But Canada’s jurassic climate policy is triumphant yet still in Bonn.  The Delegation’s stance this June is essentially the exact same as it was in April, and the Fossil Award given to Canada by the Climate Action Network is for essentially the exact same reason:

Canada earns a first place Fossil of the Day for reducing its mitigation commitment after Copenhagen to the same level pledged by the United States of America. This January, Canada scrapped a 2020 target equivalent to 3% below 1990 in favour of one equivalent to 3% above 1990, using the rationale of following the U.S. Canada is endangering progress on post-Copenhagen targets by acting like the 51st U.S. state.

There is much more good news happening back home.  In preparation to host the G8/G20 Summit in Huntsville, the Climate Action Network Canada and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition are hard at work.  The outcome of the G8/G20 conference will have a strong impact on Canada’s position at the UNFCCC (although the Government seems committed to keeping climate change off the G20 agenda).  So in the name of a little Canadian pride, here are two groups to watch and link up with during this June’s G8/G20 Summit:

G8/G20 Action June 25th-27th

• The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.  Read about the CYCC’s nation-wide engagement strategy here.  They have all sorts of creative and fun campaigns going on like At the Table (to help Canadians “take their place” alongside world leaders at the G8/G20), the G20 Pledge, or  the G20 Convergence.
• Climate Action Network Canada.  CAN-Canada is the premier source of information and mobilization around all things climate change.  Their website has lots of information about both the UNFCCC and the G20 from a broad range of Canadian NGOs.

Do you know of any other good events to watch back home?  Any ideas on how to make environmental justice and sustainability a priority for the Federal Government?  Any good websites or organizations to check out?  Please add any more info in the comments below!

With love from Lund.

Joanna

Apparently Canada is taking this 51st US State thing seriously. After the United States earned the first awarded Fossil of the Day in Bonn late last week, Canada proved a disappointing new trend and followed suit.

Canada earned their Fossil of the Day for reducing its commitment to reduce emissions after Copenhagen to the same level pledged by the US. During the talks in week two (and throughout), Canada defended scrapping a 2020 target equivalent to 3% below 1990 in favour of one equivalent to 3% above 1990 using the rationale of following the US.

According to the Climate Action Network, Canada is endangering progress on post-Copenhagen targets by acting like the 51st U.S. state.

But Canada didn’t stand alone – Saudi Arabia was also awarded a Fossil of the Day honor, taking second place on the podium of shame. They earned the honor for being the only country trying to block a needed discussion on aviation and transport fuels — key to Saudi Arabia’s oil-fueled economy.

Speaking in this morning’s negotiations on Long-term Cooperative Action, Saudi’s asked the Chair not to bring forward any text on reducing emissions from international aviation and shipping fuels – warning her that such discussions on the issues would be futile (alluding to a block of the talks overall).

Here’s video from the awards ceremony:

Performed with it’s usual drama and noise. (via One Climate)

The Fossil was awarded to our country for “failing to understand that emissions and not targets are supposed to be reduced.“  When countries submitted their pledges to the Copenhagen Accord in late January, Canada was the only country to lower its targets from the earlier Kyoto Protocol.  As part of its association with the Copenhagen Accord, Canada changed its target and base year to 17% below 2005 levels, the same pledge submitted by the USA.  Canada has therefore gone from a target of 6% below 1990 levels to an increase of 3% above 1990 levels.

If Canada needs to harmonize with another country, it might be more constructive to harmonize with Norway.  At least they have an emission reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020.

The Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, explained to us today how important good process is for the negotiation.  The breakdown of Copenhagen was not caused by the political position of states, he said, but concerns over process (ie – draft text circulated by the Danish Presidency without consultation).  From now until tomorrow morning, the plenary chair has to consider all of the many demands he heard in plenary today and accommodate suggestions into text.

This chair has a tough task.

I realize there is not much I can do to influence the outcome of decisions from now to tomorrow.  But I can offer some advice to countries on how to improve the deadlock dynamic with a basic guide to public speaking at the UN.

Joanna’s Guide to Public Speaking at the UN

Delegates, by tomorrow night you will have to agree on a program of work from now to Cancun.  While you do not see eye-to-eye on all issues, there are some very simple questions you can ask to help move everyone forward.  You are encouraged to print out this guide to use with you in plenary tomorrow.

Before lifting the placard to speak, delegates should think about the following points:

One delegate today had the unfortunate luck of being caught sleeping! A sign for better public speaking?

