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Green Peace: Souvenirs from Bali
(photo credit: LouLou)
It was a tense week in Bali, as the effort to reach an international agreement on global warming dragged on until the end, with a last-minute compromise. You could hear frustration, to say the least, in Al Gore's voice, as he spoke of his own country obstructing a deal (see video below), referring once to "the elephant in the room". Europe and America disagreed as to the amount by which carbon emissions by rich countries should be reduced by 2020. US, Canada and Japan were some of the last holdouts (see poster below), with US objecting, at one point, to a sentence that India wanted included. At stake was a global treaty to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Groups blamed the US for watering down the final version by pushing out firm targets or timelines. Friends of the Earth called it a "suicide pact". This final agreement followed two tense weeks of wrangling over who should take responsibility for carbon emissions, as Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary general, facilitated negotiations. Now we can expect two years of intense final negotiations over how to prevent a temperature rise over this century which could threaten thousands of species and billlions of people. The Kyoto Treaty expires in 2012 and needs to be superceded and the plan for this needs to be ready in 2009.
While all this was going on internationally in Bali, back in America, the US House of Representatives passed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which then passed in the Senate. Republicans threatened to filibuster, so that more votes (60) would be needed to pass it. This forced the Senate to go to work on revisions and delay the vote until next week, with corporations working behind the scenes to trash as much of the renewable energy conditions in the bill as possible.
It is absolutely mind-boggling to have had environmental champions such as Gore and Kerry come so close to the Presidency, only to have to continue to live under a President who represents Big Oil. It is a small bit of karmic justice to think of the Gores partying in Oslo to Earth Wind and Fire, and the Kerrys getting to travel to Bali then Africa, but not enough. We need to hold the 2008 candidates to a high standard on this issue, particularly since some are still in the Dark Ages, ie., skeptical about whether global warming exists. Ordinary people are wondering why Iowa has ice storms when they used to have snow, just one of many examples. People need to pull the wool off of their eyes and make some connections between lifestyle/consumption, big oil, the environment, the real causes war and the future of the planet.
Kerry Statement on Bali Climate Change Roadmap
Kerry was the only member of Congress to attend the international conference on climate change in Bali earlier this week.
“The good news is the world came together and produced a draft climate change roadmap, the bad news is that the United States’ sole contribution was to make it less clear where that road from Bali will lead. The Bali roadmap is not all it could have been, but it is nonetheless a mandate for action whether George Bush realizes it or not. Equally important, while the Bush administration is increasingly out of touch, their days in power are also numbered. It will require new American leadership in 2009 to ensure that the United States leads rather than resists the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We’re in a race against time, but we also have new opportunities to ensure that the industrialized nations and the developing nations come together to meet our shared but differentiated responsibilities in the years ahead.”
Al Gore in Bali: On US Obstructionism
Additional (frustrating) reading:
EPA Pushed to Lower Reporting Standards
Hard Choices on Climate Can Wait for Next President"
Ominous Arctic Melt Worries Experts"
Bitter Divisions Exposed at Climate Talks
The Last Emperor: China's Pollution Problem Goes Global"
Biofuels Scarce On Bali Agenda
Good summary:
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A timely piece DiAnne, in more ways than one. Less than 2 months ago, Australia was firmly hand-to-hand; lips-to-lips; (like your photos on the open thread) with GWPlanetTorturer. Prior to Bali, our new Prime Minister Rudd announced Australia's intention to ratify Kyoto and get onto the next stage.
Rudd has also pledged to work hard on the United States and India to ensure no stumbling block gets in the way. Well, we'll see. Wouldn't it be interesting to see the rest of the world so angry about the biggest contributor being the least restrictive, that they call in debts and impose tough sanctions. Hmmm - what kind of catastrophe would follow.
Howard and Bush cried - we can't reduce emissions without hurting the economy. Idiots. Big business (even the coal industry here) the economy will be devastated if we don't restrict emissions.
We have to do better. We can. If we can be bothered.
Three more of interest:
US Pours Cold Water on Bali Optimism
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121707EA.shtml
John Vidal, The Guardian UK, reports: "The US backtracked yesterday on the climate change agreement reached after marathon talks in Bali, saying it had 'serious concerns' about the new global consensus and that developing countries had to do far more if there was to be any pact in two years' time."
George Monbiot | Current Bali Deal Is Worse Than Kyoto
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121707EB.shtml
In The Guardian UK, George Monbiot says, "American negotiators have pulled the same trick twice, and for the second time our governments have fallen for it. There are still two years to go, but so far the new agreement is even worse than the Kyoto protocol."
Oceans' Growing Acidity Alarms Scientists
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121707EC.shtml
Reporting for McClatchy Newspapers, Les Blumenthal writes, "Seven hundred miles west of Seattle in the Pacific at Ocean Station Papa, a first-of-its-kind buoy is anchored to monitor a looming environmental catastrophe."
Dianne,
Excellent thread header. I have to comment on the striking picture first, because I absolutely loved it!
I actually have no clue what to say about Bali, the energy bill, and so on. The only thing I can think of is that "the world can't wait" for IMPEACHMENT. And this shows why.
nmp - that's right - the countries who have an enormous natural wealth in their coral reefs will lose them very very soon. The Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia is nearing its end as acidity increases. And what a sad loss that will be for the world.