J u s t C l o u d s

The Infamous “Danish Text” also known as the “Copenhagen Agreement” leaked into UK’s The Guardian Newspaper yesterday and caused a great stir of concern amongst developing countries.

What would the Danish Text do?
1. Developing countries would be forced to follow emission cuts not included in the original UN agreement
2. Creates a new category called “the most vulnerable”, creating more divide among poor countries.
3. Weakens UN role as the authority in climate financing matters
4. Does not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tons of carbon per person but allows richer countries to emit 2.67 tons of carbon per person.

1.44 does not equal 2.67. That will not be a just treaty.

We need to focus on human impact and place ethics before profits. Survival is not negotiable!

Yesterday was the welcoming ceremony for the COP15. I did not get a chance to actually be in the room for the opening ceremony. Apparently it was by invitation only and entrance was only allowed for those with tickets but that did not stop me from viewing it on a projector screen in the Karen Blixen Room at Bella Center. The welcoming ceremony began with a short video about a little girl who has a nightmare where climate change takes toll and sea level rises to the point where she needs to climb a tree to save her from getting drowned. She wakes up scared and tells her dad what she dreamt. They both then go online and find out about the UNFCC and learn more about climate change. One of the web pages she comes across sends the message “Document what you see today so that our children and grandchildren can see how the world looked like” She then goes outside her home with a video camera and records herself saying “Please help save the world.” The video was a bit over dramatic. It reminded me of the 2012 movie everyone was freaking out on. Of course, climate change is scary but when you are in a COP15 opening ceremony you expect for more policy talk and climate justice action than to make a video that probably costed lots of money to begin with. Yes, we all know climate change is here. Otherwise, all these high-level officials wouldn’t be here. Let’s not waste time and move forward with the negotiations shall we?

One of the speakers at the welcoming ceremony included Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. The phrase “Let’s get it Done!” is what most resonated during her speech. She really meant “Let’s get our act together and sign a deal!”. However, with little time and not much action on behalf of the U.S., I think it may not be wise to sign on to a legally binding treaty at the moment. At least not at COP15. Such ideology matches with Ritt Bjerregaard, mayor of Copenhagen who clearly stated last night at a concert at the downtown square that we need a legally binding treaty within the next year and we need one well done.

So…this really cool band called Nephew performed at the concert. All the Danish folks went gaga crazy over them and with good reason because they really sound good! I’m already a fan. Check them out.

As the youth environmental movement gains momentum prior to COP15,  The White House  announced just the Wednesday before Thanksgiving that they would host a Youth and Clean Energy Forum with youth environmental leaders on Dec 2, 2009. The act in and of itself is a great victory for the youth environmental movement. Achieving such type of open dialogue was a heavier task during the Bush administration especially considering the fact that Bush did not acknowledge climate change until the last 2 years of his term. The fact that the Obama administration put this forum together is a great step forward.

100 youth leaders meet with White House Senior staff to discuss Climate Change

As a prominent youth environmental justice leader with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization in Chicago, I was one of 100 youth leaders invited to participate in the forum. At first, I thought the forum was just going to be a speil session with little time to ask questions. Well, the forum exceeded my expectations even though President Obama did not attend the forum. Those present at the forum included Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor; Lisa Jackson, Administrator  of Environmental Protection Agency; Nancy Sutley ,Chair of Council on Environmental Quality; Jon Carson, Chief of Staff for Council on Environmental Quality; Carol Browner, Director of White House Office of Energy and Climate Change. The forum was broken down into two parts: 1) panel with Q&A session. 2) Working groups with senior level staff.  (more…)