• Does your statement last longer than a lunch break?
• Is what you are saying useful?
• Has someone said what you are about to say?  Have you said it already before? … Have you said it repeatedly for the past two years?
• Do other people like it when you speak?
• Do you know what you want to say (a general trick is to see if your statement relies on obscure metaphors).
• Does your statement call into question principles and conventions you have already agreed upon?

Delegates, you are here to set the tone from now to 2010. The text tomorrow should set a path forward based on good-will.

Joanna and her adopted negotiator David McGovern

Introducing… your current Lead Negotiator from Canada!  I had a chance today to grab a coffee with David McGovern. [As a side note: David, if you're reading, I think it is really cool that you always make an effort to meet with young folk like in Bali and Poznan].  I wanted to catch up with David about Canada’s current climate change position, and the Federal Government’s strategy moving forward from now to Cancun.  Here are some of the points we discussed from our meeting although this recap is not verbatim.  I’d like to thank David very much for his kindness and willingness to answer these questions.

Is there any intelligence on who the new lead negotiator will be, or when the position will be announced?

David assured me the new position will be announced “soon,” but that is all the information he knows.  I asked why Michael Martin is not leading the Canadian Delegation anymore and David explained that Martin’s appointment was an intentional decision after Bali in COP13 to build up capacity for Copenhagen.  His position was never intended to be long-term.

Any news on Canada’s pledges for fast track financing? When will it be announced?  Are pledges additional to official development assistance?

Here the news is generally quite positive!  David said Canada’s position is consistent with the Copenhagen Accord, which calls for new and additional funding (so as not to be included in official development assistance).  When I asked how much exactly Canada intends to contribute for it’s “fair share,”, he said that the Government models will determine what amount is transferred.  As for the timing, David does does not know when the financing will be announced but will be “soon,” by nature of it being fast track.  I am not sure if this will be for the June Bonn meetings or the G8 Summit; but most certainly not this weekend.

Canada is the only country to have downgraded its emission reduction targets with the Copenhagen Accord – how is this consistent with a leadership role?

David said that Canada’s announcement in Copenhagen is consistent with Federal Government’s new harmonization goals.  Canada will match its climate targets to be consistent with the US, and only follow our American neighbours. [In real terms, this means that instead of reducing our emissions 6% below 1990 levels by 2012, we are actually increasing our emissions by 3%]

Australia and Saudi Arabia provided a 101 lesson on what not to say after an international breakdown in Copenhagen.  These countries wanted to meet less, lower expectations to have a binding agreement by Cancun, and dissolve expectations for binding emissions. Their interventions were, to be truthful, unwelcomed.  At one point when the US even reached for the microphone to speak, the room started to boo.

The underlying context for the tension here stems from the lack of trust.  My friend Tom describes the current trust deficit at the UNFCCC as something like a fight with your partner.  If you and your significant other have a huge disagreement, both people need to work together – very hard – to rebuild trust.  Both people have to meet up, maybe have a very awkward dinner to hash out the details, say sorry, and move on.  But in this case the fight was Copenhagen, and the awkward dinner is… Bonn.

The Democratic Republic of Congo said it perfect.  The Copenhagen Accord “broke the trust of any partnership that is needed for a next agreement to be successful, the priority must therefore be to rebuild trust and confidence.”  My relationship counsel to the industrialized states, for whatever it’s worth, is not to undermine the value of trust.  It may ruin your relationship.

Rohit Mehta, Toronto:

I feel that the position of our country’s delegation is that climate change doesn’t exist, or that Canada shouldn’t make any serious commitments. I have lots of concerns, but I can’t think of any questions that would make an impact on the delegation.

As part of the bigger picture, I wonder why the tar sands are still operating. Or why Canada hasn’t supported the push to add Water as a Human Right on the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

And Athena Lam from Vancouver, BC:

My request is that Canada help amplify the voice of and support the developing nations…  I think it’s time we extend the multicultural national reptuation that we tout to a proactive support for equity for the multiple cultures, nation-states, and societies that share this planet too.

Thank you for writing.  I am just off to a meeting with David McGovern, Canada’s acting head of Delegation, and I will be sure to relay these thoughts to him.

A statement by Minister Prentice suggesting we will do our fair share.

The [Copenhagen] Accord’s attempt to build a sustainable bridge between developed and developing countries [is one reason] why Canada was so willing to agree to contribute our fair share to the $30-billion “quick-start” fund.  And this money will assist the poorest and most vulnerable countries with mitigation, adaptation, capacity building, and technology transfer. It is the first step towards establishing a new Green Climate Fund.

