Greetings from the Fresh Air Center in Copenhagen!
The Climate Action Network was kind enough to accredit Joseph of lilcarbon for this grand adventure of Copenhagen. We have been continually impressed by their professionalism, skill, verve and smarts. Getting a peek under the covers at this team of dedicated NGOs yields all good things.
One of their team’s great contributions to the COP is the production of the daily ECO newsletter. A distillation of the news, views, and positive urgings by the constellation of CAN folks, we particularly liked Thursday’s lead story. Across all the negotiating tracks, and throughout all the developed world at least, one has to ask – If not now, when? We understand the physics of the problem. We understand the urgency of the problem. Can we really be that blind to the moral imperative of the problem. lilcarbon understands there are myriad complexities and challenge to all facets of climate change writ large. Getting moving with strong aspiration, smart solutions, and as though time is of the essence is the only way we we’ll meet the challenge.
“If not now, when?” by ECO
Since the launch of these negotiations in Bali, a ticking clock has symbolised the race against time to secure a fair, ambitious and binding deal on climate change in Copenhagen. Now the clock is approaching
midnight and all eyes are on our political leaders. Can they summon the collective vision needed to secure something positive out of a process that appears to be drifting worryingly towards failure? President Obama addressed the challenge head on last week while in Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. “There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and activists who call for swift and forceful action – it is military leaders in my country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance.” Political leaders throughout the world have delivered similar messages while also highlighting the huge opportunities available through a global green new deal. Now is the time for the President to match his words by committing his country to effective and responsible action in the multilateral UNFCCC process.
Last weekend almost 100,000 people marched through Copenhagen and other cities around the world. It was an unprecedented demonstration of public commitment to securing a real deal on climate change. Calls for action on climate change have emerged from every quarter of society – labour unions, business leaders, faith groups, scientists, doctors, youth, and many, many more. The impact of all this can be seen in the wave of positive moves on climate change by governments throughout the world, from the EU climate and energy package agreed last December to pledges by Brazil and Indonesia to tackle deforestation.
Without the Copenhagen deadline to focus minds, would we be seeing such positive momentum? Yes, there is still fierce opposition to action on climate change from polluting industries and their political influence cannot be under-estimated. But the fact remains that there are no insurmountable political obstacles to securing a real deal in Copenhagen. With the change of administration in the US, the few obstructions towards taking action ought to have been removed. The world’s major economies now must be committed to taking serious action and have a shared interest in doing this within a global framework. Poor and vulnerable countries have made clear that a real deal is a matter of survival for them.
The missing ingredients now are simple – trust and political leadership. Make no mistake: failure in Copenhagen would be a grave setback, fuelling public cynicism and resulting in a loss of momentum. The negative fallout could damage the prospects for multilateral cooperation on other pressing global issues, from financial regulation to trade. Meanwhile the climate crisis would continue to worsen and would only become more costly and difficult to tackle. There will never be a better time than now to rise to the challenge.
So where do we go from here? Above all, leaders need to reach agreement on three major issues: science-based mitigation targets, long-term finance and legal architecture. Progress in these areas can bridge the trust gap and provide the clarity we need to move forward in other areas, from adaptation to tackling deforestation. As President Nasheed of the Maldives reminded us yesterday: “Get the politics right, and the technology will follow. Technical creativity can make great leaps for mankind – but political leadership must provide the springboard.”
lilcarbon 