tagged w/ G77
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The Rich vs. Poor divide continued in Copenhagen today as delegates from African nations staged a short boycott. The debate is primarily over whether or not to keep the Kyoto treaty, which legally binds developed countries to make emissions cuts but doesn't ask the same of developing countries. Negotiators for developed countries want those same regulations placed on developing countries (with an eye towards China, especially). They're back to negotiating , however, which is a good thing as there are only four days until the bigwigs fly in hoping to sign something.
Over the weekend thousands of protesters took to the streets of Copenhagen and on Saturday more than 900 were arrested. Here's some video from the festivities.
Leah Lamb is still going strong with the live Copenhagen call-in show. Make sure to check that out at 9:15am PST (12:15 pm EST). Here's a clip from Friday's show.
Calling in from Copenhagen: Karl Burkart on the perils of blogging and walk outs
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Week one of the Copenhagen climate conference is coming to a close. What's happened so far? Here's a quick round-up for you. (Climate conference enthusiasts - I'm sure I'm leaving a bit out - feel free to add in the comments.)
We covered the walk-out over the so-called "Danish text". (Despite folks who seemed to think we were censoring "Danish text" by not letting people use it as a tag. Site bug, people! Read all about it in the comments! Tag away!) Walkouts have continued among smaller and developing nations, leading to fears that the conference will produce two rival documents.
Answering calls for developed countries to pony up the cash, the European Union came through with a pledge of over $10 billion (over 7 billion euros), but leaders from developing nations said the figure wasn't high enough.
And what about the US? Well President Obama was busy this week on the other side of the North Sea from Denmark accepting his Nobel Prize. Back home, his loving and supportive nation was doing it's best to constructively add to the conference with the "climategate controversy" (and I was inspired to launch a new series called "-Gates that are not -gates"). And America's official delegation to Copenhagen? Well the Interior Secretary checked out a wind farm. We've got video!
U.S. Visits Danish Wind Farm: Raw Video
Meanwhile Leah Lamb has been crazy-busy over on Current Green with her live daily Copenhagen check-in. (Tune in at 9:15 am PT!) We've also got video of that!
Calling in From Copenhagen: Joshua Kahn Russell (Video)
Leah also weighed in on climate change skeptic Lord Monckton's comparing activists to Hitler Youth. Her take: Totally a publicity stunt.
That's it for today's round-up - we'll be ramping up to even more Copenhagen coverage next week as the negotiations intensify.
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That's reportedly the big question at Copenhagen right now. Yesterday there was the leak of the "Danish text" - purportedly an early draft of what could be the final climate agreement at Copenhagen as prepared by unnamed representatives from rich countries. The text was so unacceptable to delegates from developing countries that they took to the streets. (And, they weren't the only ones that were mad: it also cost Leah an interview!) But why?
It comes down to rich vs. poor (developed vs. developing). Big, rich countries like the US emit lots of carbon and, importantly, have done so for a very long time. But, they're also leading the charge into reducing emissions. Less wealthy developing countries, like many of those in the African delegation, are just getting to the point of economic productivity where they're going to start needing more and more electricity. But they're not yet to the point where they have whole industries dedicated to reducing emissions. Additionally, when the climate change s**t hits the climate change fan - developing countries expect they'll be the worse off with the least resources to deal with it.
Back to the "Danish text". What made this so offensive to developing countries was that it treated rich and poor countries equally. Or at least more equally than was palatable. And we're all about equality right? No, not at Copenhagen we're not. A group of 123 developing countries calling themselves the "G77 plus China"(...I don't know how the math works) want developed countries to make bigger cuts in emissions and to pledge a sizable chunk of money to help them out in the aforementioned s**t/fan scenario. How much money? The "Danish text" offered $10 billion. The NYTimes reports the number is probably in the hundreds of billions.
All of this to say - the debate about how to tackle climate change seems to have quickly become about footing the bill.
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This video recap is my best attempt to explain in simple terms, "What is COP15 in Copenhagen supposed to accomplish? What was the Kyoto Protocol? And why are the talks at COP15 breaking down?"
This turned out to be my final video update from inside the Bella Center in Copenhagen, before NGO access to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Kyoto Protocol was once and for all revoked "for security reasons" despite largely peaceful, coordinated marches which, frankly were mislabeled "protests" and would have been more properly called "support rallies."
Anyway you can see my shiny forehead (sorry.. long day) at around 10pm on December 14th, after a day that started 14 hours earlier with crowded lines in the snow, followed by waiting... then rumors of the breakdown of the talks... more waiting... and then the confirmation of the G77 "threatened" walkout. Finally, my interview with negotiator Felix Dayo from the Nigerian delegation inside the African delegation offices helped shed light on what was going on behind the scenes.
