Cancun, and more Consequential C Words
COP 16 Un Climate Conference news: www.youthclimate.orgSpeak French? Visit: http://jcfclimat.com/jcfc/
The COP 16 Climate Conference will be taking place in Cancun Mexico, December 2010. Find out more about what’s on the agenda with the UNFCCC.
Ex-PM tells G20 to confront climate change, poverty
Read more on CTV News Here
Ban Ki-moon Urges Canada to comply with Kyoto
Story
Figueres New UN Climate Chief
Story
The connection between climate change and faith is apparent.
Read more from the Bahai News and a recent event at the University of Calgary.
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Is Canada Criminally Negligent on Climate Policy?
A leading environmental scientist says it is time for the international law to target climate culprit countries like his own, Canada.
By William E. Rees, 2 Dec 2009, TheTyee.ca
Rees: US and Canada guilty of ‘wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.’ In the lead-up to Copenhagen, the Canadian government’s (non)policy on global warming borders on the criminally negligent. This may seem to be an outrageous assertion, particularly to those lost in the thickening fog of deception churned out by climate change deniers, but please bear with me for a moment.For the full story click here
Harper avoids spotlight amid high hopes for climate deal in Copenhagen
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Stephen Harper kept a low profile on his first day at the Copenhagen climate summit, turning down an opportunity to speak to the gathering, amid high hopes for a breakthrough over a $1-trillion American plan.
The prime minister hobnobbed with other leaders at a royal dinner hosted by the queen of Denmark, passing up the chance to deliver Canada’s address to the UN climate talks late Thursday. Instead he delegated the job to Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
A number of other leaders also opted to break bread with Danish royalty instead of addressing the conference. But they were reminded of the business at hand when a pair of Greenpeace activists crashed the banquet, unfurling two banners reading “Politicians Talk, Leaders Act” before they were dragged from the hall by security guards.
Prentice’s three-and-a-half minute speech reiterated many of the Conservative government’s stated positions on climate change. They include the contentious notion that any deal in Copenhagen should replace the Kyoto Protocol, rather than the complementary “Kyoto-plus” option supported by developing countries.
“Our actions to address climate change take into account our large, diverse landmass, our growing population and the importance of our energy sector for meeting global demand,” Prentice said.
“Our approach also reflects the strong economic ties between Canada and our neighbour the United States, and the need to ensure our actions are aligned with our continental partners.”
He spoke just after midnight local time at the Belle Centre conference hall where the climate talks are being held.
Prentice’s speech is unlikely to ease criticism from developing countries and environmentalists who accuse Canada of failing to make concessions to help reach a deal – and of relinquishing its historic role as a progressive on the world stage.
His address came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered to help raise $100 billion a year for the next decade to help the most vulnerable nations cope with a warming planet.
That includes an unspecified American contribution which would include mix of public and private money. But there’s a couple of catches: countries must agree to a climate deal in Copenhagen, and all must agree to “transparency” in reporting and verifying cuts to greenhouse gases.
The latter condition was clearly directed at China, which has balked at what it sees as an intrusion on its sovereignty.
Clinton said lack of transparency is a “deal breaker” and insisted: “There shall be a transparency requirement.”
“It would be hard to imagine, speaking for the United States, that there could be the level of financial commitment that I have just announced in the absence of transparency from the second-biggest emitter – and now I guess the first-biggest emitter – and now nearly, if not already, the second-biggest economy.”
China’s vice-foreign minister, He Yafei, called the offer a “good first step.” He said China is ready for “dialogue and co-operation” on its emissions actions “that is not intrusive, that does not infringe on China’s sovereignty.”
Prentice said Canada is ready to contribute to a climate-aid fund, but wouldn’t speculate on a number. He said Canada would open its books and he expects China to do the same once a climate deal is signed.
“I don’t think it’s a question of a phasing-in of those arrangements,” he said earlier Thursday. “Rather, it’s a question of an agreement that has to apply to all major emitters, and has to have transparency as a fundamental principle of it.
“Transparency isn’t something that can be phased in. And so we are interested in measurement arrangements, reporting arrangements, verification arrangements that withstand scrutiny from the outset.”
The U.S. offer was aimed at breaking a deadlock as the climate talks head into their final day Friday. There have been major disagreements between rich and developing countries on greenhouse-gas cuts and aid to poor countries most affected by climate change.
