“I’m not going, what’s the point?"
We are standing in a room decorated by pictures of solar panels, hydrogen cars and a flamboyant Amazonian lizard I expect is endangered. As is usual these days, the topic of conversation is COP17. I have just told a colleague that I am heading to Durban. He used to attend the UNFCCC meetings but does not see the point in doing so anymore. Afterall, we all know nothing productive will come from it anyway.
Japan has washed its hands of the Kyoto Protocol. So too have Canada and Russia. The United States never was on board. The European Union is frantically plugging leaks in its dyke, trying to avoid the tidal wave of Euro failure. Emissions might soon drop in Europe, but it certainly won’t be due to climate policy.
Meanwhile, it’s estimated that at least two new coal-powered plants are built each week in China. The International Energy Association, an institute instigated by Henry Kissinger, recently released its latest energy outlook. According to the first line of this document, “rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change” if deep changes in global policy are not forthcoming.
My colleague isn’t alone in his sentiments. The climate change policy community has many disputes, but it appears the single thing it agrees on is that no positive agreements are likely in Durban. What do we do now?
……………………
The room is silent. Ugly blue-upholstered chairs are positioned in a circle around a wooden table holding several books, and a few stems of flowers in a glass vase. A furtive beam of light bounces off the plain white walls. The room is full of people and utterly still. The woman next to me has a cold. I can hear the slight catch in her breathe as she inhales.
A grey-haired man in front of me suddenly stands up. His voice reverberates through the silence. He has been watching the news. Climate change is getting worse. Economic reforms are needed but have not been forthcoming. We have been abandoned by our leaders. He knows this.
He knows this, and his daughter knows it too. However, his daughter is going to Durban anyway. She is going to Durban with an environmental organization because something has to be done.
Another day. Another room. A research group is seated around a long oval table.
A senior researcher is speaking. He has been circling the climate change problem for almost 20 years from every conceivable angle.
He starts from a simple premise. Whatever policy efforts we have made to address climate change so far haven’t worked. 20 years of effort, little positive change. It’s a depressing equation.
At the end of his talk he stops, leans back in his chair, and says, “so, now let me tell you what I think about Durban”.
His first thought isn’t terribly surprising, “nothing is going to come out of Durban”.
The next thought is more interesting. His view is that the entire conversation has to change, we’ve been approaching it the wrong way. For too long we have been waiting for action from big countries like the US. These countries can’t and won’t move. Their economies are in shambles. The oil industry is too powerful.
His suggestion is simple, and would make Margaret Mead proud. Starting big didn’t work, so lets try starting small. Lets start with a committed coalition of the willing and build change from there.
Riding my bike home in the dark I think of colleagues, friends and family who are working everyday to do just this. Starting small. Making changes. Trying new ways of imagining what could be. They are refusing to rollover and play dead. And I am terribly proud of them.
(Note: I did not write the prayer at the beginning of this post. This is the Prayer for Peace.)
No comments:
Post a Comment