A good agreement is about Justice!

By On December 7, 2009 · 4 Comments

As the official opening to Copenhagen finished, the leaving delegates were met by a flash mob dance. “It’s getting hot in here!” chanted hundreds of youth from all around the world.

Trackers with Yvo de Boer

Trackers with Yvo de Boer

It was a day of diverse action… Actions both within and outside the centre were contrasted by the fairly traditional opening to all the negotiating streams. The cogs of the massive machine that is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have kicked into gear.

I thought today I would reflect upon the opening statement by Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary for the UNFCCC. His statement got to the heart of the issues that are being discussed and provided a timely challenge to world Governments, particularly Australia.

As the room (and the overflow room for less important people like myself) fell silent, he began:

“My mum was holding my younger brother and my older sister was holding my younger sister. The wind and the rain became stronger and the tide level covered the bank. We dipped our legs in the mud so we wouldn’t drift away in the tide. When the water level was up to my dad’s chest, we decided to climb trees. Suddenly the tree fell because of the strong winds.  Then I was separated from my mum and dad.

“I clung to a tree trunk and floated along with it. The rain was really heavy and it was painful when it hit my back. I drifted the whole night and I was terrified. I couldn’t find my mum, dad and younger sister.”

“These are the words of Nyi Lay, a six-year old boy, speaking after a devastating cyclone.”

So often it seems like the negotiations forget about these stories. Stories that reflect the challenges climate change is already causing and which point to a far more challenging future.

The negotiations so often become only about numbers, about text, about doing all you can to ensure you aren’t doing more than someone else…. not about the faces of real people.

It was encouraging to hear Yvo de Boer open the conference this way. He continued:

“The time for formal statements is over.”

“The time for restating well-known positions is past… Deliver. Reach for success. Ensure that millions of children across the world don’t suffer the same fate as Nyi Lay.”

Unfortunately, this opening was followed inevitably by, you guessed it, formal statements and restating positions. So much needs to happen over the next few weeks, and Australia can play a more positive role.

The Minister for climate change is coming this week and the Prime Minister next week. They have the power to progress Australia’s positions… there is so much more our government can do to contribute to a fair, binding and ambitious deal. There are a few issues emerging where Australia is exposing some of the gaps in its proposals. As the days unfold and the negotiations get under way I will follow these points closely and help you apply pressure where it is needed.

In the meantime, you NEED to check out the COPENHAGEN TOOLBOX up on a climate for change. It will tell you all you need to know to get informed and take action over the next 10 days to contribute to the creation of a just deal for Nyi Lay and all humanity.

Tracking for you,

Phil

p.s. I did indeed have my meeting with Louise Hand and will fill you in on all the juicy details tomorrow.

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  • Madeleine Holme

    I was getting a bit pessimistic about the potential outcomes of Copenhagen but when you hear stories like that one from Nyi Lay it reinforces the point that no matter how unlikely it is that a strong legally binding deal will be reached at Copenhagen we still need to be doing everything we can to work towards that goal. In the face of such human suffering there is no excuse not to keep up the pressure on our leaders to take stronger action on climate change.
    Looking forward to hearing about your meeting with Louise Hand.

  • Cara

    Thanks for your update Phil. It’s great to hear that the voices of the people who are most affected by climate change are being heard (to some extent) in the negotiations. Let’s hope that the actions of the world’s most responsible and financially capable countries (like Australia) consider seriously the stories of people like Nyi Yay when putting forward their policies. We need to see ambition not excuses!

    Meanwhile – Back in the land of Oz Nick Minchin has been named as the Shadow Spokesperson for Energy and Resources. What next Rochard Dawkins as the Patron Saint of Christmas!??!

  • Dave

    Great post, Phil. What a shame that world leaders weren’t in attendance on day 1. It would have have been worth risking Minchin staging a coup in his absence if our Kev could have been there to hear the yoof singing “It’s getting hot in here”. There is no sight more uplifting in this world than watching a politician shuffle uncomfortably from foot to foot while moving his hands about in an obscure and unrelated fashion in an attempt to look down with the kids. The fact that I use expressions like ‘down with the kids’ probably gives away that I’m not one myself. Truth be told, I’m also a rubbish dancer but compared to Kev, I bet I’m Fred Astaire. Sure, he’s got more money and power than I’ll ever know but if ever there’s a dance off to save the world, I will have him.

    On an even more uplifting note, I am trying to find some optimism in the US EPA’s announcement that greenhouses gases will be classified as toxins (or words to that effect) meaning the EPA can regulate them without Congress’s support. That may not, of course, result in the US announcing vastly improved emissions reduction targets but at least it may be a step towards reframing the debate so that greenhouse gases, coal fired power stations etc are seen as ‘weapons of mass destruction’.

    There are so many contradictions in the political rhetoric on climate change. Our pollies talk about the need for change whilst at the same time doing whatever it takes to prop up the high consumption economic model that is partly responsible for getting us into this mess. Oh for a political leader with the courage to say that the way we live, the way our economy functions is damaging the planet and harming people and that that has to change. I’d so much rather they paint a picture of the world we could have and then advocate for taking some of the tough steps to achieve that world, aiming to build a sense of a grand, joint project to save the world and ourselves that we can all share in. Instead, they tip toe around the reality with a view to letting us keep believing that we can have it all. This “don’t scare the horses” approach is cowardly and sells us short. It would be nice to have leaders who ask us to be the best we can be. In the face of a dire threat, we need some Churchills but instead we got Chamberlains.

    Hmmmm, this comment has gone awry. I meant to just leave a hilarious gag about politicians dancing and I’ve come over all preachy and pessismistic. Phil – top post and I look forward to the posts to come restoring my faith in our two left footed leaders.

  • http://www.redcandleresearch.com/2009/12/09/climate-change-leader-as-divisive-as-climate-change/ RedCandle Research » Blog Archive » Climate Change Leader as Divisive as Climate Change

    [...] a Negotiator believes that Yvo de Boer’s choice to begin his opening statement with an anecdote was effective but would work better if it wasn’t tethered to an old-fashioned approach: So often it seems like the negotiations forget about these stories. Stories that reflect the [...]

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