The U.S., Canada, the EU and others insist that developing countries – especially big emitters like China and India – must be full partners in any pact to reduce emissions. Developing countries counter that rich nations can afford to do more.
Leaders from over 100 countries – including Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama – were arriving in Copenhagen for the summit’s final hours. It’s hoped the leaders’ presence will push some sort of a deal across the finish line.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showed his frustration Thursday over what he called an “avalanche of procedural interventions” that have stalled the talks.
“I fear a triumph of form over substance. I fear a triumph of inaction over action,” he said. “Let us instead as leaders resolve to decide for the future, not simply to defer the future.”
The UN’s top climate official announced Thursday that the talks would continue along two tracks: one for countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol and another for those that didn’t. That’s despite calls from Canada and other rich nations to mothball Kyoto in favour of a new climate deal.
The Harper government’s preference was to roll all or parts of Kyoto into a new climate deal that includes all the big polluters, namely the United States and China. The developing world wants countries that ratified Kyoto – including Canada – to stick to their commitments.
Canada leads the pack in Fossil of the Day awards, a dubious citation bestowed by environmental groups to the daily climate laggard. And provincial leaders, notably Quebec Premier Jean Charest, have assailed Ottawa for not doing enough to get the country’s emissions under control.
Environmental groups, opposition MPs and some European countries complain Canada’s targets for emissions cuts aren’t steep enough. The Conservatives aim to lower Canada’s greenhouse gases 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020 – well short of Canada’s Kyoto commitments.
The Conservatives counter that achieving Canada’s Kyoto commitments now would batter the economy because of years of inaction by their Liberal predecessors.
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Copenhagen: Only the numbers count – and they add up to hell on earth
Climate Interactive’s software speaks numbers, not spin – which is where the true understanding of the Copenhagen summit lies
The Bella centre is a swirl of chatter, the streets of Copenhagen are a swirl of protest. Depending on what hour you listen to the news bulletin, the UN climate negotiations have “come off the rails” or are “back on track” or have “stalled” or are “moving swiftly”. Which is why the only people who really understand what’s going on may be a small crew of folks from a group of computer jockeys called Climate Interactive. Their software speaks numbers, not spin – and in the end it’s the numbers that count.
First number to know: 350. It’s what scientists have been saying for two years is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide we can safely have in the atmosphere, measured in parts per million. Those scientists have been joined by an unprecedented outpouring from civil society: in late October, activists put on what CNN called “the most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history,” with 5,200 demonstrations in 181 countries, all rallying around that number. Three thousand vigils last weekend across the planet spelled out the number in candles. Thousands of churches rang their bells 350 times on Sunday, and yesterday the World Parliament of Religions, meeting in Melbourne and representing the “largest interreligious gathering on earth” sent an emergency 350 declaration here to Copenhagen.
The second number: 100. That’s (roughly) how many countries are backing a 350 target here at Copenhagen. That’s more than half the nations in attendance – unfortunately, they’re the small, poor ones. But it’s amazing to see them, in the face of enormous pressure, keeping the idea of real action alive. Yesterday Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldives, spoke to a roaring crowd of thousands: “We know what the laws of physics say: the most important number in the world is 350.”
The third number: 4%. That’s how much the US is offering to cut its emissions from their 1990 levels by 2020. Scientists tell us that the developed world would need to reduce by at least 40% to get us back on a 350 track, so the American offer is exactly an order or magnitude off. And they’re not alone. All the rich countries, not to mention China, are looking to do as little as possible and still escape here with some kind of agreement they can hide behind.
The fourth number – and the most important one. When the folks at Climate Interactive plug in every promise made at these talks (the American offer on the table, the Chinese promise to reduce “energy intensity”, the EU pledges, and so on) their software tells them almost instantly how much carbon they would eventually produce. When they hit the button last night, the program showed that by 2100 the world’s CO2 concentrations (currently 390) would be – drumroll please – 770. That is, we would live in hell, or at least a place with a similar temperature.
So that’s the scorecard. You may hear a lot of happy talk from world leaders over the next few days as they “reach a historic agreement”. But that’s how it all adds up.
• Bill McKibben is the coordinator of 350.org
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In the CNN/YouTube Climate Debate a panel of climate experts, including Kofi Annan, Thomas Friedman, Yves de Boer, Bjorn Lomberg and Daryl Hannah, answer the questions the YouTube community submitted.
