Delay is not an option, delay kills
This week (monday 2 - friday 6) the Barcelona International Climate Change Talks are happening, five days of formal negotiations, in the lead up to COP 15. Since Saturday there have been a series of actions in the cities streets as well as at the conference centre to raise awereness, to unite eco movements and to try to force change during this window of opportunity in the conference centre at the far side of Montjuic. But will it be enough to get us out of our AGE OF STUPID? Perhaps not, news has just come through today that African countries have abandoned the talks.
Talks Timeline
Saturday - Manifestation in Barcelona streets - The climate is not for sale
Sunday - Outdoor film screening in city streets - 11th hour - Age of Stupid - Eco hopes
Monday - TckTckTck wake up call for climate talks - Anarchist night greeting
Tuesday - Africa boycott U.N. climate talks, demands CO2 cuts
Eh sorry there, COP 15?
In mid december COP 15 (15th UN Conference Of Parties) happens in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been labelled the "only venhicle for an international agreement which can tackle climate change". Many people from all over the world are learning the sciencea about 350, changing their normal ways, raising their voices and taking action to help bring about change. Basically, it will probably be the most important period in world history, as the outcome of these days dictates what type of world we are aiming to create. If we get it wrong we will no doubt spiral further and much deeper into Climate Chaos, the beginnings of which we are only starting to see as Irish summers are nothing but rain while many areas around the Mediterrainian are in drought, overheated and on fire.
Theres something strange going on in the streets of Barcelona
Many people walking in the busy tourist shopping street leading from Place Catalunya to Placa Universitat late on Sunday night might well have been wondering what was going on. Sitting on the street, with their backs against the wall and looking up to the outside wall of the FNAC building on the other side of the street were about 50 people, many of them were clearly moved by that which they were witnessing. A 3 way multi bill outdoor film screening had been organised, the main feature being THE AGE OF STUPID film, and while many passers by didn't get eactly what was going on, some stopped to watch and soon saw much critical views of the way in which we humans, especially those of us in the "developed world" live, how fat we are getting, how unfair our present system is, why capitalism is not sustainable and why the US entered Iraq. And if they stayed long enough they would have seen this films sobering message that unless we radically change the "normal way of life in the industrialized world" around the years 2009-2020 then the human species will have committed collective suicide.
The night before many tourist might have heard and seen the many hundreds strong demo through the streets under the banner of "el clima no està en venda" (The climate is not for sale).
These were just 2 events leading up to the BCN CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS. Here, things might be a little bit more choatic and un-cordinated but there is a deep analysis of the way the world is working, there are many different groups and project seeking to build alternatives which are sustainable and there is much people who are angry at the way the world is working at present with its twin paws of destruction; the killiing of our life system which relys on a delicate balance of nature, and the social injustice, misplacement and death to many caused by the capitalist market system of profit over all else (including, in time, human existence)
The BCN climate Talks
On Sunday evening, writing for the Guardian, John Vidal stated:
"Five days of formal negotiations remain before countries meet in Copenhagen to finish the most complex international agreement in UN history. As the teams of negotiators from 191 countries come together tomorrow for a last week of talks in Barcelona, huge political gulfs remain between rich and poor."
“We stand here today united to tell our leaders that time is running out to agree on a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal. Real money must be put on the table now by rich nations to ensure that the people in the poorest countries who are suffering the most from climate change and who are the least responsible [for the problem] are able to adapt to this growing crisis. Delay is not an option, delay kills.”
I feel it [is] very hard to imagine how the US president can receive the Nobel peace prize on December 10 in Oslo only a few hundreds kilometres [from Copenhagen] if he has sent an American delegation to Copenhagen with no offer. I remind the US that it is not the only country in the world that has to have discussions with its domestic parliament. The expectation out there worldwide among populations and the young [is for] the US to deliver on one of the key challenges of our century. The Americans will have to come up [with an offer] one way or another.
African nations boycotted U.N. climate talks on Tuesday in a protest to urge rich countries to set deeper 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Meetings about extending the U.N.'s carbon-cutting Kyoto Protocol, one of two tracks for a new global climate deal due to be agreed in Copenhagen next month, were all canceled by the protests at the November 2-6 conference in Barcelona.
"Africa believes that the other groups are not taking talks seriously enough, not urgently enough," said Kabeya Tshikuku, of the Democratic Republic of Congo delegation.
World Leaders - Make the Climate Call
El clima no està en venda - The climate is not for sale
The climate is not for sale demo reads out manifesto in placa St Jauma
TCK TCK - BCN climate talks get the wake up call
Caption: Video Id: 7392982 Type: Vimeo
tck tck - BCN wake up call
Caption: Video Id: 6590235 Type: Vimeo
age of spudid - trailer
Comments (12 of 12)
The 350 number appears nearly everywhere. 2 years ago, we were not aware of it. Now it is outlined as the worlds most important numbers, relating to the max number of carbon levels that we can have in the atmosphere to avoid climate choas.
