All Images ©Robert vanWaarden

Images ©Robert vanWaarden

At the Bella Center metro station (Sara Engström)

Since I live just an hour’s train journey away from Copenhagen, I decided to commute between Lund (my hometown) and the COP15 conference. The morning trains were full of people with UNFCCC badges of all colours hanging around their necks – there were delegates, press people, IGOs and NGOs.

One day last week I was sitting next to two delegates from the Swedish delegation, and the next day in the seat next to me was a delegate from Congo (I don’t know which Congo he meant though). As fellow passengers, all three of them were genuinely nice people. I could sit there and have a small chat and even ask them to keep an eye on my things while I went to the toilet. No problem. When sitting next to somebody in the train, you are playing the role of yourself – usually a quite polite and friendly figure.

However, as soon as the four of us – the two members of the Swedish party, the delegate from Congo and myself – got inside the Bella Center, we were immediately divided into separate blocs. We isolated ourselves in the contexts that we belonged to and focused on what we wanted. Sitting down and having a chat with somebody in another position like that is just out of question.

I went to Bonn in August. This was the first UNFCCC negotiation that I participated in. I was then at a quite early stage in my involvement in the youth movement, and travelled down to get some useful experience. I really did learn a lot. It was in Bonn that I realised what a limited perspective I had had (and probably still have) on climate issues: strongly influenced by attitudes of the Western society. At that conference, I had the ability to speak to basically all the delegates and it suddenly became so clear to me how developed and developing countries were lining up on opposite sides – constantly blaming each other for inhibiting progress. They both think that the other side is not showing enough will and commitment. Developing countries think that developed countries are not taking the lead as they should, developed countries that this is impossible to do due to the attitudes of developing countries. Having understood this vicious circle, the problem suddenly became a much more complex one to me as well.

When speaking to delegates, I always get the impression that they are doing the best that they can in their positions. When they put forward their arguments and explain how they reason, everything seems to make perfect sense to me. In Bonn, I found myself having full understanding for both the delegate from Lichtenstein, who said that basically all of his country’s emission cuts will be made through offsets, and for all the delegates from developing countries who emphasised that developed countries should really start by cutting their own emissions (and increase funding, of course).

This was absurd. When I think about it, I realize that I find Lichtenstein’s position absolutely wrong. I don’t think offsetting is the way to combat climate change, and I fully agree with poorer countries that rich countries must take some responsibility and focus on their own emissions.

However, I find it difficult to win that argument. When speaking to the delegate from Lichtenstein, or listening to what the politicians in Sweden are saying, I don’t know what I could say or do to prove them wrong. The reason being that they are using arguments based on values that are the core in our society, values that I have been brought up with and am not used to questioning.

Everyone has started saying that the situation is getting increasingly more dangerous. Everyone is talking in terms of saving humanity and saving our planet. Everyone says that they are committed to taking action.

Still, developed countries again and again show out to be more anxious about saving the economy and – what comes with it, our way of life. And naturally with this attitude, a lot of measures that need to be taken become impossible. Hence, to question what politicians in Sweden, the EU, the USA and so on are saying is difficult. Not because there are no counter-arguments, but because these question basic values – the core principles of society.

When politicians in the EU discuss whether emission reductions should be 20% or 30% by 2020, even though at least 40% would be required, I find myself in some way accepting that. Even though I know that this is not close to being sufficient, and will probably have catastrophic consequences. However, I’ve learned that everything except these proposed targets is economically impossible. Which equals absolutely impossible in every aspect.

So this is one of my big dilemmas. How can I express my opinions on how I think that developed countries should act, without sounding unrealistic or naïve? I don’t want to be seen as a radical when I’m arguing that we must set up targets that, according to science and not to the economical frames, will avoid disastrous climate change. I know that such goals are realistic, but they require a change of attitudes. What is then the best way of changing attitudes?