It's still hard to find out what really happened inside COP15 the last few days. This is my best recap of what went wrong there while I was still able to access the negotiators.
I recorded this and all my videos with a cool little gadget called QuikPod. It's a hand-held mono-pod that attaches to any camera where the tripod goes, and lets you extend the camera an additional 18" and record yourself, allowing for better shots than a simple arm's length. Thanks http://quikpod.com for the lightweight solution.
Evan Kopelson is president of Green Media Consulting Inc and founder of http://GreenMediaNews.com He advises on sustainability, CSR reporting, corporate transparency, and personal responsibility for climate change action. Evan lives in Venice, CA in a pod made from reclaimed materials in a communal living environment focused on sustainability and permaculture.This video recap is my best attempt to explain in simple terms, "What is COP15 in... more
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As the climate conference in Copenhagen heats up with peaceful demonstrations and coordinated marches with up to 100,000 people, the UNFCCC decides to severely restrict the number of NGO delegates permitted in the Bella Center. This is even with badges. Secondary cards were issued and even then, delegates were being refused entry to the conference. This was the day before the G77 walkout. The following day I would interview one of the Nigerian negotiators (see my interview with Felix Dayo). But that would also be the last day I was permitted entry to the Bella Center. The NGO delegates were banned completely for the last 3 days of the conference.
Evan Kopelson is president of Green Media Consulting Inc and founder of Green Media News. He advises on sustainability and encourages corporate transparency.As the climate conference in Copenhagen heats up with peaceful demonstrations and... more
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The UN international climate change conference in chaos as the G77, which represents 130 developing countries "pulled the emergency plug" suspending the talks over wealthy countries' reluctance to discuss a legally binding emissions treaty.
Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam put out this statement:
Africa has pulled the emergency cord to avoid a train crash at the end of the week. Poor countries want to see an outcome which guarantees sharp emissions reductions yet rich countries are trying to delay discussions on the only mechanism we have to deliver this - the Kyoto Protocol.
This not about blocking the talks - it is about whether rich countries are ready to guarantee action on climate change and the survival or people in Africa and across the world.
"Australia and Japan are crying foul while blocking movement on legally binding emissions reductions for rich countries. This tit for tat approach is no way to deal with the climate crisis."
African countries have refused to continue negotiations unless talks on a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol are prioritized ahead of broader discussions under a second LCA track. Australia, Japan and others have succeeded in stopping Kyoto Protocol discussions as a result. Of the two tracks of negotiations underway in Copenhagen the Kyoto Protocol is the only one which includes a mechanism for legally binding emissions reductions by rich countries.The UN international climate change conference in chaos as the G77, which represents... more
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That's reportedly the big question at Copenhagen right now. Yesterday there was the leak of the "Danish text" - purportedly an early draft of what could be the final climate agreement at Copenhagen as prepared by unnamed representatives from rich countries. The text was so unacceptable to delegates from developing countries that they took to the streets. (And, they weren't the only ones that were mad: it also cost Leah an interview!) But why?
It comes down to rich vs. poor (developed vs. developing). Big, rich countries like the US emit lots of carbon and, importantly, have done so for a very long time. But, they're also leading the charge into reducing emissions. Less wealthy developing countries, like many of those in the African delegation, are just getting to the point of economic productivity where they're going to start needing more and more electricity. But they're not yet to the point where they have whole industries dedicated to reducing emissions. Additionally, when the climate change s**t hits the climate change fan - developing countries expect they'll be the worse off with the least resources to deal with it.
Back to the "Danish text". What made this so offensive to developing countries was that it treated rich and poor countries equally. Or at least more equally than was palatable. And we're all about equality right? No, not at Copenhagen we're not. A group of 123 developing countries calling themselves the "G77 plus China"(...I don't know how the math works) want developed countries to make bigger cuts in emissions and to pledge a sizable chunk of money to help them out in the aforementioned s**t/fan scenario. How much money? The "Danish text" offered $10 billion. The NYTimes reports the number is probably in the hundreds of billions.
All of this to say - the debate about how to tackle climate change seems to have quickly become about footing the bill.
FROM THE NEWS BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/12/09/who-will-pay-for-climate-change-copenhagen/
SOURCES: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/09/copenhagen-summit-danish-text-leak
http://blogs.current.com/green/2009/12/09/well-do-it-live-and-the-african-civil-society-spontaneous-march-through-cop15-bella-center/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/science/earth/09cost.html?ref=worldThat's reportedly the big question at Copenhagen right now. Yesterday there was... more
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