COA senior Juan Carlos Soriano was interviewed on TeleSur, a network considered to be the Latin American equivalent of CNN. Listen to his conversation, in Spanish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwv5XfODG5g&feature=player_embedded
All posts in COP16
The Mexico City Pact is Officially Presented at COP16
-by Moisés Flores Baca
On November 21 of this year the the World Mayors Summit on Climate took place in Mexico City, there, mayors from 142 cities around the world signed the “Mexico City Pact”, by which the signatories commit themselves to take meaningful action to reduce the emissions produced by their cities. Yesterday such pact, which contains the point of view on climate change and climate action of cities such as LA and Seoul, was officially presented to the members of the COP16.
The meeting was opened by the chair of the COP16, Patricia Espinosa, who emphasized the importance of the role of local governments and parliaments in the decision making process to address climate change. She said that it is well known that ‘politics is always local’, and that local politics is the one that has the deepest and most resounding effects on people, hence, the voice of local governments cannot go unheard in the climate negotiations since those governments are the ones closest to the people.
After the opening remarks by Patricia Espinosa it was Cristiana Figueres’ turn to speak. She added to what Ms Espinosa said that local governments are also at the front line when it comes to concrete climate action. She then brought up Calderon’s point -given during his speech the day before- that the only way to close both the wealth and the environmental gaps is to effectively combat the problem of climate change. Development and climate stability do not have to be mutually exclusive. However, for effective climate action to take place, she continued, it is imperative that national governments have confidence that they can reach agreements, confidence that can only be gained if we, the general public, give them our full support. Figueres continued by echoing what she said during her meeting with the youth representatives last week: that we are here now in Cancun to fertilize the ground upon which a legally binding agreement must bloom in the future -that is, in Durban 2011. Figueres also highlighted the importance there is in the fact that 142 mayors have come up with an agreement for climate action -the one signed in Mexico City- that demonstrates not only a common understanding of the climate problematic, but also a commitment to take the first steps toward a more sustainable way of doing things. She called on negotiators to look at what happened in Mexico City in November as an example of what should be happening here at Cancun, and must happen in future negotiations. She concluded by saying that at the climate negotiations there are four sectors that is imperative to take into account if we are to achieve our climate goals: the national governments level, the city and local governments level, the civil society, and the private sector. Only with these four working together we will attain a truly sustainable future.
Then it was the turn to listen to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico City’s Mayor and the winer of the 2010 World Mayor Prize. Ebrard started by emphasizing the fact that yesterday was a historical day since it was the first time that a declaration signed by local governments is presented to the COP. In this way the importance that local governments play in the fight against climate change is recognized. After mentioning the fact that 142 cities including cities from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas are signatories of the declaration presented, Ebrad explained that the effort made by the cities is not only to criticize the process of negotiations carried out by the UNFCCC, but rather, it is to support that effort. It is to remind them that the time they are spending is not only theirs, but it belongs to every single person on earth because it is the future of everyone that is at stake. Thus negotiators do not have the right to lose time, however, he continued, if cities such as LA or Seoul have been able to agree on drastically reducing their emissions, why do we have to wait for the international actors to reach an agreement?: local governments should take the first step and there is in fact a lot that they can do. Ebrad concluded by announcing that next year the results of the emission reduction plans of the cities signatories of the Mexico City Agreement will be made public for the whole world, keeping the spirit of transparency that he considers is essential to achieve the goals set.
For the second half of the event there were three speakers, the mayor of Brussels, a representative of Namibia, and Vancouver’s council, who respectively emphasized the fact that cities are the most efficient kind of human settlement arrangement that exists, the responsibility bore by parliamentarians to their people, and the irony of being willing to bail out bankers but not to commit to investing $100 billion a year to fight the effects of climate change.
I think that the most important take out point from the presentation of the Mexico City Agreement to the COP is that, perhaps, if the national governments around the world are incapable of reaching emissions reduction agreements, we should reach out to city or other levels of government. We do not have to solely rely on national governments.
Scary and Hopeful
By Ayla Yandow
It is a balmy 78 degrees here today by the sparkling crystal clear turquoise waters of Cancun, Mexico. I was thinking today, however, that the bulk of the time, most of us are complaining about how cold we are as most of the time we are wearing sweaters and pants in air conditioned conference halls. That made it all the more clear that we, representing the COA community, are 100% committed to taking on the challenge of helping to find solutions towards a sustainable future.
Most of my days here have been spent at Cancunmesse, where workshops, talks, films, booths and actions take place on all topics surrounding climate change. These are all events that you can get involved in as opposed to at the Moon Palace where the official climate negotiations are taking place, where you are just an observer. Some of the events I have attended so far include side events on sustainable agriculture, technology transfer, biodiversity, alternative energy, the youth movement and action, polar ice melting, the Third World Network and one about the magic number of 350, led by Bill McKibbin, just to name a few.