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG):
Local and regional authorities unite for climate actions
David Cadman – Vancouver, BC Canada , speaks
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2702
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Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP)
resumed 6th meeting
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2675
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
CAN (Climate Action Network) International:
Daily negotiations assessment and briefing
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2685
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
US Secretary of State
Ms. Hillary Clinton
United States of America
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2689
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
Globe International awarding Mexican President Calderon for leadership on the environment, presented by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Gordon Brown.
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2684
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
17 December 2009
Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA) on behalf of TckTckTck:
Voices of reason, hope and experience
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2662
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
16 December 2009
Tebtebba Foundation on behalf International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC)
follow link to view webcast stream – English begins at 5:22
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2660
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Watch Highlights from day 10 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 16, 2009
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
16 December 2009
United cities and local governments: cities and local governments are an integral part of the solution/calling national governments to seal the deal.
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2647
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
16 December 2009
U.S. Senator John Kerry, Foreign Relations Committee Chair, a lead author of U.S. climate legislation
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2634
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Press Conference
Copenhagen, Denmark
15 December 2009
Climate Action Network Canada
follow link to view webcast stream
http://webcast.cop15.dk/play.php?id_kongresssession=2568
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Dear Alex,
You don’t have to be in Copenhagen very long before it hits you: the weight of being part of history in the making. I am only here because of the support of people like you, who want to make a difference. And are.
I wish each of you could see WWF in operation as a truly global organization. Over the last year, we have had climate campaigns running in every major country in the world, coordinated by a small but effective central team. From the hundreds of millions of citizens who sent a message to our political leaders through Earth Hour, to the policy experts with direct access to negotiators because WWF is a trusted source of helpful information, we have pulled out all the stops to get a fair, ambitious and binding deal that will prevent dangerous levels of global warming.
The outcome from the first week in Copenhagen was the basic framework for such a deal. It is now up to the Ministers and world leaders, who are arriving this week, to seal the deal.
This will require everyone to give a little more than they thought they could. But when you weigh the benefits of a green economy and stable climate against the costs of rapid climate change, there is only one responsible choice.
Help Canada become a leader in the green economy by sending an email to Prime Minister Harper and ask him to personally support a fair, ambitious and binding climate change deal in Copenhagen.
For a living planet,
Gerald Butts
President and CEO, WWF-Canada
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Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors- Cities and Climate Change
Participate, when mayors from leading cities all over the world discuss the challenges facing cities in regard to climate change.
How will cities be affected by climate change? And what steps are local authorities and other key stakeholders taking to act on potential threats?
These are among the questions which will be addressed when the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors visits University of Copenhagen 16th of December.
The session features a panel discussion as well as a presentation of the First Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3) by Dr. Stephen Hammer, Columbia University.
The panel will consist of scientists responsible for the ARC3 report, mayors from Melbourne, Vancouver and Copenhagen and Professor and Vice Dean Katherine Richarson, University of Copenhagen.
Date: 16th December 2009 11.45 – 13.30
Place: University of Copenhagen, Ceremonial Hall, Frue Plads København K
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Watch highlights from day 9 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 15, 2009
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“Please Help the World” part 2, film from the opening ceremony of the high level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) in Copenhagen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Shown on December 15, 2009 at COP15.
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Fake releases claim Canada changed climate stance
PMO spokesman criticizes ‘childish pranks’
The federal government is fuming Monday over a series of hoax press releases claiming Canada had committed to drastic greenhouse gas emission cuts.
For the whole story – CBC news
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Campbell going to Denmark climate talks
VICTORIA – Premier Gordon Campbell heads to the United Nations climate conference in Denmark next week to talk up B.C.’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Stephen Harper kept a low profile on his first day at the Copenhagen climate summit, turning down an opportunity to speak to the gathering, amid high hopes for a breakthrough over a $1-trillion American plan.
The prime minister hobnobbed with other leaders at a royal dinner hosted by the queen of Denmark, passing up the chance to deliver Canada’s address to the UN climate talks late Thursday. Instead he delegated the job to Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
A number of other leaders also opted to break bread with Danish royalty instead of addressing the conference. But they were reminded of the business at hand when a pair of Greenpeace activists crashed the banquet, unfurling two banners reading “Politicians Talk, Leaders Act” before they were dragged from the hall by security guards.
Prentice’s three-and-a-half minute speech reiterated many of the Conservative government’s stated positions on climate change. They include the contentious notion that any deal in Copenhagen should replace the Kyoto Protocol, rather than the complementary “Kyoto-plus” option supported by developing countries.
