- Saleemul Huq (IPPC, Bangladesh)
- a good Copenhagen agreement is a matter of life or death for Bangladesh
- developing countries insisted we must keep the legally binding Kyoto Protocol and not get it watered down by a less stringent copenhagen agreement
- Pledges agreed will lead to a 3 degree rise - which is a catastrophe for very many people
Friday, 18 December 2009
John Vidal gives us his view on the last-ditch climate talks
Crunch time in CopenhagenEnvironment editor John Vidal gives us his view on the last-ditch climate talks, and hears from three voices.
'Science will have to drive decisions at both ends of the social ladder'
'Science will have to drive decisions at both ends of the social ladder'From the Copenhagen summit on climate change, Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the IPCC, talks about the need for people to tell their elected leaders that they expect firm and forward-looking action on climate change
Rajendra Pachauri
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009
Rajendra Pachauri
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009
Copenhagen sketch: Epic standoff clears the air
The Guardians John Vidal report has details of the last but one day shenanigans at the Copenhagen conference
But in all the confusion and rumour, it was clear that in the last 24 hours the mood in snowbound Copenhagen had dramatically swung from miserable through gloomy to hopeful.
In the end no country or bloc dared to risk being branded the one that crashed the summit, so neither played their cards. The talks live. There is climate hope. A bit. Just.
Reposted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2009/12/cop15_tumbling_towards_a_deal.html
Richard Black of BBC links to this Australian post which suggests that the deals at 17/12/09 at Copenhagen will hit 550ppm CO2 by 2020 and not the 450ppm level that UN recommends. The leak was first posted by The Guardian last night:
Richard Black of BBC links to this Australian post which suggests that the deals at 17/12/09 at Copenhagen will hit 550ppm CO2 by 2020 and not the 450ppm level that UN recommends. The leak was first posted by The Guardian last night:
- A rise of 3C would mean up to 170 million more people suffering severe coastal floods and 550 million more at risk of hunger, according to the Stern economic review of climate change for the UK government – as well as leaving up to 50% of species facing extinction. Even a rise of 2C would lead to a sharp decline in tropical crop yields, more flooding and droughts.
- The emissions cuts offered so far at the Copenhagen climate change summit would still lead to global temperatures rising by an average of 3C, according to a confidential UN analysis obtained by the Guardian.
- Tonight hopes of the summit producing a deal were rising after the US, the world's biggest historical polluter, moved to save the talks from collapse.
- The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, committed the US to backing a $100bn-a-year global climate fund from 2020 to shield poor countries from the ravages of global warming. Barack Obama is expected to offer even more cash when he flies in tomorrow.
- The document was drafted by the UN secretariat running the Copenhagen summit and is dated 11pm on Tuesday night. It is marked "do not distribute" and "initial draft". It shows a gap of up to 4.2 gigatonnes of carbon emissions between the present pledges and the required 2020 level of 44Gt, which is required to stay below a 2C rise. No higher offers have since been made.
- "Unless the remaining gap of around 1.9-4.2Gt is closed and Annexe 1 parties [rich countries] commit themselves to strong action before and after 2020, global emissions will remain on an unsustainable pathway that could lead to concentrations equal or above 550 parts per million, with the related temperature rise around 3C," it says. It does not specify a time when 3C would be reached but it is likely to be 2050.
- Bill McKibben, founder of the campaign 350.org, said: "In one sense this is no secret – we've been saying it for months. But it is powerful to have the UN confirming its own insincerity." He did not know why his name was written on the top of the document.
- The goal of keeping the increase in global average temperatures below 2C, relative to pre-industrial levels, has become the figure that all rich countries have committed to try to achieve in Copenhagen. However, 102 of the world's poorest countries are holding out for emission cuts resulting in a temperature increase of no more than 1.5C.
- The internal paper says: "Further steps are possible and necessary to fill the gap. This could be done by increasing the aggregated emission reductions [in rich countries] to at least 30% below the baseline levels, further stronger voluntary actions by developing countries [such as China and India] to reduce their emissions by at least 20% below business as usual, and reducing further emissions from deforestation and international aviation and marine shipping."
- Earlier this week Rajendra Pachauri, who heads the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that even with 1.5C rises, many communities would suffer.
