Australia needs YOU! Overcoming the elephants and lies

Posted on 02. Aug, 2010 by Philip Ireland in Australia | View Comments

I confess I have been putting this off for a while
I have been avoiding it.

But the time has come put things straight. To tell all.
To raise my voice with the chorus of others expressing their discontent.

I met with the Australian negotiators last week on the meeting international climate negotiations and Australia’s role. We talked for 2 hours about what they want to achieve, their hopes, their frustrations. We talked about the climate meeting in Bonn this week and the Pacific Islands Forum.
However, throughout this relatively friendly meeting I couldn’t help but feel that there was a great big shadow in the room.

The elephant(s) in the room
They loomed over the conversation. They were not spoken of but they were present.

Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard.
There, I said it. That wasn’t so hard. Or more concisely:
The Labor Party and the Coalition.

But then, they are bureaucrats. They cannot comment on the Government. Their role is to implement government legislation. And personally…. I think they’re scared.
I think they’re scared of the prospect of having to implement either of the major parties policies.
Just imagine, if Tony Abbott’s famous line “climate change is absolute crap” became government policy then they would have to defend it (this is of course if the Coalition didn’t dissolve the Department of Climate Change).

Let’s be honest though, neither of these leaders, or parties have demonstrated a serious commitment to address climate change in this election race.
Both have played the politics of the lowest common denominator.
Both lack credible policies on climate change. Neither party has committed themselves to real action (as opposed to Tony Abbots sham line of ‘direct action’) that will see Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution reduce! Neither party is committed to action that will see justice for the world’s poor, who are already suffering the impacts of climate change.

Lies, lies and more lies.
Now, you may have heard it said that both parties have a bi-partisan commitment to reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to 5% below 2000 levels by 2020. We all know this is a woefully inadequate target. One, that if adopted by all wealthy nations, would lead us down the path of catastrophic climate change.

However, the real scandal is that neither of the major parties have policies that will get us anywhere near this 5% reduction. Under both their plans Australia’s pollution will continue to increase.
Check out the Pollute O Meter to see a comparison of the different efforts.

Also of great concern is Tony Abbott’s recent announcement committing the Coalition to cutting funding from the aid program aimed at assisting poor countries to cope with the impacts of climate change.

The date is set!
We go to the polls on August 21. There is still time to pressure both parties to adopt credible policies on climate change. Policies that help reduce pollution, protect the planet and defend the rights of all humanity who depend upon it.

Take Action! Phone, Email or Fax your federal member about wanting strong climate action for a carbon price announced before the election. You can find their details here.

Post a comment reporting your action and recording your member’s response.

Blogging for you (in an unequivocally warming planet),

Phil

Glimmers of gold on the dance floor

Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Cara Bevington in Australia | View Comments

Bringing you blog # 2 from Rachel Coghlan of World Vision Australia, currently in Bonn for the UN Climate Negotiations.

I’m still holding my breath – the positive mood here in Bonn seems to have continued over the past week.  What started as tiptoeing around issues, discussions limited to process, Parties sounding each other out after the mistrust injected into the negotiations in Copenhagen, has progressed to something quite different.  There’s a dance going on in the plenary rooms.  It isn’t an easy dance, not a flowing waltz, not a foxtrot of perfectly timed steps between two long-time partners.  But nevertheless, there is movement.

The negotiators are sharing ideas, exploring areas of mutual agreement, and still sometimes deciding to disagree.  As yet however, there is no real negotiating happening.  Instead, is an awkward show, with some trust returning, but a dance which is flirtatious and non-committal.  A kind of first date dance.

We’ve been enthused to see synchronised steps on financing to support developing countries tackle the impacts of climate change.  There is wide acceptance that financial support is urgently needed and that transparent reporting on any funding pledges made is vital.  The European Union set the tone at the end of last week with a well attended side event to freely discuss their pledges and intentions for immediate funds for developing countries.  We are now hoping that other donor countries will follow their lead, and quickly – and maybe even outdo the move. 

Yvo de Boer, the outgoing Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said this week that little progress can be made toward an international treaty until wealthy industrialized nations commit to deliver the $30 billion pledged in Copenhagen to assist developing nations. We fully support Yvo that “Cancun will only deliver, if promises of help are kept.”  Christiana Figueres, due to take over Yvo’s role after this meeting, echoed this by declaring that “fast-start finance is the key to unlocking Cancun”.

The new text from the Chair of the Long-Term Cooperative Action track is due to appear tomorrow, which will include elements of climate financial support.  Unfortunately this will only be a ‘non-paper’.  A ‘non-paper’ is one in which Parties will talk about the issues, dance a few more steps, but will not be able to start real negotiations until at least the next meeting in at the beginning of August.  Despite the positive atmosphere, we must admit we are getting impatient again – are we moving fast enough?

First dates are fun but they can only last so long.  Time to ramp up and do away with the left feet.  Come on Figueres – bring on some Costa Rican Swing!

Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving – Albert Einstein

Posted on 04. Jun, 2010 by Cara Bevington in Australia | View Comments

Guest blog from Rachel Coghlan, Advocacy Campaign Leader – Climate Change for World Vision Australia who is on the ground in Bonn, Germany for the UN Climate Talks.

Please do let Rachel know what you think!

- Cara & Phil (tracking from afar)

So here we find ourselves again in Bonn for the second round of climate change negotiations since Copenhagen. The end of day two. The first day of European Summer. The clouds have lifted, the rain of the past few days has ceased, the streets are filled with bicycles and people taking evening strolls. And as a colleague of mine reflected, there is a calm and gentle breeze a-blowing in Bonn this evening. Things seem, well, quietly positive.

Wise words from Albert Einstein, "Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."

It was, however, a slow and dull start to the week on Monday. For most participants, this was the first time back to the UNFCCC scene since departing Copenhagen with heavy hearts and exhaustion. There should have been a buzz in the air to pick up where things left off and continue to strive for the global deal so urgently needed. But instead, the Hotel Maritim seemed filled with slow moving conversation, slow moving people, and significantly tempered expectations about what can be achieved in Bonn and for the remainder of the year. One Australian delegate commented ‘the mood here seems really flat, everybody just seems really tired’.

There was also a sense of an impending doom, with rumours flying a plenty that countries were not happy with the new negotiating text – that some didn’t like it because it used Copenhagen Accord language too much; others didn’t like it because used Copenhagen Accord language too little; that some were going to block working on the text and demand a new one. A sense of groundhog day lurked in the cobwebs of the Maritim.

However, on day two, it seemed that all this was pure speculation. Six hours of statements from most countries stretching late into the afternoon, and the feared explosion over the negotiating text did not eventuate. Most statements held a positive view of being able to work with the text and there was a certain sense of willingness to cooperate and move things along.

Yet, as negotiators sit in plenary in Bonn, things are happening across the rest of the world, starkly reminding us of the urgency with which countries need to reach a deal. The northern parts of India are suffering through a record heat wave pushing thermometers to nearly 50 degrees and setting new temperature records. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Agatha has ravaged South America, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands and taking over a hundred lives in flooding driven by heavy rains.

After this meeting in Bonn, there will be only two weeks of negotiations left before countries arrive in Cancun, Mexico in December. A gentle breeze today is nice, but will it be good enough to get us on track to curb emissions and respond to the challenges of climate change? For now we will savour the mood, but things must get moving. And here’s hoping the wind doesn’t change direction.

Stay connected with all the latest Australian news and actions on our sister site A Climate for Change.

Yours, Cara & Phil