“Our actions to address climate change take into account our large, diverse landmass, our growing population and the importance of our energy sector for meeting global demand,” Prentice said.
“Our approach also reflects the strong economic ties between Canada and our neighbour the United States, and the need to ensure our actions are aligned with our continental partners.”
He spoke just after midnight local time at the Belle Centre conference hall where the climate talks are being held.
Prentice’s speech is unlikely to ease criticism from developing countries and environmentalists who accuse Canada of failing to make concessions to help reach a deal – and of relinquishing its historic role as a progressive on the world stage.
His address came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered to help raise $100 billion a year for the next decade to help the most vulnerable nations cope with a warming planet.
That includes an unspecified American contribution which would include mix of public and private money. But there’s a couple of catches: countries must agree to a climate deal in Copenhagen, and all must agree to “transparency” in reporting and verifying cuts to greenhouse gases.
The latter condition was clearly directed at China, which has balked at what it sees as an intrusion on its sovereignty.
Clinton said lack of transparency is a “deal breaker” and insisted: “There shall be a transparency requirement.”
“It would be hard to imagine, speaking for the United States, that there could be the level of financial commitment that I have just announced in the absence of transparency from the second-biggest emitter – and now I guess the first-biggest emitter – and now nearly, if not already, the second-biggest economy.”
China’s vice-foreign minister, He Yafei, called the offer a “good first step.” He said China is ready for “dialogue and co-operation” on its emissions actions “that is not intrusive, that does not infringe on China’s sovereignty.”
Prentice said Canada is ready to contribute to a climate-aid fund, but wouldn’t speculate on a number. He said Canada would open its books and he expects China to do the same once a climate deal is signed.
“I don’t think it’s a question of a phasing-in of those arrangements,” he said earlier Thursday. “Rather, it’s a question of an agreement that has to apply to all major emitters, and has to have transparency as a fundamental principle of it.
“Transparency isn’t something that can be phased in. And so we are interested in measurement arrangements, reporting arrangements, verification arrangements that withstand scrutiny from the outset.”
The U.S. offer was aimed at breaking a deadlock as the climate talks head into their final day Friday. There have been major disagreements between rich and developing countries on greenhouse-gas cuts and aid to poor countries most affected by climate change.
The U.S., Canada, the EU and others insist that developing countries – especially big emitters like China and India – must be full partners in any pact to reduce emissions. Developing countries counter that rich nations can afford to do more.
Leaders from over 100 countries – including Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama – were arriving in Copenhagen for the summit’s final hours. It’s hoped the leaders’ presence will push some sort of a deal across the finish line.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showed his frustration Thursday over what he called an “avalanche of procedural interventions” that have stalled the talks.
“I fear a triumph of form over substance. I fear a triumph of inaction over action,” he said. “Let us instead as leaders resolve to decide for the future, not simply to defer the future.”
The UN’s top climate official announced Thursday that the talks would continue along two tracks: one for countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol and another for those that didn’t. That’s despite calls from Canada and other rich nations to mothball Kyoto in favour of a new climate deal.
The Harper government’s preference was to roll all or parts of Kyoto into a new climate deal that includes all the big polluters, namely the United States and China. The developing world wants countries that ratified Kyoto – including Canada – to stick to their commitments.
Canada leads the pack in Fossil of the Day awards, a dubious citation bestowed by environmental groups to the daily climate laggard. And provincial leaders, notably Quebec Premier Jean Charest, have assailed Ottawa for not doing enough to get the country’s emissions under control.
Environmental groups, opposition MPs and some European countries complain Canada’s targets for emissions cuts aren’t steep enough. The Conservatives aim to lower Canada’s greenhouse gases 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020 – well short of Canada’s Kyoto commitments.
The Conservatives counter that achieving Canada’s Kyoto commitments now would batter the economy because of years of inaction by their Liberal predecessors.
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17 December 2009
Local and regional authorities unite for climate actions
17 December 2009
17 December 2009
Daily negotiations assessment and briefing
17 December 2009
Ms. Hillary Clinton
United States of America
17 December 2009
17 December 2009
Voices of reason, hope and experience
16 December 2009
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16 December 2009
Copenhagen, Denmark
16 December 2009
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15 December 2009
President and CEO, WWF-Canada
These are among the questions which will be addressed when the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors visits University of Copenhagen 16th of December.
The panel will consist of scientists responsible for the ARC3 report, mayors from Melbourne, Vancouver and Copenhagen and Professor and Vice Dean Katherine Richarson, University of Copenhagen.