I asked the delegate from Congo about how he thought that the negotiations were going. He said that the whole thing was arranged by rich countries beforehand already. That was his immediate answer, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The delegates from Sweden were like most people in general. I actually thought they seemed really friendly. Still, right now it is people like them – who could just as easily have been my neighbours – who are not being ambitious and daring enough, and are thereby denying people in other parts of the world their right to live.

After some in-depth contemplation of this complex dilemma, I’ve found out that there is still just one solution. It is obvious that the developed world must change its values – some of the core principles in our society. After all, it is a question of either putting money or lives at a risk. Surely, no civilised human being should hesitate with that decision.

There is no chance that dangerous climate change can be stopped if developed countries are not willing to change their way of life and their values. Therefore the most effective thing that one can do as a citizen in one of these countries is, simply, to dare to be critical.

Formed in 1991 as a nodal agency for developing and promoting non-conventional projects in the state, PEDA is striving forward to achieve its aim of a sustainable energy future. Alternatives like hydel power, solar energy, biomass/agro waste have been taken under research and practice.

During the financial year 1999-2000, four small hydel power projects on the Abohar Branch Canal at Chupki, Narangwal, Tugal and Dalla were completed. These projects account for a total power generation capacity of 5.5 MW. Micro hydel power projects on the Bathinda Branch Canal at Khatra, Kanganwal, Bowani and Jagera with a total capacity of 4.3 MW were also commissioned. Apart from this, many private investors have also been commissioned projects in this category.

Research and development in the field of solar energy has been going on at a consistent pace for the past few years now. The main office of PEDA in Sector 33-D, Chandigarh accounts for complete solar energy dependence. Recently when I visited the office, the huge solar panels spread over the entire dimensions of the roof left me amazed. The arrangement of the cubicles is such that sunlight provides a natural lighting for most of the hours till late evening. The computers and all other machinery depend solely on the power driven from the awesome solar panels overhead. The office even has a custom made elevator which, like every other thing present there, draws power from the very same panels. It is a set example that even heavy machinery can be smoothly operated using non-conventional sources of energy, provided that a careful blend of technology and design is used. The various solar powered appliances developed by the PEDA for commercial availability are displayed near the main counter with detailed information available on each of them.

Today, the PEDA took a giant leap with the inauguration of India’s first ever 2 MW solar power plant in Awan, a village newar Amritsar. Set up by the US based company Azure Power in the independent power producers mode, it will subsequently be expanded up to a capacity of 5 MW. With the Centre’s target of producing 20,000 MW of solar power under its solar mission, this initiative by the Punjab Government is quite laudable. By attracting entrepreneurs in the clean power sector, PEDA is indeed performing a pioneering role. The aim of setting up more such plants in the near future will surely bring in more such companies belonging to the renewable energy sector. Increase in competition would account for even better research leading to more efficient and productive plants. This, coming rightly at a time when the Copenhagen Summit is in full swing, has surely shown the concern and understanding towards the international cause.

Apart from this, Punjab possesses a capacity to shift 1000 MW of its needs to biomass. Currently, the exploited potential lies at a meager 20.5 MW. PEDA is constantly working in this field. The lectures and workshops conducted by PEDA all the year round aim at pressing the need of this renewable energy source along with the others it is researching in.

Through these acts of initiating numerous small hydel power project on various canals, encouraging biomass energy production, setting up the nation’s first ever solar power production facility and turning its own office into a state of the art modern complex by using the latest technologies and yet deriving them solely from the sun, PEDA has made a mark through example which even the other agencies need to aim for if the global warming problems need to be curbed.

This initiative of the Punjab Government depicts that the responsibility of all State Governments should complement the drive of the Central Government in accordance with the emission cuts which will be filed in the Copenhagen draft. Working on the same lines can indeed make this problem comparatively easy to be dealt with. Cooperation will play an important factor to frame the result of the deal coming out of this world summit. If all the world powers are planning to cooperate, why not start from the innermost unit and buildup to national cooperation and thereby to an international one?