We are about 390 at present and increasing, we have to get down, and quick!!!
Heres a few film from within and outside the centre, check them out.
related infos;
http://www.350.org/
350 parts per million - the absolute limit we have to get to quick, to avoid runaway climate chaos
Caption: Video Id: hynMf3iDSns Type: Youtube Video
350 at the Barcelona climate talks
Caption: Video Id: Citd9RH7kbU Type: Youtube Video
350 PPM CO2: Earth
- We only have months, not years, to save civilisation from climate change - Lester Brown
- Africa ends boycott at UN climate talks, but will repeat boycott if no progress made tomorrow
- Forest protection hinges on 10-word phrase — "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations"
- BCN updates and links
We only have months, not years, to save civilisation from climate change
International agreements take too long, we need a swift mobilisation not seen since the second world war
- Lester Brown (Guy who gave us the "sustainability is..." quote)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/no...hagen
Africa ends boycott at UN climate talks
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL3504129
Forest protection hinges on 10-word phrase
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5...91103
Might this be the destiny of the Bagua region of the Peruvian rainforest, 70% of which has been opened up through law to be allowed to be sold off to private investors. There was indegenous resistance to this unbelievable move from Peru, and more than 50 of them were murdered by state forces for their trouble. Reports on that ongoing situation at: Massacre of Indigineous Amazonians in Peru - 25 dead and counting - http://www.indymedia.ie/article/92604
- BCN updates and links
Tonight there was a successfull action outside a restaurant in the Barceloneta region of the city. Lobbyists in the Water world (dams and re-direction schemes) came to talk to and make deals with representatives from varying parts of the world, especially Africa, Asia and Latin America. This corporate manipulation group was met outside by a group of about 30+ people making lots of noise, with banners and with large arrows saying "They are lobbying with our futures" and "Criminals". They were let enter and after some time the police came and took the large arrows away. Some local media were there to witness the action and it is hoped communicate the anger felt from the street.
Climate’s towering agenda in Barcelona (Euronews review of day 1)
http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/02/climate-s-towering-a...lona/
Greenpeace demonstration in BCN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I3qWzbIgss
Barcelona Climate Change Demonstration 2009 - THE CLIMATE IS NOT FOR SALE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnvp5lPWP2E
Front page of Catalunyas EL PERIODICO paper (spanish language version)
http://periodico.mynewsonline.com/pdf/index.php?screen=...3G001
Good update system via Guardian eco section on TWITTER; http://twitter.com/guardianeco
Greenpeace banner against BCN twilight - front page news foto
Saturdays night demo on the streets - Future?
Action outside the conference - World leaders draw up aid cheque to poor countires, then rip it up
Caption: Video Id: fnvp5lPWP2E Type: Youtube Video
THE CLIMATE IS NOT FOR SALE street demo
Caption: Video Id: 2I3qWzbIgss Type: Youtube Video
Greenpeace demonstration in BCN
The Age of Stupid gives a very nice (easy to get your head around) animation about how a global transition to a lesser or non carbon emitting world will pan out over the years...
'Contract & Converge' Animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u35wHbyZy7g
In saying that, which is all well and good, another blow has been dealt this evening with the US still fu**ing about and not taking responsability or leadership for their far the fact that their far bigger emissions and dependance on CO2 outputs is major factor in causing todays climate chaos....
US puts climate debate on hold for five weeks despite plea by Merkel
• Senate delay means no bill likely before Copenhagen
• German leader makes historic Congress address
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/03/merke...ebate
So what do we do now lads?
The Age of Stupid 'Contract & Converge' Animation on CO2 emissions ween out plan
Caption: Video Id: u35wHbyZy7g Type: Youtube Video
The Age of Stupid 'Contract & Converge' Animation on CO2 emissions ween out plan
No climate treaty expected from Copenhagen - FRANK McDONALD
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1103/122....html
Africa boycotts climate change talks
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1103/...0.htm
tcktcktck - A global movement for a fair, binding and ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen this December. We're tweeting from Barcelona this week.
http://twitter.com/tcktcktck
PRESS RELEASE (From last nights action outside Barceloneta restaurant)
On the occasion of the Barcelona summit 2 to 6 November, the last preparatory session of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (COP15)
Under the slogan “Dams kill rivers and people, they are not a Clean Development Mechanism!” activists denounce corporate lobbying in climate change negotiations
· Dams and reservoirs are important generators of greenhouse gases, and responsible for almost one quarter of the methane emissions caused by humans
· Nasa’s leading climate scientist James Hansen has warned that corporate lobbying is gravely undermining democratic attempts to curb carbon emissions.
