OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown, #7, 11-12/ 11-14, 2021
Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace,
Justice, and Ecology
Omnicenter.org/donate/
Contents OMNI UN COP26
Glasgow Countdown, #7, 11-12/11-14, 2021
Early Background Review, October 26, NRDC
Will
COP26 Move Us Closer to Solving the Climate Crisis?
Leaders from across the globe will meet soon to accelerate
actions to confront climate change. Here’s what to expect.
October 26, 2021
A mural next to the Clydeside Expressway near
the Scottish Events Centre, which will be hosting the 26th United Nations
Climate Change Conference from October 31–November 12, 2021, in Glasgow,
Scotland
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty
Global leaders will meet in November to
outline the plans of countries, cities, and industries to mitigate and adapt to
climate change. The 26th edition of this annual meeting, officially known as
the “Conference of the Parties” or COP, will take place in an atmosphere of
justified global alarm. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change recently warned that changes triggered by runaway carbon
emissions—including global sea level rise, increasing wildfires, and extreme
heat—are already “irreversible for centuries to
millennia.” Failure to act
immediately will accelerate those dangers, which is why every fraction of
degree is crucial when it comes to limiting global temperature rise and why
reducing emissions from every major source matters.
COP26, in Glasgow, is the best chance in years
for countries to commit themselves to solutions: deep cuts in carbon emissions,
the expansion of renewable energy, modernization of transportation systems,
investments in equity for low-income countries and communities, and more.
Will leaders seize this opportunity, or will
another year pass without adequate action? It all depends on what’s happening
right now, in negotiating rooms around the world. To understand the process, we
need to start with a bit of history.
Decades of Delays
The United Nations held the first Conference
of the Parties back in 1995. COP1 concluded with the Berlin Mandate, a precursor to the Kyoto Protocol. The
Berlin Mandate committed world leaders to keep talking but rejected plans to
make targets and timetables for carbon emissions reductions legally binding.
This decision was crucial and echoed through COP after COP, where big emitters,
including the United States, consistently refused to commit to specific and
accountable limits on their greenhouse gas emissions.
These “bad COPs” continued until we finally
got a “good COP” in 2015. At COP21, held in Paris, the international community
agreed to a new process. Every single country in the world would announce a
specific target for emissions reductions this decade, by either 2025 or 2030.
The targets would not be legally enforceable—a limitation largely the result of
political gridlock in the United States—but each nation’s success or failure
would be measurable and comparable, providing diplomatic and peer
accountability for the first time.
The 2015 commitments were a strong foundation,
but even then it was clear that the countries’ emissions targets were inadequate.
Recent research suggests that current international commitments would increase
greenhouse gas emissions by about 16 percent by 2030 compared to 2010, far short of
the roughly 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions that is required to keep
the world at 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming. MORE https://www.nrdc.org/stories/will-cop26-move-us-closer-solving-climate-crisis?gclid=CjwKCAiAvriMBhAuEiwA8Cs5leWDSecw7_BfqbcekcKR38n02AFGZBl1vVvkhPM3xBkT524j3aYoxRoCa6cQAvD_BwE
NOVEMBER 7- Background
Protests in Europe
Ellen Knickmeyer, et al. (AP). “Thousands Protest Climate Talks: Activists
Frustrated, Call Negotiations ‘Blah, Blah,’ Little Action.” AD-G (Nov. 7, 2021). https://apnews.com/article/climate-europe-united-nations-scotland-glasgow-67eb0f86bfa939a3119ac45e7a0a920e
NOVEMBER 11
Carbon tax
Posted Nov 11,
2021 by Anis Chowdhury, Jomo
Kwame Sundaram
Originally published: JOMO (November 8, 2021 ) |
Climate
Change, Environment,
Financialization,
Political
EconomyGlobalNewswire
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR:
Addressing global warming requires cutting carbon emissions by almost half by
2030! For the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions must fall by 45% below 2010 levels by 2030 to limit
warming to 1.5°C, instead of the 2.7°C now expected.
Instead, countries are mainly under pressure to commit to
‘net-zero’ carbon (dioxide, CO2) emissions by 2050 under that deal. Meanwhile,
global carbon emissions–now already close to pre-pandemic levels–are rising
rapidly despite higher fossil fuel prices.
Emissions from burning coal and gas are already
greater now than in 2019. Global oil use is expected to rise as transport
recovers from pandemic restrictions. In short, carbon emissions are far from
trending towards net-zero by 2050.
