Climate Change
Read all the lastest news on climate change, and our blogs, actions and updates below.
Climate Crisis will be the challenge of new decade
Issued in news on January 04, 2010 at 10:41:00.
This is not how it was supposed to end. Internationally, this decade was supposed to give us a comprehensive global treaty to contain climate change. In Ireland, some of us allowed ourselves hope a soft-landing for the Celtic Tiger would herald a "post-materialist" era where environmental and social considerations where given as much weight as economic ones in policy-making.
Instead, the Copenhagen climate talks ended in confusion and recrimination and in Ireland the economic crash has driven us back to very understandable materialist concerns about budget cuts and job losses.
Proposed Copenhagen Accord an embarrassment
Issued in news on December 18, 2009 at 16:59:00.
Rich countries will not avoid a PR disaster by bullying poor countries to accept a climate disaster
Friends of the Earth has described the latest draft text at the UN climate summit as an "embarrassment". Calling on world leaders to stay in Copenhagen until they agree a "real deal with actions strong enough to deliver on their aspirations", the environmental organisation said poorer countries will not be bullied into accepting an unfair and unsafe agreement.
In Copenhagen, Friends of the Earth Policy Officer, Molly Walsh said
Uncertainty in Copenhagen as new draft goes down badly
Issued in news on December 18, 2009 at 10:46:00.
The mood at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen has changed from optimism to uncertainty, after a draft text from a influential group of world leaders went down badly with developing nations.
...Overnight, a group of 26 influential world leaders had worked on a text, a process which the Danish Prime Minister had described as both fruitful and positive.
However this morning, developing nations have reacted negatively to the text, apparently feeling that an agreement was being forced on them by the world's richest nations.
Open the door, De Boer!
Issued in the blog on December 17, 2009 at 15:36:00.
What happened yesterday was a nail in the coffin for any belief I might ever have had left that the UNFCCC is an open democratic and transparent process.We heard a few days ago that every NGO group would only be allowed 20% of their registered people inside the Bella Centre. This was apparently because of capacity. WE were not pleased about this. If a process is to be open and transparent ngos must be able attend and see what is going on. Anyway we did what we were told and just like all the other observer organisations at the COP we picked some of our people to go in. These people were going to be given a white card that would now be needed along with our UN photo id that everyone has around their neck. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one for these people. This system of white cards and primary passes worked OK for Tuesday. Things were a bit quieter but we did manage to do a good flash mob action wearing blue ponchos and chanting "we stand with Africa, Kyoto targets now".Minister Eamon Ryan even joined in a bit, without really knowing what he was being dragged into!
Blog by Leah
Issued in the blog on December 17, 2009 at 10:34:00.
With all the money being thrown around here you would think they could do something about the bloody heating. Maybe its a subconscious corporate lobbying tactic - keep the room temperature in the COP 15 UN Conference centre low, and all those pesky environmental activists wont be so adamant about preventing global warming after all! If the FoEI delegation need something to get hot headed about, however, they need not look any farther than yesterdays announcement by a number of developed countries that have made proposals to merge the two tracks of negotiations going on, the Kyoto Protocol track and the Working Group on Long term Cooperative Action - there is a fear that this will mean a suspension of the only legally binding agreement on a reduction in carbon emissions for developed countries, while merging the two tracks may mean reducing the involvement of developing countries, for whom climate change will have the most devastating effects.
The Lows and Highs of a Day at COP15
Issued in the blog on December 16, 2009 at 07:11:00.