Barcelona, 03 November. The aim of today’s action against corporate lobbyists is to make noise to wake the world up, to express outrage at the questionable legitimacy of today’s meeting between major hydro-electrical corporations (Richard Taylor, Executive Director, International Hydropower Association and Jose Maria Calvo-Sotelo, Senior Vice President Regulation and Corporate Development, Endesa Latinoamérica) and delegates from the negotiations in parallel to the official UNFCC.
According to Olivier Hoedeman from lobbying watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory “From Washington DC to Ottawa, Brussels to Tokyo, the most influential governments in the climate negotiations are facing an unprecedented corporate lobbying offensive, aiming to weaken greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a market-based tool that allows industrialized nations – obliged to reduce their emissions by the Kyoto Protocol -to avoid cutting excess emissions by paying developing countries to make the emissions reductions in the form of supposedly ‘clean energy’.
The creation of an artificial ‘climate’ market means large corporations are able to buy carbon credits issued by the UN. Thus, business groups that are expected to reduce emissions are linked to questionable projects in developing countries in the name of “sustainable development” and continue to pollute in developed countries.
The CDM actually increases emissions because the credited projects often do not deliver the expected emissions reductions. Companies represented by corporate lobbyists such as the International Hydropower Association are receiving billions of dollars through this instrument.
Hydroelectric projects have quickly become the number one technology in the CDM, despite their high climate impact. Dams and reservoirs are important generators of greenhouse gases, besides being responsible for almost one quarter of the methane emissions caused by humans, specifically 104M tonnes, corresponding to 4 -5% of all induced warming.
Another terrible consequence is the displacement of over 80M people, an overwhelming number of victims, flooding of many places of great social and cultural value, in addition to the irreversible destruction of river ecosystems.
Today we denounce the death and destruction caused by large dams, and promoted by prominent lobbyists in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Today we say, NO MORE DAMS! LOBBIES OUT OF OUR CLIMATE! THE CLIMATE IS NOT FOR SALE!
full article; http://elclimanoestaenvenda.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/ac...isos/
translation: http://translate.google.es/translate?hl=es&sl=ca&tl=en&...os%2F
Stop dams and lobbies * climate justice (BCN direct action to climate talks lobby groups)
This morning more than forty activists blocked the entrances to the main halls of the conference centre where the BARCELONA CLIMATE TALKS are taking place. Their action involved shutting and locking many of the main entrances, taping building tape X´s across shut doors, placing stickers on doors saying entrances closed. Their action had a banner that read that "Without a drastic reduction, there is no solution."
There was quite a lot of press coverage, including Catalan TV3 and Japanese national TV. They chanted songs about climate change, read out statements and spoke from the heart as to the reasons for their actions in Catalan, Spanish and English. At one point an excellent eco rap tune was sung.
Amongst other things mentioned was the following; the fact that Africa feel they have to boycott the talks due to lack of seriousness from the rich countries, the fact that people were there to speak on behalf of indigenous in Bagua, Peru who are defending their land, which has been sold off by Peruvian state along with 70 of the countries Amazonian rainforest area, all communities in struggle around the planet, trying to defend their resourses and communities against multinational climate injustice, including the Rossport community in North Western part of Ireland.
There was no police or security attempts to remove the activists. After an hour they stood up and left. They had much support and were applauded from people outside.
report: http://www.lamalla.cat/societat/article?id=305414
translation: http://translate.google.es/translate?hl=es&sl=ca&tl=en&...05414
Press Release and audios to follow soon.
Bloqueig a la Conferència de Canvi Climàtic de Barcelona!
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/385098
translation; http://translate.google.es/translate?prev=hp&hl=es&js=y...ate0=
group : http://www.elclimanoestaenvenda.wordpress.com
PDF to the press: http://barcelona.indymedia.org/usermedia/application/13...a.pdf
Without DRASTIC reductions there is NO way out (BCN climate talks entrance blocked for an hour today)
here's a link if you wish to see "age of stupid"
http://dl.btjunkie.org/torrent/The-Age-Of-Stupid/4358b9...rrent
PRESS RELEASE
Barcelona is hosting a decisive meeting, the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 (2-6 November),
the final preparatory session of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (COP15).
Activists block the exit of the UN climate summit building in Barcelona
to demand urgent, binding 40% CO2 reductions by 2020
“For the industrialized countries, there will be no easy ‘way out’… and no way
out of the summit building!”
Barcelona 4 November.
This morning more than 100 local and international direct action activists blockaded the exits of the
UN climate talks in Barcelona for over an hour, saying, “You’re not leaving without drastic CO2 cuts,”
and “Carbon trading offers NO WAY OUT!”
