Right now, in Durban, South Africa, thousands of people are gathered with all the ideas and cooperation and commitment needed to solve climate change in a fair and just way. People from all over the world have come together, ready to take action for our earth and our future.
In other news, there’s a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP17 climate conference going on. But lets stay out of the halls of the conference center for a moment.
On Saturday 3rd December, a global day of action took place to demand real and just solutions to climate change and in Durban an estimated 12,000 people took to the streets. The messages on banners and placards were as diverse as the cultures and people there. People had been pouring into Durban for the previous few days. 400 rural women, who traveled by bus to take part, and to hold a Rural Women’s Assembly to talk about how rural women will be effected by climate change, and how they are part of the solution. Hundreds of rural farmers, activists from all over the world, union groups, youth groups, organizations and delegations from all over the earth. Then there are thousands upon thousands who, like me, would love to be present and represented but who couldn’t due to lack of resources.
Yesterday La Via Campesina marched in Durban, demanding the rights of small scale farmers be respected and declaring once again that it is those same small scale farmers of the global south who are cooling the planet through sustainable agriculture.
Many of the marchers have been involved, in the past week, in Occupy COP17; a alternative space in Durban for civil society groups, modeled in structure and process on the Occupy protests taking place all over the world. Many of the protesters demand are misrepresented in mainstream media. They are not there asking for a good deal, many are there protesting against the conference; against anti-democratic processes and for a genuinely democratic response to climate change.
Global youth are always a force to be reckoned with at COP, and again youth have been getting stuck in, organizing events and actions inside COP; against forest loopholes, tar sands and REDD+, and FOR inter-generational justice. As always, the curtailment of freedom of expression inside the conference is pretty concerning, with a peaceful and small demonstrations (necessarily small, due to UN restrictions) being harassed for holding up banners, or giving out flyers. Youth, as always, have not been letting these restrictions stopping them having their voice heard, and many are supporting the ‘outside’ civil society events as well as those on the inside.
Inside the Conference of Parties (COP), voices of courage and sanity can be heard. ALBA countries, a group of leftist South American countries including Venezuela and Ecuador, a handful of African states, the ‘Least Developed countries’ and members of AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) are holding firm on demands for scientifically based emission cuts, and resisting the urge to make concessions that would see their people suffer for their own self interest.
It may well be true that, as former Bolivian Ambassador to the UN Pablo Solon said at last week’s Wolpe Memorial Lecture, “COP17 will be remembered as a place of premeditated genocide and ecocide.” For those who are fearlessly demanding climate justice in Durban this week, I hope, from thousands of miles away, that it will also be remembered as a place of inspiration, genuine change, the building of a movement and courage by the 99%.
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We will start with the bad news. Let’s not beat around the bush. Three days into the COP17 climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, and things are looking, well, pretty darn bleak. For those whose survival depends on the outcome, we cannot downplay the dire situation in which we find ourselves in Durban. Why am I so somber, you ask?
As COP negotiations started, civil society groups made opening demands of a global climate deal based on the science; a pathway to achieving the emissions reductions needed to limit temperature rises to 1.5%. For most civil society groups, and for most Developing Countries and Small Island States, this means a number of things are needed in Durban. Here’s the very modest wish-list:
1) A commitment to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire at the end of 2012. At this point, the Kyoto protocol is all the world has in the way of a binding deal to reduce emissions for developed countries. The Kyoto protocol is deeply flawed, some would say to a point which renders it useless, but most still agree that securing a second commitment phase is the only way to ensure developed countries do not back out of their previous commitments altogether.
2) Increased ambition, progress and cooperation for securing a global climate deal which will replace Kyoto or work alongside it, and bring in other non-annex1 parties. This deal must be binding and it must take into account the historical responsibility of developed countries for greenhouse gases. The market mechanisms which are riddled with loopholes which are included in the Kyoto Protocol must be, depending on who you talk to, removed completely or reformed extensively to remove loopholes. Ideally this would have been agreed upon two years ago in Copenhagen. Many civil society groups are now left hoping, optimistically, that it could be achieved by 2015; the date when emissions must globally peak according to scientific reports by the intergovernmental panel on climate change.
3) A fair, equitable and quick implementation of the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund must be governed by the COP itself, and be financed publicly, not by the private sector. At present, the involvement of the World Bank and the private sector in the governance and funding of the Green Climate Fund is causing significant concern, as it leaves the fund open to corruption, and makes transparency and accessibility for those in need of the funds difficult.
In the first three days of COP, the Kyoto Protocol appears to be on a lifeline, with many predicting it will be history by the end of COP17. This process started in Cancun a year ago, with Japan formally backing out of the Protocol, and Russia and Canada signaling their intention to. On day one of COP17 in Durban, Canada announced it would withdraw formally from the Protocol. Other developed nations which were previously still signally support for the second commitment phase are now showing signs they will follow suit and drop out, such as the European Union nations.