MORE https://mronline.org/2021/11/11/carbon-tax-over-rated/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=carbon-tax-over-rated&mc_cid=b8a0b90199&mc_eid=ab2f7bf95e
Monthly
Review does not
necessarily adhere to all of the views conveyed in articles republished at MR
Online. Our goal is to share a variety of left perspectives that we think our
readers will find interesting or useful. —Eds.
This
is a complicated argument regarding fine-tuning carbon taxes if they are to be
fair to the global poor. Dick
COP26 farce shows that the ‘build back better’ dreams have been crushed. James Plested.
Mronline.org (11-11-21).
NOVEMBER 12 Official Last Day of COP26
U.N. chief: Climate talks fall short (from Pat Snyder)
COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF
FROM WIRE REPORTS. Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette. (Nov 12, 2021). Pledges
lacking to reach 2030 emissions-cuts goal, he says
Read more...
Officials urge bigger actions as COP26 nears conclusion
UN WIRE (11-12-21)
Negotiations at the
United Nations climate summit in Scotland, which ends today, are not likely to
result in commitments strong enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees
Celsius -- a goal that "is still in reach but on life support," says
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Every country, every city, every
company, every financial institution must radically, credibly and verifiably
reduce their emissions and decarbonize their portfolios starting now,"
Guterres says, noting that summit pledges mean little as long as countries
continue to subsidize fossil fuels.
Full
Story: National Public Radio/The Associated Press (11/11)
For Rich Countries To Honor
Their Climate Debt, Tax Multinationals.
Popular Resistance.org (11-12-21).
By Léonce Ndikumana, Common Dreams. For once, most of the
debtors are not in Africa, but in the North. I am not talking money, but about climate debt, as natural disasters are
multiplying and the fight against climate change has become an existential
issue. Since industrialized countries have used the available atmospheric space
to develop and get rich by exploiting fossil fuels, the United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP26)—that is coming to end in Glasgow right now—must be an
opportunity to recognize this climate debt to Africa, and to developing
countries in general, and to honor it. -more-
One of the most
important things coming out of COP26
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Fri, Nov 12, 4:09 PM (16 hours ago) |
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Notes from the ground
at COP26
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Hi Dick,
Today marks the final
day of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland – the UN Climate Change Conference bringing
together nations to limit the earth's warming. We've got staff on the ground
working tirelessly to make sure that the voices of those on the frontlines and
of the people are being listened to during these pivotal negotiations.
While we'll be
breaking down the results of the talks over the coming days and weeks – I
wanted to quickly sit down with a couple 350's team members, Jo Zane from 350's
Pacific team and Cansın Leylim from 350 Turkey, who have been on the ground in
Glasgow to hear their thoughts about the conference.
I hope you'll take a few
minutes to read our interview with Jo and Cansın, then please consider chipping in $500 to
support our global movement and amplify the voices of climate activists and
communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Q: What were our
biggest challenges this year at COP?
From Jo: The biggest
challenge this year was accessibility. Between the global inequity of COVID-19
vaccine access, visas, and the high cost of attending the conference from
flights to lodging meant that there was a lack of representation of not just
who was in the room, but what was being said in the negotiation rooms.
The grassroots
movements and delegates from first adapter countries (i.e., those that will be
hit first and worse by the climate crisis) made sure that 1.5 degrees was in
the Paris Climate Accord. Their voices were needed this time around to advocate
for the people – especially given that the fossil fuel lobby had a larger
delegation than any country.
Q: What were you
surprised by?
From Jo: I was most
surprised that developed countries still couldn't reach the $100 billion per
year goal in climate finance to poorer nations to help them develop clean
energy and adapt to climate impacts (even after we saw rich countries mobilize
two to three times that amount during the pandemic for just for one country
alone).
Q: What are you hoping
to see happen next?
From Cansın: Complete
phase out of ALL fossil fuels– not just coal. We want to see binding decisions
within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
including ending fossil fuel subsidies and finance. We need to direct funding
away from fossil fuels and toward not just mitigation to keep heating to 1.5,
but also for adaptation to address the impacts we're seeing right now.
Generally, I'm hoping
to see our movement rise up to hold the high emitting nations and corporations
accountable to the commitments and promises that have been made at COP.
Q: What's giving you
hope?
From Cansın: The
leadership of the Pacific Climate Warriors and Indigenous communities across
the world. They are advocating for all of us inside and outside the hallways of
Glasgow and around the world.
And people power. It's
enraging that the polluters are adopting our messages, but we will not let them
get away with co-opting our movement.
Q: Any final thoughts?
From Jo: The only way
COP26 will be a failure is if we let it be. But if we work together to rise up,
demand the action that is needed to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees,
demand finance flows to vulnerable communities for loss and damage, and demand
real action to reach zero carbon emissions – then we are doing what we should
be doing.