Place: University of Copenhagen, Ceremonial Hall, Frue Plads København K
Fake releases claim Canada changed climate stance
Campbell will be in Copenhagen Dec. 14 to 16. The Canadian delegation is being led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who face international criticism about Canada’s large increase in greenhouse gases and its development of the Alberta oil sands.B.C. will be given a prominent role to talk about its carbon tax and participation in the Western Climate Initiative, a group of provinces and U.S. states that is developing a carbon trading market. Campbell will be the keynote speaker at a Dec. 14 session hosted by the International Carbon Action Partnership, dealing with the outlook for 2010.By Tom Fletcher – BC Local News
more
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Watch highlights from day 8 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 14, 2009
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China, India, other developing countries boycott UN talks, demand rich cut emissions more
at 11:05 on December 14, 2009, EDT.
Michael Casey, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – China, India and other developing nations boycotted U.N. climate talks Monday, bringing negotiations to a halt with their demand that rich countries discuss much deeper cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions.
The move disrupted the 192-nation conference and forced the cancellation of formal working groups, delaying the frantic work of negotiators trying to resolve technical issues before the arrival of more than 110 world leaders later this week.
The developing countries want to extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which imposed penalties on rich nations if they did not comply with its strict emissions limits but made no such binding demands on developing nations.
The boycott was largely seen as a ploy to shift the agenda to the responsibilities of the industrial countries and make emissions reductions the first item for discussion when world leaders begin arriving Tuesday.
“I don’t think the talks are falling apart, but we’re losing time,” said Kim Carstensen, of the World Wildlife Fund. The developing countries “are making a point.”
The dispute came as the conference entered its second week, and only days before more than 100 world leaders, including President Barack Obama, were scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen.
“Nothing is happening at this moment,” Zia Hoque Mukta, a delegate from Bangladesh, told The Associated Press. He said developing countries have demanded that conference president Connie Hedegaard of Denmark bring the industrial nations’ emissions targets to the top of the agenda before talks can resume.
Poor countries, supported by China, say Hedegaard had raised suspicion that the conference was likely to kill the Kyoto Protocol. The United States withdrew from Kyoto over concerns that it would harm the U.S. economy and that China, India and other major greenhouse gas emitters were not required to take action. China is now the world’s top greenhouse gas polluter.
“We are seeing the death of the Kyoto Protocol,” said Djemouai Kamel of Algeria, the head of the 50-nation Africa group.
U.N. climate chief Yvo De Boer said Hedegaard was holding informal consultations with delegates “to get things going.”
It was the second time the Africans have disrupted the climate talks. At the last round of negotiations in November, the African bloc forced a one-day suspension until wealthy countries agreed to spell out what steps they will take to reduce emissions.
“They are trying to put the pressure on” before Obama and other world leaders arrive, said Gustavo Silva-Chavez, a climate change specialist with the Environmental Defence Fund. “They want to make sure that developed countries are not left off the hook.”
An African delegate said developing countries decided to block the negotiations at a meeting hours before the conference was to resume. He said applause broke out every time China, India or another country supported the proposal to stall the talks.
“This is all part of the negotiating dynamic, especially as you get closer to the end game,” said Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defence Fund.
In Washington, the White House announced a new program drawing funds from international partners to spend $350 million over five years to give developing nations clean energy technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce global warming.
The program will distribute solar power alternatives for homes, including sun-powered lanterns, supply cleaner equipment and appliances and work to develop renewable energy systems in the world’s poorer nations.
The U.S. share of the program will amount to $85 million, with the rest coming from Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in Copenhagen.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office said he would go to Copenhagen on Tuesday – two days earlier than planned – to try to inject momentum into the talks. His spokesman denied that Brown – facing a national election by June – was seeking any personal credit if a deal is struck.
Former Vice-President Al Gore told the conference that new data suggests a 75 per cent chance the entire Arctic polar ice cap may disappear in the summertime as soon as five to seven years from now. Gore, who won a Nobel Peace prize for his work on climate change, joined the foreign ministers of Norway and Denmark in presenting two new reports on melting Arctic ice.
Throngs of newly arrived delegates, journalists and climate activists jammed the security and accreditation lines at the conference centre Monday, forcing police to shut down the nearby subway stop.
Hundreds of police kept a close watch on a protest outside Parliament, where about 3,000 climate activists were demonstrating.