It’s the final day of negotiations, and I don’t think any of us knew what to expect exactly. I know that we certainly didn’t expect that our leaders would magically & suddenly grow a conscience and throw traditional political deal-making protocol to the wind in favor of saving humanity. But maybe we dared to dream a bit . . . maybe we thought that our vigils, our protests, our actions, our pleas, the mountains of emails that have been pouring into our electeds’ inboxes that poor little interns have to sift through . . . maybe we thought some of that would help them aim a little higher, at least pretend to respect human life, no, ALL life, enough to make a real deal and save life on this planet. Maybe we thought the science would convince them.

While the final text has yet to emerge from COP15, all signs (including world leaders’ orations this morning) point to a treaty that will facilitate the impending apocalypse. Most notably, POTUS Barack Obama, once hoped to swoop in as a last-minute game-changer, stood in front of a microphone today to deliver a flat, uninspired speech confirming the US’s laughable carbon emissions targets: 17% by 2020, and 80% by 2050. Perhaps out of embarrassment, he didn’t even bother providing the baseline year for those targets, but we’ll assume that it’s consistent with earlier reports – 2005.

For those of you whose eyelids are drooping at the numbers, I’ll sum it up quickly by saying that that we need to commit to reductions of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 to stabilize the climate and not threaten the lives of millions of people around the world.

So, when an hour later I received an email from Organizing for America, the group of dedicated organizers who brought you the Presidency of Barack Obama, I was a bit puzzled. Were they apologizing to me already?

They were not. They were sending me a holiday card. From the President. Who just told me through a live stream from the heavily guarded Bella Center that he’s like, totally okay with displacement, hunger, lack of water, resource wars, and death for millions of people on the planet.

“Happy Holidays, Persian Girl!” was shouted to me by groups of friendly Americans from around the country in a montage, before I was treated to a special appearance by the Big O himself, wishing me Happy Holidays & signing a card made out to me.

Possibly they’re wishing us happy holidays now because they know they may only have a few more years to do so before we’re dead of some climate change related affliction? Happy Holidays indeed.

[ Click here for a more positive take on COP15. ]

The picture was totally different earlier this week: we had our hands full with all sorts of exciting events. Our second week at the COP15 started with a definite highlight. On Monday morning part of the team had a meeting with the Dutch Ministers of Environment and Development Cooperation, Jaqueline Cramer and Bert Koenders. Together with them and the Dutch youth representatives we discussed our project and the Dutch youth statements. It was an interesting meeting and informal meeting in which both Ministers expressed their sympathy for the project and agreed that youth participation is a very important issue in climate change talks. It was not only the Dutch part of the group that got to speak to their Ministers, also our African youth delegates met various Ministers. A few of them got opportunities to prepare speeches and briefings for their Ministers.

The beginning of the week was however not all fun and games for everyone. A few of our project members spent most of Monday out in the cold due to poor organisation. It also soon became clear that due to new restrictions many people with NGO badges would not be able to enter the Bella Center anymore as of Tuesday. Luckily most of the African youth delegates had a Party badge, but a number of us would not be able to get in anymore. We had a number of secondary badges for Tuesday and Wednesday but from Thursday onwards our whole team has been moving between various makeshift offices in the alternative fora in town. The last couple of days we spent trying to attract some media attention, following the talks on various screens and just taking a break from the hassle at the Bella Center.

Now, as the final official hours of the conference have arrived (it looks like the talks are going to be lengthened though) we have some time to reflect on what we did and I think we can be proud. Proud of our little project and the fact that we made it to Copenhagen, but even more proud of work that Ebrima, Ezilon, Margaret, Matildah, Mangaliso, Hubert, Claude, Mahawa and Matias have been able to do for their countries. Now it is up to Obama, Jiabao, Reinfeldt and co to make us proud of being part of humanity! Whatever the outcome, we’re off for a good African dinner with our team before we split up again and spread out over precious globe.  The food will taste a whole lot better knowing that everyone´s survival will be guaranteed though!

