and death for animals and plants.
If you like jaguars, trees and to be healthy,
consider it a no brainer.
Another choice they
have is on how to provide the $100 billion
a year already promised in financial support
to fund measures like the deployment of
clean energies in developing countries.
It will influence the whole global economy,
now dependent on finite, dangerous and polluting
sources like oil or coal and determine if
countries will power their development with
expensive imports or rely on no-cost fuels
as the wind or the sun. The jobs and salaries
we’ll have, the quality of air we’ll breathe
will all be influenced by this decision.
It’s about waking up in the morning to blue
skies and fresh air, or not.
The last fundamental
thing they have to decide here is if they
are serious about the decisions they make.
If they are, they will agree to have all
of these agreements written in a protocol,
with legal weight. We have to sign legal
documents every time we rent a house, open
a bank account or get a phone, and if we
don’t follow the rules, there are consequences.
Why shouldn’t they have to do the same with
decisions that will impact our future?
A strict and effective
limit to temperature rise, zero deforestation,
no to coal, to go beyond oil, an energy
revolution and to make all this more than
words is what they must decide on while
in Cancun. What would you choice be?
João Talocchi
is an energy campaigner at Greenpeace International
and is currently at COP16 in Cancun, Mexico
