It’s an exciting time as the annual UN Climate Change conflab (aka COP 14, MOP 4, SBSTA a zillion and twelve, etc. etc.) is about to begin, this time in Poznan, a university town in Western Poland.  Here’s a run-down of some of the key issues and players:

5. Forests
Back in 1992, the Rio summit was originally supposed to develop a forests treaty in addition to the two well-known agreements which came out of the meeting: The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The forests issue is now coming back in the climate talks in the form of REDD - reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation. The UN does have a way with acronyms, doesn’t it?

Key challenges under REDD are the definition of a ‘managed forest’ for the purposes of carbon credits, what to do about reforestation, and whether or not developing countries should be paid not to cut down their forests. If you’re interested, Friends of the Earth has just released a major report on REDD ahead of the talks.

4. China
Although China is way behind in per capita emissions, the country is now, officially, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter on an absolute scale. This, not to mention being the world’s most populous nation, makes it one of the most important countries in the quest to stop climate chaos. Until recently, the U.S. and China were both at an impasse, with each country refusing to accept binding greenhouse gas emissions targets without the other. Now, with Barack Obama pledging a new chapter in U.S. action on climate change, the ball is in China’s court. The actions they take at this year’s meeting may influence international climate change policy for many years to come.

3. Money - for adaptation and technology transfer
Moving our great big resource-munching world to a low-carbon lifestyle isn’t just about political will (although that’s a big part of it). It’s about money. In this case, the money is specifically needed for two things: adaptation, to help poorer countries cope with the effects of global warming, and technology transfer, to help other countries grow their economies in a clean, green, lean sort of way. The UNFCCC has already established an Adaptation Fund, but it’s yet to be seen whether this fund will get the money it needs. The U.S. has tried to block proposals for technology transfer in previous negotiations, but this may change under an Obama administration - remember during the debates when he repeatedly mentioned exporting clean technologies to China?

2. The United States
Well, this is a bit obvious, isn’t it? But despite the fact that the country is under new management, the current occupant is yet to move out of the White House. Because the U.S. team at the climate talks is run by the state department, it’s under executive authority - this is why the U.S. delegation in Bali was politely but firmly told to get out of the way and let the world get on with the job of solving the climate crisis. For the past eight years, the U.S. delegation has been pulling out all the stops to prevent climate progress, and arguably there’s even less to keep them from being international nincompoops one last time.

However, the balance of power has shifted. The views from the U.S. congressional delegation, as well as from Obama’s transition team, may be more influential then the spastic flappings of a lame duck administration.

1. The Youth Caucus
This is the youth climate blog, after all. If you’re here, it’s because you already tentatively agree that the next generation is the one to watch. Youth from around the world have spent the last year preparing to hit the ground in Poland and speak truth to power - and you can read about it all here. We have one climate, one future, and one chance to avert disaster.

Will you join us?

Posted in Climate Policy, global warming, Political Participation, Politics, Poznan 2008, United States, Youth Leaders      

And the Conference of the Parties begins…..

All nations in the world agreed last year, in Bali Indonesia, to reach an agreement by 2009 to tackle climate change. By December 15th 2009, in Copenhagen Denmark, governments are expected to reach an agreement that   will holistically tackle not only the issues of emissions, but also the impacts to those most vulnerable. This coming Monday, in Poznan, Poland, the UN will meet again to advance the Bali Action Plan.

The Bali roadmap, which has become more like a treasure-hunt, brings many daunting challenges to Poznan. From tackling issues of deforestation in tropical forest to insurance schemes to help countries recover from extreme climate change-related losses, Poznan is happening in the midst of global financial crisis that many countries are already using as escape-goat for dumping climate goals and continuing the decades of inaction and unsustainable economic policies. The stakes are high, yet ideas are not flowing. The developed countries’ proposals on technology transfer and   finance for mitigation and adaptation are a carbon copy of the failed regulation mechanisms of modern history, yet somehow they are asking developing nations to take bold steps in order to achieve an agreement.
For something meaningful to come out of the agreement next year, Poznan must set a new path. Rather that trying fixing our future on new-yet-dirty of the same fuels that have gotten us in trouble, we need a vision of world where well-being is not coupled with greenhouse gases. There will be over 500 young people in Poznan, and they have been organizing for months. Over this weekend they will come together at Conference of Youth to finish their strategy, and over the next two weeks youth from across the planet will be contributing to itsgettinghotinhere.org  , giving their perspective on the process and their suggestions for fixing the planet we will inherit. You can also contribute with your message by sharing your views with COP14 youth messaging team

Posted in Bali 2007, Climate Policy, Copenhagen 2009, Deforestation, Impacted Communities, Montreal 2005, Nairobi 2006, Poznan 2008, United Nations, Youth Leaders      

Posted in global warming      

Cross-posted from Fired Up Media.

Hey everybody, so I wanted to update you on all the incredible progress we have been making on developing the communications capacity of the youth climate movement - with Fired Up: Youth Action TV. It has been a huge learning curve, starting with blogging and YouTube video and moving into the world of TV production. However, Fired Up Media is starting to produce our first TV content. We partnered with LinkTV’s Earthfocus, with the support of Focus the Nation and Clif Bar, to introduce the youth climate movement. Watch EarthFocus 9 now!

We gathered archive footage, learned how to edit, compose, and identify TV quality film…but this was only the beginning. The big success was producing the content at all! With our next segment, we are getting more ambitious and are sending a team to UN climate negotiations, to tell the story of young people trying to build a global movement to build a sustainable world. (With three editors of It’s Getting Hot in Here, Shadia Wood, Christine Irvine, and me!)

As to whom will be seeing it…Link TV is the first nationwide television channel dedicated to providing Americans with global perspectives on news, events and culture. Currently, the channel is available as a basic service in more than 31 million U.S. homes that receive direct broadcast satellite television (DBS). Pretty exciting, as the channel is available in 1 out of all 4 US households.

Also, this isn’t the only project we have been working on! Check out the Fired Up Online Organizing Wiki.

Fired Up: Youth Action TV is a funded project of Project Slingshot, awarded by Focus the Nation and funded by the awesome folks at Clif Bar.

Posted in global warming, International Affairs, Interviews, News and Media, online organizing, Poland Climate Talks, Reporting Team, United Nations, Video, Youth Leaders      

I don’t think this video needs much introduction, but here in Delhi, streets littered with plastic bags, sacred cows dying stomachs full of plastic from eating garbage, sewage and stormwater drains blocked with bags, and several failed national plastic bag bans, this campaign couldn’t come soon enough. lessplasticmorelife.org

Cities around India have banned the thinnest plastic bags and more corporates, malls, and even the Indian Youth Climate Network member universities, have started “Banning the Bag”.

Posted in global warming