As has been demonstrated by the proceedings of the COP 15, no single state is willing to pledge to reduce its emissions without commitments from other nations–no one wants to go first. The problem here is believing in the conventional wisdom that climate change control policies would always cost more than existing technologies and essentially is equivalent to a large scale subsidy that would burden the state exchequer. But conventional wisdom need not always be right, and the countries that do go first might just reap the biggest benefits.

Consider this: Venture capitalists have been investing in Greentech companies at a rate which has made it the third largest investment class. There are a large number of companies in the private sector who are making (or saving as you may see it) a lot of money from going green. Incorporating these changes into everyday lives of citizens is something that our elected representatives can achieve. Several initiatives in this direction ranging from using ICT to minimize travel costs and its related environmental offsets to using solar powered musical instruments at a concert are not only innovative ways to get attention but also sound economics. A lot of movement in this direction has taken place in India too, many of them with support from the government. Its time this moves from being an occasional exception to an everyday phenomenon discussed on the same lines as garbage disposal, unemployment and public transport.

The problem of land sustainability and employment for people living in places where the unpredictable monsoons and other activities have rendered it unsuitable for cultivation can be addressed by using the land for biofuel production. Cleanstar uses women’s groups, idle unsuitable land and technology to grow hardy species of trees to yield Inedible oil for biofuel in automobiles and seedcakes for biofertilizers and biogas. The phasing out of CFC’s which harm the ozone layer (and was one of the outcomes of the Kyoto Protocol ) meant that new, innovative techniques for heating and cooling needed to be invented. Unidyne does that showcasing that environmental sustainability is a very profitable business model too. ARTI-INDIA has a working project that coverts our usual organic wastes to charcoal while Ankur Scientific is another leading company in Biomass gasification i.e. using solid wastes to produce gas for electrification and household consumption. In transportation sector, several companies like Eko Vehicles are producing excellent vehicles on all scales that are extremely cost efficient and environmental friendly. Water desalination, solar thermal energy generation and using soft power for logistics and automation in efficient grid and energy utility management are growing segments where government can effectively use its paraphernalia to consult different industrial sectors.

The policy part of climate change and environmental sustainability has been debated upon and several frameworks like the Union Government’s National Missions on Climate Change have been adopted. However the real change will only come when solutions like the ones elaborated in the earlier paragraph are implemented as enablers for the key development issues. Himachal Pradesh, an Indian state in the Himalayas has adopted and implemented several such measures which include:
• Banning of Plastic carry bags in replacements of local alternatives.
• Strengthened management of Municipal solid wastes.
• Co-processing of plastic waste in cement kilns and use of plastic waste in road construction.
• Rain Water harvesting in all buildings, energy auditing and harnessing revenues through Carbon credit sales on the Mid-Himalayan Watershed project.

This clearly shows the feasibility of incorporating climate change policy as a solution to existing problems rather than treating it as an additional burden. Also e-waste like mobile phones which are exponentially growing in numbers in India can be an excellent opportunity for revenue generation through recycling of the precious metals, retrofitting for use in disaster management or simply reuse. Recycling 1 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 185 million households in the US, save 240,000 tonnes of raw materials including precious metals like (Tantalum-Niobium) whose extraction has led to the exploitation of Congo in Africa.

We need politicians who would think like the managers of the greentech companies and understand both the need and the benefits of incorporating strategies like the one described here to deal with the everyday problems of their electorate which at the same time would ensure long term environmental and climate sustainability. The discussions of the foremost leaders in the world may not be able to reach a conclusion in Copenhagen but clearly a distributed global strategy in every part of the world which accepts climate change as an interesting business opportunity that would bring welfare to its state would do the world a whole lot of good and help make better use of the funds pledged at the summit.

But this month in Copenhagen, ‘green culture’ is everywhere you look.  Subways walls are plastered with signs urging negotiators to ‘seal the deal’, and every museum and city plaza has a special exhibit about climate change.

You can learn a lot about Denmark by how they have taken on their role as host for the climate negotiations known as COP15.  With so many art and cultural activities, Denmark is recognizing that sustainability will only catch on if it is linked to social and cultural identity.

