More posts at Climate Slamdown

That’s where the energy is going at the minute- chasing the aftermath of Copenhagen. Have posted a few things there today (Dec 20th)

www.climateslamdown.wordpress.com

Marc Roberts fantastic post-Copenhagen cartoon can be seen there, but also at his site www.throbgoblins.blogspot.com

Cheers and merry solstice and Atheistmas and all that.

Climate Slamdown!

Hey all,
can’t find the time (I work full-time, and am currently last man standing) to update Coping with Copenhagen at the minute. BUT my collaborators Arwa and Marc and I are doing spiffing daily updates/summaries.

These are freely downloadable from www.climateslamdown.wordpress.com

And Marc is doing his amazing cartoons at www.throbgoblins.blogspot.com

And we’re going to have our post-copenhagen cartoon out by Saturday evening (unless the conference runs overtime massively…)

Those proposals in full…

This below from the latest IISD info

COP President Hedegaard indicated that proposals relating to adoption of new protocols under the Convention had been received from five countries: Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Tuvalu and the US (FCCC/CP/2009/3-7).

TUVALU outlined its proposed protocol, which he said would complement but not replace the Kyoto Protocol. He indicated that his draft protocol follows the elements of the BAP closely, sets out a shared vision and the goals of limiting temperature increase to well below 1.5°C and stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at 350 ppm at the most. He said parties in Copenhagen should adopt two legally-binding agreements: a Protocol amendment and a new “Copenhagen Protocol.” He proposed a contact group to work on this agenda item.

COSTA RICA described its proposal for a Copenhagen Protocol and supported a legally-binding agreement.

JAPAN outlined its proposal, which includes reducing global emissions by at least 50% from current levels by 2050, provisions for developed country commitments, developing country action and financial and technological cooperation. He said it requires all major economies to participate in a single new legally-binding protocol. AUSTRALIA said a new treaty is the best way to achieve a collective outcome and the US outlined its proposal for a legally-binding agreement under the Convention.

INDIA, CHINA, SAUDI ARABIA, SOUTH AFRICA and others opposed a new protocol. CHINA urged a focus on implementing the existing commitments under the Convention and Protocol and adopting an ambitious outcome under the Bali Roadmap and BAP.

Climate Action Network (CAN), for ENGOs, urged a fair, ambitious and legally-binding deal in Copenhagen. She called for agreement on Annex I targets for a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and said the US should commit to similar targets as other Annex I parties in a legally-binding form. YOUTH expressed concerns that some of the new proposals being tabled would be “tantamount to carbon colonialism.” She urged respect for the UN process, recognition of historical responsibility, and upholding and enhancing the Kyoto Protocol.

COP President Hedegaard proposed establishing a contact group on this item. This was supported by Grenada, for AOSIS, as well as BARBADOS, TUVALU, COSTA RICA, BELIZE, BAHAMAS, SENEGAL, KENYA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, COOK ISLANDS, PALAU and the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

However, SAUDI ARABIA, with INDIA, VENEZUELA, ALGERIA, KUWAIT, OMAN, NIGERIA, ECUADOR and CHINA, opposed a contact group and preferred that the COP President or a Vice-President hold informal consultations.

COP President Hedegaard indicated that in the absence of consensus on forming a contact group, she had no option but to consult informally. TUVALU, supported by AOSIS, argued that this agenda item required formal consideration, and proposed suspending the COP until the issue is resolved. The COP was then suspended.

Following informal consultations, COP President Hedegaard reported back in the evening that consultations on the issue would continue and that she would report back to the COP plenary on Thursday morning.

Climate Slamdown

So, it begins. We are putting up daily summaries of what’s been going on over at Climate Slamdown…

Welcome to the Nightmare

So, a top developing world negotiatior gets disinvited, [it’s like disappeared, only less permanent] thanks to arm twisting by Uncle Sam, and the FT reports that the UN admits there’ll be no specific money promises from the rich countries. (It’s stuff like this that make the FT worth £2 a day)

Shaping up for a great success, then…

If it doesn’t matter who wins, why keep score?

Climate Scoreboard

The Climate Scoreboard is a new, easily accessible tool for understanding and tracking the global climate change negotiations in real time.

This new online resource — an embeddable widget, a short video, and a set of graphs and a table — reports, on a daily basis, the long-term climate implications of proposals to the United Nations negotiations in Copenhagen.

The Scoreboard team will follow the negotiations in Copenhagen from day to day, and continue tracking progress in the months following the conference, addressing the question: if current proposals for emissions reductions were implemented how much future warming would be avoided?