Ambition for the deal to replace Kyoto has taken a massive drop too, according to statements made by developed nations saying they don’t expect a deal to be reached before 2020. This attitude seems to be being pushed by the US, whose head of delegation Jonathon Pershing stated, to the outrage of many, that reaching a deal in 2020 would leave many options open for still keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees, which the US has committed to in both the Copenhagen and Cancun talks.
In Finance, a text around the governance and plan of implementation is being tabled this week. Civil society is somewhat divided here, with some saying we need to adopt it quickly so that progress can be made, and others saying that the involvement of the world bank, lack of transparency in governance and high involvement of the private sector makes the current proposal unacceptable.
The least developing countries, small island states, and civil society are now in a position of accepting the crumbs being offered by rich states in order to make any kind of progress, if you can call it that, or demand more before engaging in talks which would secure a global deal: More ambition, more transparency and commitment by developed countries. With the US leading a path of falling ambition and reneging on existing commitments, some developing countries, such as India, are adopting a harder line of negotiation. ‘If they won’t play ball, why should we?’ appears to be a new mantra for some developing states. China, Brazil and India have now joined the chorus of countries saying no deal will be reached before 2020. But it is the behavior and attitude of the richest countries of the global north which have lead us to this point. It is those nations with the most power which, like bullies in a playground, are so used to getting their way that any kind of compromise is simply unacceptable to them. A new report It is the poorest of nations who are now left more isolated, as they continue to demand a science based approach, while the negotiations stray further and further away from this.
So what’s the good news? There is plenty of courage and hope to be found in Durban. Some of it is inside the negotiating rooms, and a lot of it is outside, in the streets. I will be focusing on these acts of courage and hope and the groups and individuals who are in Durban speaking truth to overwhelming power in my next blog. So don’t lose hope in the meantime, we can’t afford to.
Krishneil started the day at a meeting with the South African Minister for Environment and Water Edna Molewa, where he proposed with the new YOUNGO Focal Point Jean Paul Afana, that as the hosts of COP17, South Africa assist in organising next years’ Conference of Youth (COY). The Minister seemed keen on the idea and we will definitely work on fostering this partnership in 2011.
Krish then went on to assist the observers briefing with the chair of the AWG-LCA and the UN Secretary General’s brief on climate financing where Ban Ki-Moon released a report demonstrating that it’s possible to finance the $100 billion in the Copenhagen Accord entirely from public funds.
Krish, Romita and I then attended a press briefing with the Pacific Leaders from Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Tuvalu where the leaders emphasised the impact that climate change is already having on their island states. Krish and Romita then met several of the Presidents after the meeting.
Pen had a busy day facilitating the outsiders working group, attending meetings at Kilmaforum including one with the CEO of Greenpeace Kumi Naidoo who gave a very inspiring speech. She also worked on media blogs, press releases and articles, as well as having a meeting on the PSP video. Additionally, she worked with AYD on a database to share youth resources and on the 1.5 degrees campaign.
Lu wrote a letter for SustainUS and a blog for Unfairplay. She then headed to a stakeholder meeting with the New Zealand (NZ) negotiators and the head of the Kyoto Protocol working group. She asked lots of hard questions including how NZ can say they have such a strong moral stance on Human Rights when they ignore the plight of their pacific neighbours on climate change. Go girl! This was followed by an interview with One Climate TV.
Romita spent much of the day at the Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) plenary, which I also partially attended. This included speeches by numerous Presidents and Ministers, including the President of Kiribati who emphasised the importance of dialog between nations being affected by climate change, as well as with youth, whose future is being negotiated. He also associated himself with the AOSIS statement and the statement made yesterday by the President of Nauru on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS). The President of Nauru emphasised the impact that climate change is already having on the islands and stated “when you ask us to compromise, you are asking us to choose how many islands we will lose. This is not a choice we are prepared to make.”
Romita also watched the statements from Samoa and FSM amongst others, as well as attending the meeting on Climate Finance with Krish, a closed meeting on Climate Funding, then the Pacific Leaders press conference with Krish and I, followed by a closed AOSIS meeting.
As for me, my day began at the YOUNGO Spokes-council, after which I attended some of the Presidential speeches at CMP with Romita before rushing off to a Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) meeting with a group of other Australian NGOs to discuss the progress of the negotiations. I then attended the Australian delegations’ NGO briefing with Minister Greg Combet, after which AYCC had a private meeting with Combet and I presented him with a t-shirt with a quote from Christina Ora of the Solomon Islands who was 17 when she addressed the COP plenary last year. “You have been negotiating all my life. You can not tell me that you need more time.”