More than 1,200 people were detained in weekend protests, although almost all were released after questioning. About a dozen were arraigned on preliminary charges of assaulting police officers or carrying box-cutters or other sharp objects.
There were sporadic reports of vandalism across the city overnight Monday.
Police spokesman Henrik Moeller Jakobsen said 12 cars had been set on fire, including three vehicles belonging to Danish power company Dong Energy. Vandals also smashed windows and threw red paint at the headquarters of the Danish Immigration Service. It was not immediately clear whether those attacks were related to the conference.
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Canada says boycott by developing countries at Copenhagen wasted critical time
THE CANADIAN PRESS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Environment Minister Jim Prentice says a walkout in Copenhagen by China, India and other developing countries wasted precious little time left to reach a new climate deal.
Prentice told reporters the protest by the so-called Group of 77 developing nations at the UN climate talks was “not particularly helpful.” The developing countries – which are actually 135 in number – want rich countries to make much deeper cuts to their greenhouse-gas emissions.
The boycott, led by the African nations, set back the Copenhagen talks at a time when negotiations are already unravelling over disputes about financing for developing countries.
Prentice underscored how little time is left to reach some sort of deal in Copenhagen, acknowledging “we lost some important time today.”
The talks wrap up Friday and it had been hoped world leaders attending the summit’s final days could walk away with a blueprint for an eventual binding climate deal.
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Alberta’s oilsands: well-managed necessity or ecological disaster?
By Bob Weber (CP) – 6 days ago
EDMONTON — Rightly or wrongly, Alberta’s oilsands are creating a black, tarry bull’s-eye on the back of Canada’s negotiating team at the international summit on climate change in Copenhagen.
Oil companies and the provincial government maintain that the development is needed and widely beneficial, and that its impacts are well-managed and wildly exaggerated. Environmental groups and many independent scientists suggest otherwise, with some going so far as to say the oilsands have turned Canada into a “corrupt petro-state.”
In an attempt to cut through the emissions, The Canadian Press has tried to answer some basic questions about the industry with the latest research from both sides.
By Bob Weber (CP) – 6 days ago
EDMONTON — Rightly or wrongly, Alberta’s oilsands are creating a black, tarry bull’s-eye on the back of Canada’s negotiating team at the international summit on climate change in Copenhagen.
Oil companies and the provincial government maintain that the development is needed and widely beneficial, and that its impacts are well-managed and wildly exaggerated. Environmental groups and many independent scientists suggest otherwise, with some going so far as to say the oilsands have turned Canada into a “corrupt petro-state.”
In an attempt to cut through the emissions, The Canadian Press has tried to answer some basic questions about the industry with the latest research from both sides.
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Canada mocked and praised at Copenhagen
COPENHAGEN — At a small booth in the Copenhagen conference centre, a colourful scoreboard shows Canada has already racked up two Fossil Awards — sardonic nods to countries judged by a coalition of environmental groups to have performed the worst during any given day of climate negotiations.
On Thursday, on the other end of the Copenhagen’s Bella Centre, there was a different type of discussion on an issue where Canada actually earns faint praise — or at the very least, is ignored: carbon capture and storage (CCS).
At a discussion sponsored by the U.S. delegation, major federal and Alberta commitments totalling $3.3 billion were mentioned in a presentation by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as one of the highest of any nation. The Cenovus project in Weyburn, Sask., which sees C02 from a coal-gasification plant in Beulah, N.D. transported and pumped underground, was pictured in a slide show.
However, the bulk of the discussions focused on projects in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Canada was also grouped in with countries that have a “piecemeal framework” for CCS as opposed to an overarching national plan.
CCS refers to the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial sources, such as coal-fired power plants, and the storage of these emissions in stable underground reservoirs. The IEA predicts that one fifth of world greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050 might come from CCS.
At the same time, Stefanie Held of the IEA said she has been “surprised at the negative image that CCS has” at the meetings in Copenhagen.
“What many apparently do not know is how key CCS is going to be as a critical mitigation technology,” said Held, who heads the technology network unit at the agency.
CCS isn’t popular among many international environmentalists in Copenhagen who argue that Canada and European countries are relying too heavily on the technology to meet emissions reduction targets.
In Canada, politicians treat CCS like a silver bullet to climate change, said Graham Saul, executive director of the Canadian arm of the Climate Action Network — the umbrella group that distributes the Fossils.
“It’s clearly not,” Saul said.