It is a zoo here, but the great thing is, is that I know that everyone here is here for a very similar purpose and is working towards a very similar vision as everyone else and that creates a strong energy of excitement and passion that is contagious. There are around 194 countries represented just within the official negotiators here and thousands of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations like COA). That’s a lot of people in one place who are committed to working for a sustainable future, and it’s wonderful, although we need to have the whole planet on board to make the significant changes that need to happen in order to stay below a rise in temperature of 1.5 degrees C, but it is a start at least.
Being here has really made the issue of climate change even more real for me as I hear all the different perspectives of the science. This planet-wide problem is moving at an enormous rate, already effecting millions of people, especially in poor developing countries and small island states. It is even clearer to me now that something huge needs to take place and it is going to take a lot of effort to reverse what we have done. I wish that, especially in the US, that this issue would become a reality in people’s minds because it seems that actions only take place when it is directly affecting us. If only people could see that since we are in the Global North that we are somewhat adaptable, but countries, especially in the Global South are extremely vulnerable and are already being dramatically impacted; and they aren’t even the cause of this, we are!
If we don’t slow down global climate change and get the atmospheric carbon down to somewhat manageable parts per million then we are going to see an almost 2 degree C spike in global temperature by 2050 and a 4 degree C increase by as soon as 2060 or 2070. To give you an idea of how serious that is, the global temperature has only risen about 8/10th of a degree C so far and already this is affecting millions of people and biodiversity worldwide. This kind of increase in temperature will also cause the polar ice caps to melt at an even faster rate, increasing sea level rise, greatly affecting, if not swallowing small island states and displacing millions. I saw a film the other day about this called The Polar Explorer that basically said that the polar ice shelves are melting about 10% per decade, so about 1% per year. If the ice shelves in Antarctica and Greenland melt completely, sea level rise is estimated to rise about 43 vertical feet, swallowing millions of acres of land. Plants and animals are also very susceptible to rise in temperature and many species will go extinct if we do not do something soon and fast.
These facts are not meant to depress you, although they are scary and very sad. What I am trying to pass on from this conference is the magnitude and implications of what needs to be done. These facts should only inspire people to act on a bigger level because the fact is, is that this is something that is happening and it will get worse. This is our future. It is wonderful to be surrounded by so many people who are committed to fighting climate change because it creates a light in the dark tunnel we are entering. This is a great thing because, at least for me, when I am working on a project with a few people or on my own concerning climate change, sometimes it is hard to see how I as an individual can have an impact on something of this magnitude. If everyone does something, we can all be part of the solution. Never lose sight of that.
Onward!
This is part of what is happening in Cancun
By Lurette Paulime
At the negotiation, many speakers are talking about legal binding and equity for developing countries. They say that governments should implement new policies that guarantee social benefits for the women of the world. They also mentioned that mostly indigenous people and women are suffering from inequality and human right issues. Civil society and politicians must be aware that climate change is a problem that has to be addressed by everyone. We believe that developing countries want a technical panel for capacity building. Without such panel, it would be difficult to adapt to climate change. I am wondering how many developing countries can adapt to climate change while they are still living in poverty and are characterized by poor governance and services. I also think that a lot of communities in developing countries still do not have knowledge about many terms of climate change. The most challenging is that every country has to be responsible of the amount of gases emitted to the atmosphere. According to UNFCC, developed countries should provide resources such as technology, education and finance to developing countries in order to be able to reduce their Co2 emissions. For example, the Kenya’s delegate mentioned that in this country most people do not understand the process of climate change. I believe that an important education program must lead to a better understanding of this issue and should be the approach taken in many developing countries. It is also essential that NGOs work together with local and national governments to contribute of the development of those countries. In Kenya, for example, people think that the solutions have to come from NGOs where local communities have to be assisted in the implementation of the adaptation’s process.
Women play an important role to alleviate poverty and combat climate change. Funding mechanism and implementation should support them to get involved in the process of climate adaptation. Support and development skills are two factors which can provide more respect to women. For example the India delegate focused in human rights and participation. He said that inequality represents a barrier to cope with poverty and climate change in India. They need strong voices to be represented in the society.He said “we believe that women represent a part of the solution”.
Moreover, in many developing countries, their main income comes from agriculture. For example the delegate of Mozambique mentioned that 52% of the population is women and the income of more than 60% of the population comes from agriculture. I think this statement proves that women should be part of the solution, because they are also affected by the negative impacts of climate change. Equity is a great way to grow a national economy and an excellent means of capacity building in developing countries.
I spent the whole weekend at the Development and Climate Days program. While I was eating my lunch on Saturday, two friends from Costa Rica and Honduras advanced me and said “We are sorry, where are you from?” I said “I am from Haiti”. They started to talk about the cholera outbreak situation that Haiti is facing now and also the serious challenge of climate change in their countries. They are wondering how the Kyoto protocol process could be useful for a better future in developing countries. The Kyoto protocol is the only ratification that aims a legal binding between developed and developing countries. Climate change is more than a crucial crisis in developing countries. This problem has to be addressed with equity and equality. We believe if governments are really taking into account the severe environmental problems in the world, they can come up with a significant outcome in Cancun.