It started as another day of inching along with the crowd seeking to register from around 9 a.m.. This time a further obstacle was presented to NGOs - a magic white pass issued on a quota basis which effectively eliminated entry for thousands of NGO observers who had surmounted the accreditation process successfully. In a scene which made us feel for an instant just a little like they must have felt at Auschwitz or Srebenica, NGOs were herded into a separate queue from the press, media and other observers. Those of us who had braved the 8 hours the previous day knew another similar day was ahead with no guarantee of success at the end. As with all queues, there are times you get your hopes up, only to be dashed. In this case around the 4-hour mark the VIPs began to arrive and the triage system was operationalised. NGOs were back at the bottom of the pile and the queue froze. It was turning into another eight hour queue day and for a time the heavy snowfall didn't help our spirits. The historic achievement of getting past the front gate, with the great co-operation of the Friends of the Earth's Molly Walsh was dashed as it became clear that there was a major logistics problem inside the building. Four hours later the cause of all the problems was apparent. 10-15 administrators were working flat out to register people, each one taking 5-10 minutes in total, or around 100 per hour passing through the system. Trouble was, around 45,000 people had apparently indicated they were coming to the conference and the bulk of these had obviously materialised for the second week. The system was now obviously hopelessly inadequate for the several thousand souls out in the snow. The United Nations got everything right except this crucial detail. 10 times as many administrators were needed at the registration desk and fewer security scanners. There are several good courses in Event Management at Irish universities which I could recommend!
Left in the Cold
Issued in the blog on December 15, 2009 at 23:10:00.
It was 8 a.m. when I alighted from the train from the city centre to register for the conference as an NGO delegate for Friends of the Earth Ireland. In the sub zero temperatures the beginnings of a 500m queue of humanity could just be discerned stretching into the distance beyond the railway station. 3 hours later I had reached the railway station again, cold and weary, but still hopeful that the gates would at last open to the Bella Centre. The crowd around was generally patient and kept alert by the occasional noisy demonstration, extolling the virtues of a vegan lifestyle or denigrating the Australian government for their support of the world's largest coal export industry.
Copenhagen negotiators "playing Russian roulette with the future of humanity"
Issued in news on December 14, 2009 at 00:01:00.
"You can't negotiate with the atmosphere. Physics doesn't compromise" according to leading Irish scientist
Friends of the Earth has accused negotiators at the UN climate talks of "playing Russian roulette with the future of humanity". As ministers begin arriving at the summit in Copenhagen, the environmental organization has called on Presidents and Prime Ministers to end the short-sighted jostling for national advantage and focus on "our common interest in a safe climate". The first week of the conference has been marked by bitter divisions between Western countries and the global south on targets for reducing emissions and finance for coping with the climate change already underway.
From Copenhagen, Friends of the Earth policy officer, Molly Walsh, said:
Copenhagen - a good place to bridge cultural divides
Issued in the blog on December 13, 2009 at 20:07:00.
Copenhagen is certainly a suitable place to attempt to bridge the gap between two very different cultures regarding managing climate change. On an island where the Atlantic world meets central Europe and the progressive societies of Scandinavia, Copenhagen is where European meetings of minds have historically occurred. It is where hopefully the sensible reasoning of the inhabitants of this ancient place can be brought to bear on civilisation's greatest challenge to date.
NO Offsetting CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW!
Issued in the blog on December 12, 2009 at 17:36:00.
SATURDAY 12th - 'No-Offsetting - CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW!"
'No-Offsetting - CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW!" Nnimmo's deep powerful voice echoed across parliament square over thousands of us dressed in blue. Nnimmo Bassey is the Nigerian Chair of Friends of the Earth International, and had the perfect voice for this speech. Today we are outside. I hear that five thousand of us have flowed through the city in this 'Flood for Climate Justice'. Carlos from Mexico who organised the hardest for this moment takes the stage and leads us in a giant Mexican wave. Within an hour of the flood ending thousands more gather behind and around us in the square, lining the canal as far as the eye can see. The far away speakers tell us 100, 000 are here. We begin the 7km march on the Bella Centre about 2pm - and we are still walking hours later in the dark. At one point we passed a side street to our left filled with police vans. Just after we passed, the vans and bodies shot out in a line across the road blocking the portion of the march behind us. The march ahead tried to stay behind in solidarity - about 200 people went back to support the trapped people but eventually moved on. We hovered, getting cold, not knowing whether to go back or go on, and eventually decided to keep going.