There’s not necessarily a problem with CCS, Saul added, but “we should be subsiding clean energy alternatives rather than subsidizing the coal or oil industries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
The first four days of the conference have seen Canada blasted by environmental groups for the country’s climate change policies, including not meeting Kyoto Protocol targets, the increasing oilsands emissions, and not committing as much as other countries to support renewable power sources such as wind and solar.
On Thursday, another debate that could have massive ramifications for Canada flared when UN climate chief Yvo de Boer reiterated his belief that the Kyoto Protocol must live on into the future.
“One of the reasons is that it generally takes a bit of time for a new legal instrument to be ratified and enter into force,” de Boer said.
“Kyoto provides market-based mechanisms, allows for the carbon market to function.”
He added, “the Kyoto Protocol is the only legally binding instrument that we have to act on climate change and there is no good reason at this moment to abandon it.”
That position doesn’t sit well with Canada, which will not meet its Kyoto targets.
The talks in Copenhagen are meant to set a new international climate change plan following the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, in 2012.
But the legal architecture for that future plan is a singularly divisive issue. Poorer nations say developed countries have made their fortunes burning fossil fuels and owe a debt to the developing economies. They prefer two tracks for a future agreement — a continuation of Kyoto with deep emissions cuts for the rich and a new, less-binding accord for the poor.
However, rich countries such as Canada and the U.S. don’t want Kyoto to continue, preferring a single United Nations pact to succeed Kyoto.
“It’s an important question and we’re going to need to spend some time on it here, as well as in the future,” Canada’s chief negotiator, Michael Martin, said Thursday.
The Kyoto Protocol — ratified by Canada but not the U.S. — set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Around the world, these amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period, 2008-2012.
Canada has seen one of the biggest increases in emissions (26 per cent between 1990 and 2007) in a group of industrialized countries will fail to meet their Kyoto targets. Each of those countries could face international reprimand and tens of billions in fines if targets are not met in 2012.
That’s why the stakes are so high for Canada. Martin, a veteran Canadian diplomat always careful with his words, said Thursday evening he is hopeful there will be “consensus.”
Speaking to reporters, Martin added he had run into billionaire George Soros, but didn’t have a chance to talk to him about his inventive proposal that was the other major newsmaker in Copenhagen Thursday.
Soros suggested that rich nations to put $100 billion of foreign-exchange reserves towards the financing of emission-reducing projects in less wealthy countries.
“I’ve found a way for someone else to pay . . . to mobilize reserves that are lying idle,” Soros told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference, which runs until Dec 18.
Hungarian-born Soros said green loans to poor nations backed by International Monetary Fund gold reserves could total $100 billion.
“This $100-billion fund I think could just turn this conference from failure to success,” he said, admitting there were several legal and practical hurdles to unlocking the cash.
Poor nations want rich countries to spend one per cent or more of their national wealth on emissions cuts in the developing world, or at least $300 billion annually, and about double the highest estimates by industrialized countries.
The European Commission cautioned against easy sounding solutions. “Money must come from somewhere, not just from a printing machine,” Artur Runge-Metzger, head of the Commission delegation, said when asked about Soros’ proposal.
Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the G77 — a group made up of developing countries — also called for up to $200 billion to be poured into climate change prevention to avoid drastic temperature swings and “certain death to Africa.”
Part of the UN talks were suspended for a second day after Tuvalu, which fears being washed off the map by rising seas, insisted the conference must consider its proposal for a legally binding treaty for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Tuvalu’s stance exposed rifts between developing nations, many of which would be required to do far more under its proposal to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels. Nations including India and China spoke out against Tuvalu’s plan.
With files from Reuters
kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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Short 2-minute version of the Google Earth Climate introductory tour narrated by Al Gore. Learn more at
http://www.google.com/cop15
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Watch the COP15 behind the Scenes film about NGOs at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Watch the COP15 Behind the Scenes film about the Google stand, Liquid Galaxy, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in the Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Watch highlights from day 6 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 12, 2009
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Watch highlights from day 5 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 11, 2009
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Watch highlights from day 4 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 10, 2009
Front page
Top delegate refused COP15 access
Thursday, 10 December 2009 09:45 RC Climate
Conference security denies China’s top climate negotiator entry to the international climate summit
Although security at COP15 venue, the Bella Center, is under enormous pressure due to the thousands of participants, some of the personnel may have to explain why one of the most important attendees was denied access yesterday.