The historic Copenhagen treaty - supposed to prevent catastrophic climate change from reaching the
point of no return - is under negotiation in Barcelona this week. But the current Kyoto Protocol has
failed to achieve even its modest targets for reducing CO2 emissions. Between 2000 and 2005,
emissions increased four times faster than in the previous decade.
The scientific community has agreed the urgent need for an ambitious reduction in CO2 emissions,
but this is in head-on collision with vested corporate and industrialized countries’ interests and
structural inertia. The seriousness of the situation is well-known. However the public debate has been
reduced to the issue of changing our lightbulbs, meanwhile large corporations stitch up the climate
deal.
Ordinary citizens have come to block the doors because without a drastic and mandatory
reduction of CO2 emissions there is no solution to the climate crisis. Because the delegates
must not leave the conference until they have agreed on a good treaty. And a good treaty is
one that is not based on technological fictions and carbon markets.
• Out of the Copenhagen summit should come a firm agreement for a drastic and immediate
reduction in climate-change-inducing gases, and a credible program for the abandonment of
the use of fossil fuels in full by mid-century and for ending deforestation now.
• One of the main reasons for the failure of Kyoto is that it allows fictional reductions through
both emissions trading and outsourcing industrial activity to countries where it is cheaper to
produce, such as China.
• Emissions trading allows for CO2 credits in exchange for implementing ‘clean technology’ in
poor countries. We denounce the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that subsidizes the
climate criminals of large corporations by giving them credits to pollute. Not only are they
inefficient (in the EU in more than 40% of cases there is no reduction of emissions), they
dangerously delay the changes that must be made NOW to transform our production model.
• We denounce the faith in technological solutions such as carbon capture and nuclear power.
We note that overall, these technologies are counter-productive and must not distract from the
urgent necessity of a profound change of economic model.
• We came here to demand the Spanish government change its guidelines for energy policy and
stop the maintenance and intensification of fossil fuel use by subsidizing Spanish coal. The
Spanish government is full of environmentalist rhetoric but in reality has a highly polluting
energy policy.
• We came here to demand that the Catalan government make a real reduction in emissions of
greenhouse gases, and put aside plans based on intensive use of fossil fuels; and radically
reformulate the General Plan for Infrastructure and Energy Plan.
• We came here to demand real support for decentralized renewable energies in the hands of
communities, not the big corporate climate criminals. We also demand that Local Plans for
Energy Reduction are spread throughout the territory.
• We came here to include the aviation industry in the Copenhagen agreement, setting a final
date for domestic flights and establish mandatory reductions of emissions.
• We came here because the business lobbies are too. Make Barcelona a corporate lobby-
free zone!
If we need to use a market to save the climate, it should be the agro-ecological market, not the
carbon market. We want a fair, binding and ambitious agreement that addresses the great
taboo: that economic growth is inseparable from the growth of emissions, and thus we need
to fundamentally replace this model.
If the climate were a bank it would have been saved...
... Time is running out...
_________________________________________________
Related reports:
- Barcelona Climate Change Talks - Main entrance shut down by activists while Africa boyotts talks (Climate Indymedia- feature)
http://www.climateimc.org/en/original-news/2009/11/04/b...while
- Barcelona: Ecoactivists Block Access to Climate Conference (climate-justice-action)
http://www.climate-justice-action.org/news/2009/11/04/b...ence/
- Activistes han bloquejat la sortida de la Cimera sobre Canvi Climàtic de Barcelona (decreixament/ degrowth BCN)
- Activistes han bloquejat la sortida de la Cimera sobre Canvi Climàtic (the climate is not for sale)
http://elclimanoestaenvenda.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/ac...atic/
Activists block summit building in Barcelona to demand urgent, binding 40% CO2 reductions by 2020
Today at 9:00 am Friday, two activists scaled a crane near the entrance of the Climate Summit in Barcelona, which concludes today with pesimistic results. The banner, 40 m2, denounces marketing of emissions rather than reducing them: "Market is the problem, not the solution"
The climate summit delegats have read the message: corporate lobbyists promoted good examples of big business polluting, creates new benefits for those who pollute more.
This action fits with the demands of developing countries, especially the African block, to reach an agreement on reductions in mandatory and that the most polluting countries assumenixin climate debt they have generated.
The activists have resisted the wind for an hour and have fallen without much hassle.
One of them said, before the astonished gaze of some del.legats that "The climate is not for sale. The problem is the market, the capitalist model and the darkest corporate interests of States.
Original report; (clima) Pengen pancarta en una grua contra el mercat d´emissions
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/385226/...x.php
translation; http://translate.google.es/translate?prev=hp&hl=es&js=y...ate0=
The Market is the problem - Not the solution (Banner drop on final day of BCN climate talks)
Barcelona: Activists disrupt world climate talks
http://www.beyondtalk.net/2009/11/barcelona-activists-d...alks/
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