Here is an overview of the few climate art exhibits in Copenhagen this week, many of which are also online or will soon travel to a city near you.

It’s a Small World

As a world leader in design, the soul of Denmark seems to lie in the Danish Design Centre. The exhibit “It’s Small World” offers a welcome concreteness at a time when the global stakes are so high and yet so amorphous. The exhibition is about reconsidering scale – from the small choices we make about what we buy, to big visions like widely adopted electric cars.

The worlds of public policy and design merge in an interactive video-exhibit about the future of energy in Denmark. The video features a conversation between designers and the charismatic lead negotiator of the COP15, Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy.

The participants outlines a serious vision for Denmark in 2020– where half the countries energy comes from windmills that in turn power a new generation of electric cars.  With nearly 5,000 windmills currently powering 20% of the nation’s energy, Denmark is working hard to position itself as a leader and future exporter of sustainable innovation.

Sponsored by the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, the exhibition will travel to the US and around Europe starting in February 2010.

100 places to remember before they disappear

Near the central subway station of Norreport, this outdoor photo exhibition puts a stunning human face to climate change. From archipelagos in the Pacific, to the hills of Caracas and the streets of Chicago, the pictures show 100 places on earth that are vulnerable to extreme climate change and other human influences on the environment.

While the photos are beautiful, they are also painful to look at; one can sense the vulnerability of the landscapes.  By offering pictures of the beauty that we have, the exhibit portrays a sense of wonder and value of exactly what is at stake.  One of the goals of the exhibition, sponsored by Care and CO+Life, is to put people living in poverty at the center of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The website is a great learning tool, with an interactive map. The photographs are also available in a hardbound coffee table book.

Consequences

In a round dome just outside of the conference center, Greenpeace is also presenting a photo exhibit.During the opening Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International spoke about the importance of artists in fighting climate change, comparing it to the role of artists in fighting apartheid in South Africa.

“Artists are using their skills to communicate what is happening and that is a critical component that is coming together here at COP15,” said Naidoo. “We recognize the power of the images to cut through the crap of negotiations and show the face of the frontlines of climate change.”

Ranging from photos of Nenet reindeer herders in Siberia, to people in India living in the shadow of a coal disaster, all of the photos were shot within the past three months.  The exhibit was a collaborative project of ten photographers from the Dutch agency Kadir von Lohuizen with support from Greenpeace.  A slide show of the photos is available on their website.

~

With so many people in Copenhagen this week, the art is sure to reach many of the climate faithful, though probably not the government negotiators who are trapped behind closed doors until the late hours of the night.  Hopefully the exhibits will reach many more people as they travel the world, prompting the cultural shift necessary for change.

As one activist explained, climate change is about culture. If you listen to the speeches of negotiators from small islands like Tuvulu and Maldives (pictured above), projected to disappear within a generation, they are fighting for their lives.  They are thinking about how their children will grow up not knowing their own cultures.

More climate art:

The World is Yours: Contemporary art at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Rethink: Contemporary Art and Climate Change, four large art exhibitions by Nordic and international artists

Everyday Miracles: an art installation by Presens, real-life climate solutions

La journée du 9 décembre avait été marquée par la connaissance du projet de texte du Danemark, qui pourrait être le résultat majeur de la conférence. Ce texte, élaboré dans le secret (les rumeurs circulaient depuis plusieurs jours sur son existence), viole les principes démocratiques des Nations Unies et enterre le protocole de Kyoto, tout comme la convention de Rio sur les changements climatiques.

Il propose des contraintes de réduction pour l’ensemble des pays, sauf les plus pauvres, en contadiction avec le protocole de Kyoto qui n’engage que les pays industrialisés de l’Annexe 1. Les financements et les transferts technologiques, qui sont les piliers de la convention sur les changements climatiques, seraient désormais conditionnels. C’est un texte qui selon le G77 «protège les pays riches». Les engagements financiers proposés sont très faibles ; en revanche figure l’engagement à développer les marchés du carbone. La connaissance du texte a provoqué une manifestation spontanée dans le Bella Center, des représentants de la Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.