You lite up my life…

New Climate Lite briefing ‘Getting the US Back on Board an International Climate Regime: Legal Options and Risks’ by Farhana Yamin is now available from http://www.ids.ac.uk/go/climate-lite as a one-page briefing (PDF) or 4min clip.

Climate Lite is a series of short jargon-free briefings produced by IDS and the Climate Change and Development Centre. It is aimed at busy policymakers and field practitioners interested in learning about emerging issues connecting climate change and development.

If you want further information on the series or to become a contributor please visit http://www.ids.ac.uk/go/climate-lite/

Think Global, Act Local Government

ICLEI (the international Local Government Association for Environment) is hosting a whole lotta events at Copenhagen, and have done a bunch of briefing papers. Probably very good, but I’m recommending them on reputation alone, not having read the blighters (yet).

1. Glossary
2. Climate Change
3. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
4. Kyoto Protocol – Introduction
5. Kyoto Protocol – Mechanism for implementation
6. Conference of the Parties – how can LG actively participate?
7. The road to Copenhagen – international climate negotiations 2007-2009
8. Local Government Climate Roadmap 2007-2009
9. Why cities and local governments are key actors – fields of local action
10. World Mayors and Local Governments Climate Protection Agreement
11. Key Issues for Local Government on Climate Change: download
12. City Climate Catalogue
13. Negotiation update: After Bangkok UN Climate Talks (October 2009): COP15: Chances for Changing our Climate?
14. COP 15: what can we expect at global level?

Offsetting the Copenhagen footprint

This from a UNFCCC press release:
Offsetting the carbon footprint for Copenhagen

An estimated 15,000 people representing Governments, NGOs, IGOs, along with over 2,000 journalists will travel to Copenhagen from all over the world for the conference. The main objective of the organizers is to minimize greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible. Whatever cannot be avoided is to be offset. In addition, every delegate can make a difference by, for example, choosing the most sustainable form of international and local transport.

Greenhouse gas emissions fall into two parts: international travel, which forms by far the largest part; and secondly, local emissions of the host country covering such things as energy consumed and waste generated at the conference venue, hotel accommodation and local transportation. An initial estimate of overall emissions put the figure at 40,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The Danish Government has identified sustainability as one of its top priorities for the Conference, and has publicized a number of steps:

* The Conference organizers at the Bella Center are to achieve a 20% reduction in CO2 leading up to COP 15 by implementing a range of energy saving measures
* Hotel owners have been encouraged to expand the number of environmentally friendly, certified hotel rooms
* Delegates are encouraged to use the public transport system to reach the Bella Center, drink tap water to avoid bottle waste, and minimize paper waste
* There will be no gifts or conference bags for delegates. Instead, money saved has been invested in 11 scholarships for students from around the world, who will attend a fully financed two-year MA education in Denmark.

To ensure the conference will be climate neutral, the Danish Government, in partnership with the government of Bangladesh and the World Bank, has decided to replace outdated brick kilns in Dhaka. The heavily polluting, existing kilns will be replaced by 20 new energy efficient ones, which the Danish Energy Agency calculates will cut more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year and improve air quality in one of the world’s most polluted cities. The Danish government has set aside 0.7 million euros as part of this year’s state budget for this purpose. Details can be found here.

Well, that’s alright then.

Angry Mermaid

We have a mermaid with a snorkel, WDM etc have an Angry Mermaid with a placard. And incongruous shells to protect her modesty.

Welcome to the Angry Mermaid Award

Cast your vote in the Angry Mermaid Award and help decide which company or lobby group is doing the most to sabotage effective action on climate change.

Voting is open until Sunday 13 December 2009.

Crucial UN climate talks take place in Copenhagen this December. While people, organisations and social movements around the world are calling for strong action to prevent climate change and ensure climate justice, big business has been lobbying to block effective action to tackle the problem, while also seeking to benefit from it. Lobbying is defined as attempting to influence the decision-making process.

The Angry Mermaid Award has been set up to recognise the perverse role of corporate lobbyists, and highlight those business groups and companies that have made the greatest effort to sabotage the climate talks, and other climate measures, while promoting, often profitable, false solutions.

Named after the iconic Copenhagen mermaid who is angry about the destruction being caused by climate change, the Angry Mermaid Award winner will be decided by a public poll. Read the story of the Angry Mermaid.

Online voting has opened on Monday 16 November 2009.

Cast your vote and help decide which company or lobby group has done the most to block effective action to tackle climate change.

Voting closes on Sunday 13 December 2009 and the winner of the Angry Mermaid Award will be announced in Copenhagen on Tuesday 15 December 2009.