"Some of the most vulnerable regions in the world will be worst affected. These will be the largest countries in the developing world. They have little infrastructure that might protect them from climate change. The tragedyof the situation is that those countries that have not at all contributed to the problem of climate change will be the ones most affected," he said.
"Some parts of the world, which even with a 1.5C rise, will suffer great hardship and lose their ability to lead a decent and stable form of existence. If we are going to be concerned about these communities, then maybe 1.5C is what we should be targeting. But if we can find means by which those communities can be helped to withstand the impact of climate change with substantial flow of finances, then maybe one can go to 2C."
A UK government spokesman said last night: "The UK government continues to work towards a 2 degree deal at Copenhagen and current ambitions set us on track to meet that target. We know however that more needs to be done before the talks conclude and that's why the Prime Minister, the Climate Change Secretary and British negotiators will be working over these crucial next hours to secure a deal that delivers."
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Climate change: Copenhagen in graphics
Global emissions have risen steadily in recent decades.
Where do greenhouse gas emissions come from? Which countries are most responsible for causing human-induced climate change?
According to the European Climate Foundation analysis - and others - commitments made so far are probably not enough to meet the G8 target. This shortfall is one of the issues likely to be highlighted during the Copenhagen conference.
Have governments pledged tough enough cuts so far to keep the global average temperature rise within "safe limits"?
A number of academic teams have calculated how emissions are likely to rise in the next few decades, and what that is likely to mean in terms of rising temperatures? Their projections are not exact because there are many sources of uncertainty in the calculations, including the exact relationship between greenhouse gas levels and temperature rise. A number of developed countries and blocs have set targets for cutting their emissions, some of which depend on what other countries do. The EU, for example, will cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels - but if there is a global deal, that will rise to 30%. Some developing nations have also pledged to reduce the rate at which their emissions are growing. If implemented, are these curbs enough to keep the global average temperature rise below 2C - the target adopted by G8, the EU and a number of major developing countries?
When trying to assign "responsibility" for causing climate change, how should they be measured? Populous developing countries such as China and India have relatively high overall emissions - comparable with many developed countries. But each of their citizens produces a much smaller amount than counterparts in regions such as North America or Western Europe. Countries that industrialised early and grew rich early because of that industrialisation, such as the UK, Germany and the US, have a higher "historical footprint". In some peoples' eyes, this gives them a higher responsibility for curbing the problem.
Sources: PRIMAP | IPCC | European Climate Foundation
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Dorset Humanists & 100 other Activists at Bournemouth 350.org - Copenhagen Climate Change summit 7- 18 December
Hi Jane,
Thanks for suggesting Dorset Humanists attend the 350.org photo shoot in Bournemouth on 24th October. Sorry you and Dennis weren’t able to attend.
Sharon and I are dressed in red and yellow on the arm of the ‘3’. We like to be different – everyone else dressed in blue!
At least one other DH attended – Diana? in her 50s – can’t remember her last name.
David,
please include this BOURNEMOUTH THREE-FIVE-O photo in the next Bulletin.
Attached original resolution picture: 350.org-bournemouth-241009-1.jpg
Damp but undaunted! People from local organizations including East
Dorset Friends of the Earth, Poole Agenda 21, Christian Aid,
Bournemouth and Poole Greenpeace, Transition Towns, East Dorset Green
Party, Dorset Humanists gathered in steady drizzle and wind on
Bournemouth beach. Photographer: Manuela Boeckle.
Dorset Friends of the Earth, Poole Agenda 21, Christian Aid,
Bournemouth and Poole Greenpeace, Transition Towns, East Dorset Green
Party, Dorset Humanists gathered in steady drizzle and wind on
Bournemouth beach. Photographer: Manuela Boeckle.
BOURNEMOUTH THREE-FIVE-O
Despite a continuous downpour, nearly 100 activists from the
Poole/Bournemouth/Christchurch conurbation surroundings gathered to
send our message to world leaders and local citizens:-
the time for complacency is long past.
The latest scientific advice is that to prevent the danger of
catastrophic the global warming CO2 level should be no higher than
350 ppm. However it is already 389 ppm and rising. Real and urgent
action is needed now to address the problem. photo Manuela Boeckle
http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/4054874737/
On 24 October, people at over 5200 events in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history.
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
