The first one I went to was "Extreme Ice Survey" which reviewed glacial movement. It was incredibly interesting, the presenter ran through many different visuals (both pictures and videos) showing glacial retreat all over the world. It was really interesting to see that almost all of the glaciers all over the world have been quickly retreating.
The next panel I went to was incredibly interesting, "Plan B for Climate Stabilization" presented by Janet Larsen, Director of Research at the Earth Policy Institute. The presentation started by discussing concerns about food supply due to climate change, and how it is the #1 weak link regarding climate change because we will see dire effects such as food shortages, lowered crop yields and I learned that 1 degree Celsius temperature rise above the crop optimum means that the crop yields shrink by 10% !!!! Also, climate change is related to (as many of you know) rising sea levels, depleting glaciers, floods, droughts, among other dire consequences. Janet told us about a WWF climate witness, a sherpa who has reached the top of Everest 19 times, he has seen the effects of climate change, his home village was recently flooded due to melting glaciers and his climbing colleague's house was swept away in the flood. Climate negotiators cannot continue as if we have 40 years to debate the science and whether or not the effects will happen, because climate change is happening now. Plan A - business as usual cannot go on. So Janet presented Plan B, which involves four items.
1. Stabilize population
2. Eradicate poverty
3. Restore earth's depleated ecosystems
4. Stabilize the climate
For this talk Janet focused on the fourth point, she stressed that we have the technology to reach 80% reduction in GHG by 2020. By embracing energy efficiency, investing in renewable energy, carbon tax, and reforestation.
Listen to Lester Brown speak on this topic here, he is the founder of the Earth Policy Institute and is worth the listen!! To learn about the Earth Policy Institute go to www.earthpolicy.org it has many different resources about climate change!
The final side event I went to was "What is COP15 all about?" which was a panel consisting of Richard Sandlow assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs, David Bloome who is an expert in economics and business, Jessy Tolken one of the top US youth activist, and Tom Brookes. Tom Brookes discussed what we need out of a COP15 treaty which is emissions targets, money for sustainable initiatives and enforcement. David Sandlow discussed how unprecedented the Obama administration has been in tackling cimate change and how amazing this conference is since we now have emissions targets from every major GHG emitter. David Bloome stressed the need for a price on carbon and that climate change and sustainable development are linked, business leaders are pushing for a low carbon economy. Jessy Tolken (who I love!) discussed the movement of young people to be better than before and how we understand that "survival is not negotiable". She believes that if the youth at this conference switched places with the delegates for a day we could come up with a agreement that reflects the urgency, ends the wars being fought over oil, and addresses the need for jobs, a stronger economy and a cleaner planet.
I think that everyone is hopefully that something meaningful will come out of this conference. I feel the same way, I think that something will have to come out of this conference. Right now I hope that we will see a Copenhagen agreement because the world needs it, and I believe that delegates will be able to put their differences and egos aside for the betterment of the world. Many of these delegates get it, but the US needs to get it. WE need to get it, WE need to demand it. Lisa Jackson the director of the EPA just released an amazing announcement... "Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment" go to www.epa.gov to see the press release and more about this amazing statement.
Random thoughts/adventures from yesterday:
- This conference is like Powershift (DC) on steroids, oh yeah and there are international negotiations going on.
- It's crazy the amount of very important people at this conference
- /I realize how small this world is, the previous ASUM Sustainability Coordinator knows a person I knew back in high school and reconnected us because we are both here in Copenhagen. What are the odds?
No comments:
Post a Comment