In his speech, Minister Prentice articulates the equity principles that underline these entire negotiations – it is the idea that wealthy countries have the capacity to finance climate solutions more than poor countries.  The equity principle is not just an ethical concern but is central to the negotiations and any tenable agreement.   The strong reference to climate change equity made by Minister Prentice gives us reason to hope that Canada has the will to do it’s fair share.

Keep Up the Pressure!

Instead of a convention center, the negotiations in Bonn are held in a hotel.  I am told there is nothing unusual or odd about a hotel UN conference (the intersessionals always convene here), but something is strange… almost as-if a wedding party can be found just around the corner.  But far from celebratory, the negotiators in the Hotel Maritim seem weary, and tired.  The Bonn atmosphere cannot be more different from Copenhagen.  There is a small presence of NGOs, and the number of Canadians totaled here in Bonn: 3.

I do not think that our smaller numbers indicate a lowered interest in the negotiations.  In fact, I think there is a heightened awareness around the UN process coming out of Copenhagen – and communities back home are more focused on solutions.  This fits well with the new 350.org motto “get to work.” Back home this motto is already a reality.  A lot of Canadian’s are collaborating, setting the political base for strong legislation, and creating solutions without even necessarily knowing it! I want to outline two affirming updates I recieve in my inbox today.

Our task will be humbling; our actions will be too many to count.

1.) Canada’s Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311). This Wednesday April 14th, Parliament Hill will take a final vote on Bill C-311 – our most ambitious climate legislation that, if passed, will set national greenhouse gas emission targets for Canada that align with scientific targets for avoiding dangerous climate change.  Learn more about the Bill and how to take action.

Canadian's Care - Climate Action Now.

2.) Renew Canada’s ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes Program. On March 31st, Natural Resources Canada cancelled it’s ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes Program.  Tangible actions like home retrofits are exactly the kind of results driven programs that Canada needs to reduce it’s greenhouse gas emissions. It shows the world that Canadians and the Government take seriously the new climate change motto of “Get to Work.”  You can help to bring the ecoENERGY program back by writing your Member of Parliament who you can find here or read a backgrounder on the program.

These talks are important.  Big decisions (deal breaker ones) are made at the UNFCCC because it is the only international framework we have. But right now the UNFCCC is not where the leadership is shown; it seems most evident in communities back home.  I want to take this moment to thank and recognize all of those people working hard for change, and staying positive.  It is evident that people care, and that everyday Canadians are getting to work.  The poet Wendell Berry describes the new ethos of Canada’s community-based leadership -

Our tasks “will be too many to count, too many to report, too many to be publicly noticed or rewarded, too small to make anyone rich or famous.”

Working together we will refocus international efforts back on solutions.  No more loopholes, no more excuses.  Canada, let’s get to work!

[Special thanks to Andrew Cuddy with his help writing this blog]

Introducing your new Canadian tracker

My name is Joanna and I am your new Canadian tracker!  I am very excited to be tracking Canada in Bonn not only because I have followed (and loved) this project from the start, but I believe we are in an important and transitory period of Canadian climate policy.  A lot of us feel deflated and disheartened by the outcome of the climate change talks in Copenhagen.  We want to know what comes next, why we have been let down, and how to move beyond the December delivery.  Some of us feel there is no agency for everyday citizens to influence major environment policies, and some of us rather not even know about the current state of Canadian environmental policy (it certainly can cause the odd worry, these days).  But one thing is evident: our country is filled with good people that want to see good decisions made on our behalf.

I am compelled to track Canada in Bonn this weekend because I believe, above all, we need to know what is happening (or not) at the UN.  With this knowledge we need to move beyond talk, and toward action. I want to contribute to our collective knowledge about Canada’s role at the UN so we can engage our elected leaders to make responsible and informed decisions on climate change.  I am not an expert on climate change policy.  I am a concerned, involved, and committed young person that knows we can do better than what we saw in Copenhagen.  I also firmly believe that Canada can, and will, restore its reputation as a leader on the world stage.

In order to truly engage with the Canadian Government Delegation in Bonn I will need help from some of you. Do you have any questions you’d like answered from the Canadian Delegation?  Are there any issues you want to see covered?  Do you have a constituency, aunt, friend, or community that wants to know more or get involved? Please feel free to send them to this blog or get in touch directly with me at joanna.dafoe@gmail.com.  If you send me any questions or thoughts I will do my very best to share them with the Canadian Delegation.

Last of all, I want to say a big thank you to Rosa Kouri for doing such a wonderful job for us all in Barcelona and Copenhagen.

With love from Lund,

Joanna