Xie Zhenhua, head of the Climate Change and Coordinating Committee, was refused access to conference not once, but three times.
According to Ritzau news bureau, only half of the accredited 34,000 conference participants have received their entrance badges so far. But Xie reportedly had his badge with him and still could not get into the building.
And the Chinese delegation is not happy about the matter. Su Wei, China’s deputy head negotiator at the summit, tore into COP15 president Connie Hedegaard and UN climate boss Yvo de Boer at yesterday’s plenary session about the humiliating incident, describing it as ‘unacceptable and intolerable’.
De Boer apologised to Su for the mistake, saying it was the second time he had to make amends to the Chinese climate delegation. A similar episode took place at the summit in Bali two years ago, when de Boer called a plenary meeting at a point where the Chinese were tied up in another important meeting.
Circumstances at the Bella Center were already chaotic on Tuesday, as hundreds of frustrated delegates stood in long queues to get into the building – many of whom were denied entrance.
According to Bella Center’s logistics manager, Svend Olling, the venue has a maximum capacity of 18,000 people.
Media, NGOs and other groups are now having the number of their allowable participants cut by security personnel, as the conference is preparing for the arrival of more than 110 heads of state and government next week.
Environmental organisations and NGOs have more than 21,000 registered persons at the conference, in addition to the 8473 official delegates from 191 countries.
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Watch highlights from day 3 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 9, 2009
Protests against Danish Text at COP15
9 Dec 09 : 3.22PM
By Gan Pei Ling
editor@thenutgraph.com
COPENHAGEN, 9 Dec 2009: Over 60 African youths demonstrated at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) yesterday in response to a leaked draft climate agreement that the Danish government was expected to put forward.
“We’re very disappointed [with the draft] …They’re bringing it to the table to force African heads of government to sign it. We’ve already seen the draft, we do not agree with it. We came here with open arms to negotiate, we did not come here to rubber stamp what has already been decided,” said Winnie Asiti Khaemba from Kenya.
The 23-year-old said that farmers and other vulnerable communities in her country were already suffering from the severe impacts of climate change, such as reduced food production and increased infection of malaria.
“What is being proposed here means death to these communities,” Khaemba told The Nut Graph, adding that governments should commit to limit global warming within one degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2007 that the global temperature has risen by 0.74 degree Celsius since more than a century ago.
The Danish draft agreement, however, is proposing to limit temperature rise within two degree Celsius.
“Two degree is suicide for Africa and small island nations,” said Liyunesh Yohanes Glagize from Ethiopia.
She added that the changing climate is already threatening the survival and livelihoods of Ethiopians particularly farmers, and exacerbating the country’s food crisis.
The draft, also dubbed the Danish Text, was formulated by several parties including Denmark, the UK and the US. It is being criticised for not including the voices of smaller countries.
The draft is also being contested because it reverses the main principles of the Kyoto Protocol, which puts the bulk of the responsibility on larger economies to reduce emissions while excluding smaller countries.
“Developed countries must commit to a 40% cut [of carbon emissions] by 2020 below 1990 levels at Copenhagen. Our peoples’ survival is at stake here,” said Margaret Demba from Kenya, who is among the 100 African youths present at COP15.
She added that the African youths decided to hold the protest spontaneously after an African youth group meeting at the Bella Center yesterday. Security at Bella Center did not stop the rally.
The Danish draft has also drawn flak from other environmental groups including Oxfam and WWF, which have criticised it for being weak and for reflecting a selective and non-transparent approach to the negotiations
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Watch highlights from day 2 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 8, 2009
note the first comment regarding Russia – Professor Cooper spoke about this at the Plug Out Tune In Town Hall Meeting
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Watch highlights from day 1 of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) – recorded on December 7, 2009.
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“Our campaign seeks to influence political leaders to come to a global deal in Copenhagen that is robust, fair and effective.”
Kofi A. Annan, Global Humanitarian Forum
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Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), supports the Time for Climate Justice campaign and speaks about what he thinks is important in Copenhagen. Become a Climate Ally at: http://www.timeforclimatejustice.org.
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu calls on you to join him in the campaign for Climate Justice
“Our campaign seeks to influence political leaders to come to a global deal in Copenhagen that is robust, fair and effective.”
Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), supports the Time for Climate Justice campaign and speaks about what he thinks is important in Copenhagen. Become a Climate Ally at: http://www.timeforclimatejustice.org.
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu calls on you to join him in the campaign for Climate Justice