The time for talk is
over, the time for action is now and the flame that has sparked within the
movement during COP26 needs to burn more than ever. It's really in the people's
hands from here.
Keep an eye out on
your inbox for more reflections on COP in the coming days, but in the
meantime, please consider chipping in $500 —
or whatever you can — to support 350's climate activists around the world. Our people power is stronger than the
fossil fuel industry's greed, and together we can take them down.
Thank you for reading
and for being a vital member of the climate movement.
Emily Southard
Associate Director Campaigns & Mobilizations
350.org
CONTRIBUTE $500
PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004
Join UNA-USA and UNA Scotland for a post-COP26 event! There's still space available for our joint program
with UNA Scotland—a post-COP26 event taking place Saturday, November 20. Join us as we discuss how
grassroots organizations can work together to achieve the goals and outcomes
from COP26. Featured speakers include:
Dr Carl Wright, Elected Trustee UNA-UK and Chair Canterbury Climate Action
Partnership
Mr David Levaï, Fellow for International Climate Policy and Diplomacy, UN
Foundation
UNA-USA (11-12-21)
November 13, 2021 (COP16 was held over a day)
The truth about COP 26
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8:03 AM (15 minutes ago) |
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Dick,
At the time of this
writing, negotiators in Glasgow are scrambling to finalize an agreement for
this year's COP 26 climate talks. They’re expected to work through today,
and likely into Sunday. If you’d like the headlines, you can find some helpful
links below.
But it’s a beautiful
autumn day here in Colorado, where my young daughter and I just finished
jumping in the bright yellow leaf pile outside of our back door, and I don’t
want to focus on the pledges, agreements, and promises -- the blah, blah, blah
-- of what happened in Glasgow.
I want to talk about
something that happened outside of the formal conference, in the vast crowd of
people who make up the “civil society” contingent at COP.
Yesterday, a new draft
text of the agreement was released, with severely weakened commitments and
several new loopholes.
So civil society
groups from around the world stood up and walked out of COP 26 to
demand just and urgent solutions to the climate crisis. These brave people -- scientists, youth,
farmers, parents, Indigenous people, trade union reps, doctors, frontline
activists -- marched together, chanting in unison. They carried long, blood-red
ribbons to symbolize the dangerous red lines that the negotiators inside the
conference had decided to cross.
“Climate justice now!”
they chanted. “Power to the people.”
“We are unstoppable!”
they shouted. “Another world is possible.”
The truth about COP 26
and all global climate talks is that real change doesn’t happen in the written
agreements, much-lauded pledges, or flashy press releases. Does it make a
difference when governments pledge action of one variety or another?
Undoubtedly yes -- they set benchmarks for accountability, build critical
diplomatic pressure, and create momentum for the global tide of change we are
currently witnessing.
But that global tide
of change wasn’t created by them, and it isn’t sustained by them.
Every substantial bit
of progress toward a just, clean energy future is built on the ever-growing
foundation of the climate movement -- the people, like you and like me, who
continue to take action in myriad small but critical ways to align our
households, our communities, and our nations toward that brighter future.
If the people on the
inside who control our governments and economies finally do their part to
preserve a livable future for our families and our planet, it will be because
the rest of us on the outside never stopped standing up and speaking out.
And I am not discouraged,
because I know that we won’t stop.
We are unstoppable.
Another world is possible.
Sincerely,
Jessica Hamilton
PS: Want to do
something right now? Please take a minute to write to
your representative. Tell them to pass the Build Back Better Plan next week.
America needs the climate action contained in that bill, and the world needs to
know that America is serious.
Further Reading
“Who will pay tops the agenda as UN
climate talks approach end,” Reuters
“5 Things To Know About The
Potential New Climate Agreement In Glasgow,” HuffPost
“Cop26 targets too weak to stop
disaster, say Paris agreement architects,” The Guardian
“Key Cop26 pledges could put world
9% closer to 1.5C pathway,” The Guardian
“What Indigenous Land Defenders at
COP26 Want,” Vogue
“U.S. and China announce surprise
climate agreement at COP26 summit,” NPR
Climate Hawks Vote
PO Box 141
Agoura Hills, CA 91376-0141
Activists Hold ‘People’s Plenary’
In COP26 Hall As Protests Expected
By The Canary. Popular Resistance.org (11-13-21). The COP26 Coalition has released its
declaration for climate justice. It states that: Climate change already impacts
and threatens billions of lives, with billions more on the line: it is those
that have done the least to cause climate change that are most impacted,
especially women, Black, Indigenous Peoples, and people of colour, peasants and
rural people, youth, people with disabilities, local communities and frontline
communities.The climate crisis also amplifies the structural inequalities and
injustices that have been hardwired into our economic and political systems
that have resulted in a spiralling debt crisis... -more-
COP26: Governments Play Deaf To
Social Movements
By Emilio Godoy, The Citizen.
