COP 17 Blog
Too Little, Too Late
By John Dillon Politicians are portraying the outcome of the Durban climate conference as a “success” because they have agreed to keep on talking in the hope of arriving at a legally binding pact by 2015 that would take effect in 2020. Climate scientists warn that if we do not act sooner than 2020, climate change is likely to become catastrophic and irreversible. Current greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction pledges have put the world on track for temperature increases of 2-5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. If global average temperatures rise by 3.5 to 5 degrees, they would increase between 7 and 8 degres in Africa, causing immense human suffering and ecological … [Read more...]
Some final reflections
It’s the end of the second week of negotiations here in Durban. A fair number of official and civil society delegates have already returned home, as this is where political leaders are left to make final compromises. A total of some 14,570 people were accredited at the beginning of the COP. This doesn’t count those at the People’s Space at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Howard College campus who were not accredited. I wonder what the CO2 equivalent carbon footprint would be, comparatively, of all the participants’ travel and accommodation, the mountains of paper produced (even with recycling), the security and local support staff and volunteers, and utility … [Read more...]
Backwards to Climate Chaos or Forwards to Climate Action?
By John Dillon Environment Minister Peter Kent wants out of the Kyoto Protocol (KP), which he describes as “ineffective and unfair because the major emerging economies [particularly China and India], still want to consider themselves ... to be developing countries.” China insists that developed countries must commit themselves to a new round of emission reductions under the KP before developing countries will make their own legally binding commitments to emission reductions. As Chinese vice-Minister Xie Zhenhua said in Durban on Sunday “If [parties to the UN climate convention] fail to conscientiously implement what we have agreed ... then how can we have political trust?” Who … [Read more...]
COP17 — From Meeting to Marching to Prayer
On Sunday, December 4th, several KAIROS partners and collaborators gathered to debrief and discuss their experiences of Durban COP17 (so far!) over lunch at the Diakonia Centre, home to the Faith Secretariat for this COP. Beyond Julia, Caroline, Ivonne, and Georgine, all of whom I’ve described in earlier blogs, there were Tolbert Jallah (General Secretary of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa, FECCIWA, and a coordinating member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance – PACJA – who visited the KAIROS Ecumenical Circle of Collaboration on Global Partnerships meeting in late September ), Vernie Yocogan-Diano (chair of Innabuyog, an alliance of … [Read more...]
Rallying for Climate Justice!
Sunday, December 4 By Caroline Foster The climate justice rally was one of the highlights of my time in Durban so far. Although mixed reports are coming in on the actual number of participants (anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000), thousands were marching in support of the adoption of a legally binding agreement coming out of COP17. We were part of the faith groups’ participation in the rally. The day began with us hitching a ride on one of the “We Have Faith” caravans that travelled from Kenya to Durban in the weeks leading up to the conference. To learn more about this amazing journey of youth activists, please visit www.wehavefaithactnow.org. The caravan dropped us at the … [Read more...]
COP 17: from Peoples' Space to Conference Hall
As a first timer to a COP, I'm blown away by the cynical emphasis on offsets and the carbon markets and the resistance to REAL emission cuts. Will the hope of Kyoto Protocol die here? At the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) workshop in the People’s Space at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Ivonne Yanez (of Oilwatch South American, a KAIROS-funded partner) said that the legal framework under which REDD+ is practiced in Ecuador does not explicitly forbid the government from accessing minerals and petroleum resources on Indigenous lands. To the chagrin of one initially disbelieving workshop participant, Ivonne explain that is was ipso facto … [Read more...]
Is Canada Placing Conditions on Climate Adaptation Funding?
By John Dillon Environment Minister Peter Kent maintains that Canada is refusing to commit to further greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol (KP) because the KP only applies to developed countries. He says developing and emerging countries must also be included in a global pact. In fact, 191 countries have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Only the United States remains outside of it. While developed countries like Canada assumed specific emission reduction commitments under the first phase of the protocol, developing countries also made general promises to reduce emissions. Since developed countries are responsible for 75% of all carbon emissions from … [Read more...]
COP17 — at the stadium
Following November 26th’s orientation and dinner (a local favourite, “bunny chow” – hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry and eaten with fingers) at the Diakonia Centre (Diakonia Council of Churches – Durban, a rather unique local council of churches that has a long history of activism and resistance to the government of the day under Apartheid), it was off to the Kings Park rugby stadium the next day for the climate justice (“We Have Faith) inter-faith) rally and concert. Ken and I met up with the Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) group so we could go together to the rally. The FOEI affiliate in Nigeria, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), hosts both the … [Read more...]
Durban COP17 — Meeting our Partners
By Jim Davis I am ensconced in Durban for the start of the climate negotiations as an accredited civil society observer with the World Council of Churches (WCC). I must say, however, that we are all chagrined by the ongoing speculation that the Government of Canada is planning to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that the rainbow nation of South Africa, having overcome Apartheid, may have moral suasion over recalcitrant nations like Canada. There are many KAIROS friends and partners here in Durban; so far I have met up with the four funded KAIROS partners whose travel to Durban was facilitated by KAIROS. They are: Jackson Kentebe (who goes by … [Read more...]
Beauty and Struggle in Durban
I arrived in Durban on Saturday as a delegate to the youth conference Youth for Eco-Justice. The program is hosted by the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation. It brings together youth from around the world who are working on climate justice in their contexts. The first two days have been filled with opportunities to learn about eco-justice in different countries and to look at ways that youth are addressing those concerns. This is my first time in Africa and I have been astounded both by the beauty, of the people and the environment, and the stark contrast between that beauty and the poverty that seems to be everywhere. Last week, I had the opportunity to tag … [Read more...]
