[Oe List ...] My report on Rio+20

[Herman Greene]

Yes Jeanette, this is the same way of seeing things . . . the light that
shines in the darkness.

 

Herman

 

  _____  

From: oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net
[mailto:oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Jeanette Stanfield
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 9:26 AM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] My report on Rio+20

 

Hi Herman, 

Your report reminded me of an article I found about the Copenhagen
conference when I was doing research for 

my editing work on the courage to lead.   

 

It is below: 

 

 


By Tom Brookes and Tim Nuthall 

The European Climate Foundation

 

The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said "from chaos comes
order".

It is difficult to foresee the order that may result from the chaos of the
Copenhagen climate change conference (COP15), but as the dust settles,
traces of a path forward are becoming visible.

The outcome - a decision to "take note of" an accord drawn up by a core
group of heads of state on Friday evening - is far from the legally binding
treaty which some had expected and for which many hoped.

However, this does not change the fact that the Copenhagen conference was a
unique moment in history.

What Copenhagen changed:

 

        With 110 world leaders present and a single issue on the agenda,
there has never been a meeting like this. The countries that brokered the
text, the US, China, India, South Africa, Brazil and the EU, also reflects a
world in which the balance of power has significantly changed in the last 20
years.

        At a fundamental level, the conference redefined the debate between
countries in terms of awareness of climate science and support for action.
There is no longer any question that climate change is central to the
political thinking of every country on the planet.

        Public awareness has also massively increased. The vast campaigns
run around the world in the run-up to Copenhagen by governments, NGOs and
business and the media coverage of the issue and the summit have made
addressing climate change widely understood and discussed from the pubs of
rural England to the bars of Beijing.

        The other very important change is that green growth is now the
prevailing economic model of our time. The idea that addressing climate
change is bad for business was buried at Copenhagen. Countries from both
developed and developing worlds have announced low-carbon economic plans and
are moving forward.

What it did not change:

        That combination of political will, economic direction and public
pressure was not enough to overcome the concerns over sovereignty that many
countries have in the context of international law. The final decision
reflects the fact that many countries only want to be answerable to
themselves. They will co-operate, but not under the threat of legal
sanction.

        There is no quantified aggregate target for emissions reduction such
as the 50% by 2050 that was in early drafts - as it stands, targets are yet
to be announced and they may be at the low end of what was promised, locking
in ever greater emissions.

        The reference to transparency in the text is significant as it will
mean that for the first time actions by countries can be assessed globally,
but there is no verification of the actions undertaken in the developing
world unless they are paid for by the developed world.

        Also, there is very little detail on any of the elements it does
mention.

The accord does refer to the target of limiting global warming to 2C above
pre-industrial temperatures, as well as the need for quantified action by
both developed and developing countries - but it's unclear how the target
will be achieved.

 

Jeanette Stanfield

jstanfield at ica-associates.ca

 

 

The Courage to Lead  ebook

paperback  

bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000549321/the-courage-to-lead.aspx

 

 http://alturl.com/y67hu






www.icacan.org

 






 

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