Glasgow, Scotland .Popular Resistance.org (11-13-21). One
element that runs through all social movement climate summits is their
rejection of the official meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the low ambition of its outcomes – and the treaty’s
26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) was no exception. The leaders of the
UNFCCC “gladly welcome those who caused the crisis. COP26 has done nothing but
pretend and greenwash,” Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a member of the non-governmental
organization Youth Advocates for Climate Action from the Philippines, told IPS
during a rally... -more-
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Why Are You Asking Us To Compromise
On Our Lives?
By Vijay Prashad, The Tricontinental: Institute
for Social Research. PopularResistance.org (11-13-21). Nothing useful seemed to emerge from the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP26 this
week. The leaders of developed countries made tired speeches about their
commitment to reversing the climate catastrophe. Their words rang with the
clichés of spin doctors, their sincerity zero, their actual commitments to
lowering carbon emissions nil. Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a Filipino climate activist
and spokesperson for Fridays for Future, said that these leaders ‘spew
empty, tired promises’, leaving young people like her with a ‘sense
of... -more-
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Nations’ talks on
phasing out coal go into wee hours (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), Nov 13,
2021
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Nov 13, 2021, 4:51 PM (15 hours ago) |
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Nations’ talks on phasing out coal go into wee hours. Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette
Nov 13, 2021. Read more...
COP26 is over 
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Nov 13, 2021, 4:12 PM (16 hours ago) |
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Hi Dick,
COP26
is over. Despite decades of pressure from the climate movement, the world’s
governments have once more missed an opportunity to acknowledge that fossil
fuels are the root cause of the climate crisis. [1]
This
is maddening, Dick - it was the least they could do - but ultimately it doesn't
matter. The era of unchecked power of the coal, oil and gas industry is
coming to an end fast - not because of one word in the text of an
agreement, but because it's the only way forward. It’s because we will not bow
down to the fossil fuel industry and their demands. It’s because of people and
communities who continue putting their bodies on the line. The youth taking to
the streets. The campaigners who spent two decades fighting for this and will
not give up until we've won climate justice for all. It’s because of you, and
all the people who keep showing up and taking action.
During
these past weeks, it was people power that shone bright in Glasgow - and people
were leading the way. The UN climate conference made an effort, but in the end
didn’t deliver. No keeping all fossil fuels in the ground. No billions that we
needed to support people struggling with climate impacts and fund a just
transition everywhere. No end to all subsidies to coal, oil and gas.
Whatever the outcome of COP26, we’re not backing off. We never
meant to. We keep fighting. We
have a plan to keep the pressure on rich countries to deliver on their
commitments and accept their responsibility.
Please, can you help us grow even bigger and more powerful,
before our next campaign push, and invite your friends and family to join us?
Simply forward them this email, or hit one of the buttons:
On
Friday, the climate justice movement showed our true, vibrant colours in
Glasgow. The People’s Plenary was proof of how powerful, diverse, brave
and unified our movement is. COP26 didn’t deliver an ambitious
agreement, but it doesn’t matter: the climate justice movement has already
triggered the change that we need. [2]
There’s
only one possible path to keep global heating under 1.5°C: a rapid end to coal,
oil and gas, and a huge global investment into clean, just energy transition
for everyone. And 1.5°C is not optional. It is an absolute necessity.
It's our red line.
The
UN climate conference is only one stepping stone on that path. We’re already on
our way. What matters now is how fast we move down this path. Each year of
delay, each 0.1°C of heating will cost people in vulnerable frontline
communities lives and livelihoods. We have to move faster.
This
is why we keep showing up and fighting at COP year after year. We do it to lift
up the real climate leadership: that of the youth, the Indigenous and frontline
communities, the people rising up against the oppressions of colonialism,
capitalism and climate crisis.
Together
we can and will keep fighting for climate justice, inside the negotiating rooms
and outside, on the streets, in our communities.
Dick,
thank you for being part of this fight.
Onwards,
Cansin, for the entire 350.org team
PS:
We’re at the end of many months of hard work. From supporting activists from
the Most Affected Countries and Indigenous Leaders, to organising powerful
actions to end fossil finance across the world, to flooding social media with
our stories and demands: none of this would have happened without you and
others in our global community. Will you take one more step, and
make a donation to support 350.org in our work to build a powerful movement for
climate justice?
