Archive - Dec 2009

-- By Jon Isham, a professor of economics and environmental studies at Middlebury College.

Just off the plane from Copenhagen, little sleep under my belt, I’m full of ideas for how to ratchet up the climate movement, big time. Over a late-night beer this week, Jessy Tolkan, coordinator of Energy Action, perfectly captured what we have to do. For the moment, I’m calling it 10X.

We're Not Done Yet: Although a last minute deal did emerge from the Copenhagen climate talks, it lacks targets and timetables for reducing global warming pollution and it is certainly not the kind of "real deal" that global grassroots have been clamoring for. We will now look at the best roads forward. Part of that includes working within the Congressional timeline, which has seen significant updates as far as both health care and financial regulatory reform.

As you've probably already heard, our world leaders failed to deliver a critically needed deal to tackle global warming in Copenhagen. Their failure highlights more than ever the importance of our work together at 1Sky.

I just returned from a grueling two weeks in Copenhagen, where I filed video reports daily on the progress of the talks, and worked relentlessly with dozens of 1Sky allies to leverage our power here in the United States to push the Obama administration to help advance the negotiations.

This will be my last blog from Copenhagen. I fly out at 7am tomorrow and I can’t wait to see my family after a very long and intense two weeks.

Everyone around me who is locked out of the negotiations and watching the speeches continuing inside the Bella Center seems exhausted, tense, frustrated, and depressed. Many faces -- including my own -- are tear-stained.

President Obama reportedly got off Air Force One and moved immediately into a Heads of State meeting. From there, he moved to address the plenary in what appeared to be a serious, determined and frustrated mood (read full text of his speech here or watch the video). He said he did not come to talk - that he came to act. And that we have to come together to address a common threat.

-- By 1Sky board member and Climate Solutions Policy Director KC Golden.

The world is aghast. Its fate, it seems, “lies in the hands of a few U.S. Senators,” as Tuvalu negotiator Ian Fry lamented in his plea for a real, science-driven deal here in Copenhagen.

This morning began with some breaking news from the stalled negotiations to save life on planet Earth in Copenhagen: thanks to the advocacy of climate activists like you and hundreds of thousands of people around the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States would join others in securing a $100 billion fund to help developing countries cope with climate change -- provided that an agreement can be reached on a “substantive political accord” that would include transparency in tracking emissions cuts by major developing countries.

By Colorado Climate Precinct Captain Amy Guinan.

Hello!

The international unity and shared purpose in Copenhagen has inspired me profoundly. From my conversations, the marches and rallies in the streets, and the discussions and presentations at the People's Summit, I have seen that a powerful unifying theme is emerging in the climate discussion – and that is Climate Justice. The rallying cry is for, and from, the people who will most suffer from climate change -- not for business or economic safeguards, but for justice ("lesser" developed countries are not the ones primarily dumping carbon in the air, yet climate change will hit them the hardest). This is refreshingly different from what I expected in the climate discussion.

UPDATE 12/17

Well it seems that 1Sky and Jim Inhofe were both wrong yesterday. Of course, our mistake was regarding whether the Oklahoma senator was going to Copenhagen and was not a misunderstanding of science that threatens millions of lives worldwide.

First of all, as if there wasn't enough confusion and despair here in Copenhagen, the Danes may have thrown yet another wrench into the COP-15 process. After replacing Danish Minister Connie Hedegaard as the presiding officer of COP-15, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has apparently introduced a new 'Danish text' into the negotiations -- essentially circumventing the established negotiating channels and texts prepared in an all-night session last night. Here’s a tense exchange between a Chinese delegate and Rasmussen.