The Brighter Planet Blog

UPDATE 11/20/09
Grist has just released their fully-loaded and live guide to the Copenhagen climate talks at http://www.grist.org/topic/copenhagen-climate-talks
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The biggest day of climate action in history, organized by 350.org this past October 24th, showed us that global citizens care about climate change with a whopping 5,200 actions in 181 countries. The message behind the actions was centered around one number: 350 ppm, the safe upper level of CO2 in our atmosphere. This month, the momentum of the movement is focused on delivering the message “we need to get back to 350 ppm, and we need a strong and binding climate agreement to get us there” to negotiators at the upcoming U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen (also known as COP15).

Media coverage about COP15 has ramped up during November, particularly since The New York Times reported that leaders decided not to create a legally binding treaty, dimming expectations for the talks. I know my heart sank when I saw the headline on Saturday.

But it’s not all bad. As Geoffrey Lean at Grist reminded readers, this is actually old news. The excruciating slowness of the U.N. negotiating process and the fact that the U.S. Senate is unlikely to pass a climate bill before the December negotiations make it nearly impossible to finalize a full-blown treaty in Copenhagen. The road to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol is difficult and long. Politico reported UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon does expect the Climate Conference to result in a political agreement that will be signed by major world leaders, but not in a legally binding treaty to slash global emissions.

On our home turf, President Obama is still undecided as to whether to attend the Copenhagen climate meetings. But a statement reported in The Guardian that “Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are aiming to agree to greenhouse gas targets” could breathe new life into the climate change talks– considering this statement is coming from leaders of world’s two biggest polluters. The other 190 countries involved at COP15 are looking to the biggest polluters to lead the way.

Today, Senator John Kerry encouraged Obama to go to Copenhagen. The New York Times’ Green Inc. reported Kerry’s optimism: “The fact is,” Mr. Kerry said, “we have to succeed and there are powerful reasons we can succeed.”

Before I dive into optimism, I want to make it clear why Copenhagen is important in plain English. This is no ordinary conference— it is shaping the fate of the world. Leah at Current Green makes it clear with a short video post: “How to tell your kid brother about why he should care about the climate talks in December.”

Angela over at A Sea Change brings it back to us: “Our feeling is, we have to look at Copenhagen and beyond, to 2010. And we have to look at what we citizens can do. How can we in the developed world reduce our personal carbon footprints? How can we support public discourse about climate change? How can we work together to influence policy?” The GOOD Guide has a do-able list for ways to get involved before and after the conference. You can also join the movement in a few clicks at Hopenhagen.org or TckTckTck.org. We’ve got 17 days.

Still looking for more info? There’s a terrific primer, “Five Things You Need to Know about the Big Climate Meeting in Copenhagen” online here, courtesy of Tara Lohan and the Huff Post. Denmark, the host country, has a website with info about the conference.

The outcome of COP15 will make a big difference, but when it comes down to it, worldwide change never happens overnight after a treaty is signed. The choices you make in your own life every day are the ones that you have the most control over and they add up.
-Carolyn