References:
[1] 350.org: People power will deliver
what historic polluters are not
[2] 350.org on Facebook: PEOPLE
POWER!
[3] 350.org: Power to change things is
with the people
“6
takeaways from the U.N. Climate Conference.” The New York Times. Nov. 13, 2021.
[For me the #1
takeaway is that we must now be engaged in direct action—from Jane Fonda’s
high-level DC rallies to individual niches throughout the country. –D]
The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said the top
priority must be to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees
Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.Credit...Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse —
Getty Images
Before
it started, the United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow known as COP26
was billed by its chief organizer as the “last, best hope” to save the planet.
Halfway
through, optimistic reviews of its progress noted that heads of state and
titans of industry showed up in force to start the gathering with splashy new
climate promises, a sign that momentum was building in the right direction.
The
pessimistic outlook? Gauzy promises mean little without concrete plans to
follow through. The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused the conference of
consisting of a lot of “blah, blah, blah.”
On Saturday, diplomats from nearly
200 countries struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying efforts to fight
climate change, by calling on governments to return next year with stronger
plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to “at
least double” funding by 2025 to protect the most vulnerable nations from the
hazards of a hotter planet.
Here’s
a look at some key takeaways from the 26th annual United Nations climate change
summit.
Time for action is running out
The
agreement established a clear consensus that all nations need to do much more,
immediately, to prevent a catastrophic rise in global temperatures.
When
the conference opened the U.N. Secretary General, António Guterres, said the top
priority must be to limit the rise in global temperatures to just 1.5 degrees
Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. That’s the
threshold, scientists have warned, beyond which the risk
of calamities like deadly heat waves, water shortages and ecosystem collapse
grows immensely. (The world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius.) [“scientists” = the United Nations IPCC --D]
·
Dig deeper into
the moment.
Special offer: Subscribe for $1 a week.
“The
reality is you’ve got two different truths going on,” Helen Mountford, vice
president for climate and economics at the World Resources Institute, said last
week. “We’ve made much more progress than we ever could’ve imagined a couple
years ago. But it’s still nowhere near
enough.”
The
agreement outlines specific steps the world should take, from slashing global
carbon dioxide emissions nearly in half by 2030 to curbing emissions of
methane, another potent greenhouse gas. And it sets up new rules to hold
countries accountable for the progress they make — or fail to make.
The environment minister of the
Maldives, Shauna Aminath, said the latest text lacked the “urgency” that
vulnerable countries like hers required. “What looks balanced and pragmatic to
other parties will not help the Maldives adapt in time,” she said.
Editors’ Picks
Who needs to cut and how much?
MORE
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/climate/cop26-climate-summit-takeaways.html
NOVEMBER
14 (2 days after official end)
2.4 Degrees Is A
Disaster – But COP Won’t Stop It
By
Chris Saltmarsh, Tribune Magazine. Popular Resistance.org (11-14-21). Regardless of the outcome of COP26, one
inevitability is that the rich and powerful celebrate whatever the conference
produces as vital progress. Only a disaster on the level of COP15 in
Copenhagen might put a stop to the self-congratulatory triumphalism.
Already, though, most observing the negotiations with a critical eye are
highlighting how inadequate their product will be. Ed Miliband has
said we’re ‘miles from where we need to be’ and Greta
Thunberg declared COP26 to be a ‘failure’. These condemnations are backed
up by analysis from... -more-
Be the people's
resistance media!
Forward this
email to a friend and share the articles on social media.
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Nations hash out deal; climate summit ends. COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Nov 14, 2021.
Accord focuses on short term, misses goal. Read more...
CONTENTS OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown, #6, 11-10/ 11-11, 2021
https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/11/omni-un-cop26-glasgow-countdown-6-11-10.html
Nov. 10
An update from the
26th UN climate talks
Congress must hold Big Oil accountable
Official notes baby steps, not leaps
COP26 participants urged to prioritize gender equity
Fossil fuel goals set; COP26 draft sounds climate alarm
Tell Biden to keep his promise and cancel this
Fossil Fuel sale!
COP26 Update
Nov. 11
UN-Backed Banker Alliance
Announces 'Green' Plan
COP26 Can Learn From West
Papua’s Green Resistance
Cop26: Surging Wood Pellet
Industry Threatens Climate
COP26: How The World’s
Militaries Hide Their Huge Carbon Emissions
COP26: Military pollution is the skeleton in the West’s climate closet
COP26: We have until tomorrow to fix this
A call for help from the climate talks
'Harrowing' report downplays threat of climate change to national
security.
END OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow
Countdown #7, Nov. 14, 2021
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