Dans la séance plénière, les pays du Sud étaient très offensifs, unis pour demander de rester dans le cadre du protocole, et les pays du Nord, en particulier suite à l’intervention de l’Australie apparaissent comme des rentiers qui défendent un texte qui les protège et qui ont perdu toute intelligence de la situation. Devant leur détermination à voir prendre en compte leurs propositions sans attendre, la présidente a préféré ajourner la plénière….

Présentation de la plate-forme bolivienne pour «les droits de la terre-mère». Bella Center.

(quelques interventions à la tribune de représentants du gouvernement)

«Si vous nous demandez si nous voulons vivre comme des américains ou des européens, la réponse est non. Non pas parce que nous ne les aimons pas, mais parce que leur mode de développement est insoutenable. Voilà pourquoi nous devons changer de système. Il faut délivrer la «mère-terre» de l’esclavage. On doit trouver un équilibre entre les humains et la nature».

Ici, dans cette réunion, c’est l’endroit où on discute les vrais solutions.

Jour international de la mère terre, 22 avril : «Nous voulons construire un mouvement, un mouvement global pour les droits de «la terre mère» avec les peuples indigènes, les mouvements sociaux, les ONG, les mouvements écologistes, les chercheurs, les États».

Table ronde au Klimaforum

Ecological debt, Climate change and human and nature rights

Dette écologique, changement climatique, droits humains et droits de la nature

Compte-rendu partiel de quelques interventions

Elizabeth Peredo, Fundacion Solon, Bolivia

Nécessité de changer de paradigme. Nous venons de la terre et nous y retournerons. Vivre bien, vivre en harmonie, ce sont les racines que nous voulons développer. Nous ne voulons pas vivre plus, nous voulons «vivre bien» et en harmonie avec les autres peuples. Le gouvernement de Bolivie a posé dans l’agenda de l’ONU, les droits de la mère-terre. Nous proposons aussi la construction d’un tribunal sur la justice climatique.

C’est suite à la seconde guerre mondiale, après «l’holocauste» qu’ont été réaffirmés les droits humains. Aujourd’hui, c’est un génocide silencieux qui exige de poser les droits de la mère-terre.

Ibrahim Koulibali, Via Campesina, Mali.

Au Mali, le changement climatique est là. C’est une réalité qui sévit au quotidien depuis trente ans, avec la perturbation des saisons. C’est la vie des hommes et femmes qui est en jeu. Le désert avance. Mais on assiste aujourd’hui à l’émergence du nouveau business, et à la marchandisation de la terre et des forêts. La dette établit les responsabilités, et ceux qui sont responsables doivent changer de système. Les riches vont continuer à polluer car ils ont l’argent pour payer. Les victimes vont continuer à mourir.

Percy Makombe- Economic Justice Network (South Africa)

Nous sommes devant une crise de civilisation. Nous ne sommes pas seulement victimes nous sommes aussi partie prenante dès lors que nous avons abdiqué notre droit et notre devoir de penser. La responsabilité de la crise climatique revient aux pays du Nord. Les pays industrialisés, après avoir colonisé les terres, les mers, colonisent l’air avec le marché du carbone. On donne des droits de propriété sur l’air qu’on respire. Il faut supprimer les brevets sur les technologies propres. Le climat est un bien public. Il faut revoir le paradigme de la consommation et de la croissance.

Ivonne Yanez-Oilwatch Americas (Ecuador)

Le changement climatique est en train de devenir une idéologie. Bien sûr il y a un changement climatique. L’idélogie du changement climatique suppose «l’adaptation» et non la transformation du système. Cette idéologie promeut le marché, le marché carbone, les CDM, le REDD, c’est une «shock doctrine», comme le dit Naomi Klein.

Il faut construire une ére de l’après-pétrole, qui permette l’émancipation. Nous avons à étendre la constitution de l’Equateur, qui reconnaît des droits pour les ressources naturelles.