Then it was back to COP for a few more Presidential speeches and the Pacific leaders Press briefing with Krish and Romita and dinner.
We then joined Luana and Pen for a dinner in a combined Project Survival Pacific (PSP), Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) and New Zealand Youth Delegation (NZYD) and the Philippine youth dinner to celebrate our amazing partnerships in 2010.
So it was a busy day but productive day for all. I think it is really important to have the pacific youth here to let these negotiators know that they’re being watched by those whose future they will determine. Issues such as choosing a 1.5 degree target rather than 2 degrees will dramatically affect the islands and they need to be held accountable for this. It’s essential that countries stop looking out for their own interests and think of the collective outcome, as climate change is something which will affects everyone. The Pacific, who is one of the least responsible for the problem, is unfortunately one of the first effected and stands to loose the most. Their home, their culture and identity are at stake.
Lets hope the negotiators hear the plight of our pacific youth.
The End 
Cancun Messe. UN COP16 Climate Change Negotiations 2nd December, 2010 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Good Afternoon
From Poznan to Mexico, the global youth have asked all countries to commit to a global climate treaty that ‘safeguards the survival of all countries and peoples of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations including those in the Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries, who are also the least responsible for causing the problem.
I come from the Pacific Islands where we are already battling with the harsh impacts of climate change. We youth in the Pacific are very concerned about our future in those islands and instead of sitting around debating on the technicalities & texts in square brackets like our lovely politicians did in Copenhagen last year, we are actually “Getting to Work”.
The youth leaders in the Pacific have collaborated with each other and with our respective government departments, regional NGO’s, and Diplomatic missions to start community based climate adaptation programs. An amazing example is the ‘Pacific Climate Leadership Program’, the first of such program in the Pacific region that I co-founded with youths from Fiji early this year.
Climate change needs a collective solution, thus through our collaborations with the pacific stakeholders we are now able to provide leadership trainings not only to youths but also women and men from all ages who go on to manage community based adaptation programs that we start with them now in 6 Pacific Island countries.
What are Youth expectations from this negotiation process?
Today, as we mark Young & Future Generations Day here at COP16, we youth of the world we again call for a sustainable future in which sustained global cooperation safeguards our planet from the perils of climate change. I’d like to say that the youth, still have faith in this process; we are going to continue working with this process and we are not going to give up on it.
We will keep engaging with you to find solutions to climate change using all the means we can. After-all we are the youth and you are deciding our present as well as our future.
Gracias
Monday 6th December- Day 6 at COP16
Kia Orana from the beautiful, sunny Cancun!
Today was a biggie in terms of spreading our PSP wings as far as possible. It has also been a flurry of excitement as we welcome Nat into the COP centre. Following new accreditation procedures, Pen and Romita spent the day networking at Klimaforum (which by the way is in a jungle!)
I think one of the most rewarding things about being involved in the COP process is sharing the pacific story, seeing people really empathise with our situation and relaying that message back to their communities or onto their key decision makers. I did a presentation today at the Climate Change Youth Forum at the Climate Village (like the Big Day Out but for climate change and for two weeks!) on NGO climate advocacy where I met with an elderly man today at the who had no idea of the spiritual connection people of the Pacific have with their land and once he realized this he was able to draw connections between the Pacific and his home here in Mexico.
Nat had a rad first day hanging with Krish- when we had our debrief she could hardly contain her excitement of her first day of COP. Despite the long hours and seemingly endless workload there is an element of fun we are able to have as youth too! They spent most of the day attending various meetings on 1.5 (an imperative both for PSP and now YOUNGO) which was great as it gave us an incredible policy perspective of how the negotiations are folding out.
They attended a high level stakeholders forum called by the President of Mexico, H.E. Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa where he announced “ particularly for small island states I’d like to see a 1.5 target”. It’s great after our dance with death last week when we thought 1.5 would be out the equation altogether to see people really backing the issue.
Pen and Romita hit up klimaforum with some of the AYD crew, a great space for creativity (and work) offered as an alternative to the strict guidelines of the formal negotiating space. They networked with other youth who had only been accredited for the first week also and sussed out some great blogging and media opportunities for PSP to be involved in.
There’s a real sense of solidarity here amongst youth from all over the world for the Pacific, and I think this was perhaps demonstrated best when the YOUNGO strategy team agreed to use 1.5 as the main message this year during COP.
In addition to this I met with the New Zealand Youth Delegation (NZYD) to discuss collaborations and they have agreed to push questions to their Government and negotiators about New Zealand’s responsibility to the Pacific.
Well that’s about all for today, I’m off to meet with the NZYD to discuss lobbying the NZ government- woohoo!
Kia Manuia
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