Thousands of people walked to the UN fence today, some of us for over 9 hours altogether, in costumes, holding banners, calling for justice. I heard afterwards that Mary Robinson and Naomi Klein (again) gave rousing speeches to the crowd as they arrived. Later as we arrived we were greeted by music and sparklers and line of police vans ringing the Bella Centre.
25% or 45%? Copenhagen comes down to a numbers game
Issued in news on December 12, 2009 at 13:14:00.
Michael McCarthy on the battle over emissions cuts that is dividing the world
They call them square brackets - the pieces of text about which negotiators have not yet agreed, and so are bracketed off. And yesterday at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, the most important square brackets in history were revealed.
They showed the upper and lower limits of the world's ambitions to cut the emissions of carbon dioxide which are causing climate change. They are vastly different, and imply enormous differences in the scale of effort involved, yet beginning today, ministers from more than 190 countries have less than a week to choose between them.
Arriving in Copenhagen
Issued in the blog on December 10, 2009 at 17:33:00.
We arrived in drizzle. Ourselves and other activists from Climate Camp Ireland stood in a clump on the pavement where our eurolines left us with a huge pile of luggage. Across the road we found the alternative people's summit, and thankfully some maps. After two nights in transit our sleepy heads found it hard to co-ordinate communal bus tickets and directions. Then came relief. A warehouse in Teglholmen. Food. Stacks of carefully prepared briefings, leaflets, guides and bust cards. Beards of familiar activist faces passing in the field kitchen. Vegan hot dishes and, despite the long queues for toilets, a great atmosphere of solidarity and anticipation.
Budget 2010: Carbon tax welcome; car scrappage scheme misguided, wasteful
Issued in news on December 09, 2009 at 17:46:00.
Carbon tax welcome, but too low and no reason to exclude big polluters
Car scrappage scheme misguided, wasteful
Where is the promised carbon audit of capital spending?
Finance for retro-fitting, electric cars weclome
Friends of the Earth has welcomed the introduction of carbon tax in today's Budget, while criticising the exemption of big polluters, and claiming that the tax level falls far short of what is needed to reflect the damage carbon pollution does. The other measures with an environmental impact are a mixed bag according to the environmental organisation.
Welcoming the carbon tax, Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan said
Copenhagen: Leaked draft deal widens rift between rich and poor nations
Issued in news on December 09, 2009 at 09:52:00.
Climate talks are in disarray barely days into the summit, putting at risk international unity to fight global warming
Three hours after the "Danish text" had been leaked to the Guardian, Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the group of 132 developing countries known as G77 plus China, spelt out exactly why the poor countries he represents were so incensed. "The text robs developing countries of their just and equitable and fair share of the atmospheric space. It tries to treat rich and poor countries as equal," said the diplomat.
Boat building in Copenhagen
Issued in the blog on December 08, 2009 at 11:21:00.
lets not get into a leaky canoe
The night train to Copenhagen is unusually late. The crowded platform in Cologne train station is dominated by interesting looking characters. There is a tall bearded man with a black stetson carrying a very battered leather briefcase. There are two scruffy punks form Belgian with very advanced cameras. There are a two people who joined my journey in London and seem to be from a UK NGO. They have long since exhausted their political discussions of what the weeks ahead will hold and are now much more animatedly discussing their cats. All these strange characters waiting for the train, myself included, are going to Copenhagen for the UN climate conference. From Monday thousands of delegates from around the world will gather at the Bella centre in an attempt to negotiate a global deal on climate. The train finally arrives at the platform and we all get on. I love night trains. Perhaps it is because we don't have any opportunities for international train travel in Ireland, perhaps its the idea of going to sleep in one country and waking up in another. Anyway I find them really exciting. There is a certain sound that night trains make that is different to the noises of other trains. The tone of the rattle seems lower and flatter, they are calm beasts that carry us sleeping to our destinations.
