COP17: Where talk is cheap, bake sales speak
“Bitumen balls” and “oily” Canada krispies were on sale at the Canadian Youth Delegation booth at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban today (December 1). We were holding a bake sale to buy back our future, because if dirty oil can buy influence, why can’t we?
After a few days at COP17 it has become resoundingly clear that Canada is most definitely not negotiating on behalf of its people. Instead it is negotiating on behalf of industries that not only want to keep polluting operations going, but expand them as well. Earlier this week, it was reported that Canada plans to formally pull out of the Kyoto Protocol, effectively disregarding any commitments we made to decrease emissions—putting health impacts on Canadians behind industry’s ability to keep tar sands extraction going. Even the one thing that Canada gets better press around at these negotiations, financing for the green climate fund, is not what it seems. The fund is for countries who historically played the biggest role in contributing to climate change, like Canada, to repay some of their debt to those most affected. However, much of the money we’ve committed to is coming from private sources, meaning that it would be more about companies making profits instead of the good of the communities where projects are based.
This is why our bake sale could not have come any sooner. We’ve tried writing letters, meeting with our MPs, creative art projects, media campaigns, and rallies in the streets, but our message is just not getting through. Industry, on the other hand, who make huge profits and sponsor government conferences, seem to have bought our government’s negotiating strategy. Money talks, so with thousands of people dying every year from climate change, it was about time we started speaking their language.
Prior to our bake sale, we were expecting to have to walk around the conference centre and beg other delegates with cute youth pouts to fund our quest for a sustainable future. However, this was far from necessary. Press from Europe, government delegates from many African nations and small island states, as well as trade union and other civil society members were more than happy to contribute. In fact, many of them were thanking us for what we were doing. Most of them were livid about Canada’s actions on behalf of industry, lobbying other countries to weaken their policies too.
The success of our bake sale today was indicative of a sad reality that the lives of people in Canada and around the world speak less to our government than the sweet smell of money mixed with tar. Though, at least now we are a few hundred rand closer to buying back our future. Unfortunately, unlike the oil and gas industry, we don’t have $1.4 billion in annual subsidies to help us get there.
Check out this page to find out how you can help us buy back our future.
Tasha Peters, a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation, is blogging from COP17, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. She also attended COP16 in Cancun, Mexico, last year.
Comments
8 Comments
cynic
Dec 2, 2011 at 8:44am
Oil barons rule the world. They will never stop drilling and extracting because of environmental concern. Remember BP oil spill that ruined Gulf of Mexico last year? It was under BarackObama's watch, the man who advertise 'Change'. This year, Obama is delaying Keystone pipeline project to fool voters but as soon as he gets another term, they will resume the project. Barack Obama = fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice..
NoLeftNutter
Dec 2, 2011 at 9:57am
cynic - you mean "the worst environmental disaster of all time" that occured in the Gulf Coast that less than one year later is back to normal? That's the problem with you eco-weenies...there's not enough tragedy in the world to keep your pet organizations funded. You're getting fooled every day by the for-profit greenies like WWF, DSF and Greenpeace.
NoFauxNoose
Dec 2, 2011 at 11:03am
NoLeftNutter, the Gulf Coast is NOT back to normal, and it probably will never be the same no matter how they try to clean it up. The point is Obama and the likes didn't learn the lesson from this disaster. They are still contemplating bigger and more polluted project to get fossil fuel from the ground. They put profit ahead of environment and everyone can see it. What a dystopian future for us all. Forget flying cars and cyborg, we are stuck in fossil fuel mode, there is no more technological breakthrough anymore, not because the lack of knowledge but because the lack of political will. Obama is the obstacle to advancement of mankind. If he is awarded another term the world is doomed.
NoLeftNutter
Dec 2, 2011 at 11:28am
Hey NFN - by all means give up your fossil fuel lifestyle and all of the trappings associated with it like computers, the internet, food delivery, heating your home etc. etc. Either that or unplug your head from your butt and stop believing all the green eco-weenie nonsense that you're being fed. Fossil fuels are here to stay until something actually better comes along. And when it does it won't be because of government regulations, it will be because there is an actual business case that works.
Goldorak
Dec 2, 2011 at 11:50am
Tasha's reportage is reaching new highs every day... LOL
NoFauxNoose
Dec 2, 2011 at 12:03pm
I didn't say we can make a switch overnight. While I understand fossil fuel is part of our daily life, things that you mentioned - computers, internet, food delivery, heating homes, etc. all require use of fossil fuel, I think we can manage our usage to achieve efficiency. For example, transportation industry could use electric vehicles to decrease usage. Use high speed rail and metros, as well as bicycle when possible. Since Transport account most emission (4.1 - 4.6 GtCO2e) , compare to Power sector (2.1 - 3.9GtCO2e) and Agriculture (1.1 - 4.3CtCO2e) , if we could improve only one area, it would lessen our dependency on fossil fuel. What is the point of driving 5mpg SUVs in finite world with finite resources?
Thermoguy
Dec 3, 2011 at 8:18am
The problem with the climate change discussion is that all of the UN members are literally blind to the temperatures discussed. Economy is based on more emissions and the blind battle continues in Durban.
Canada's representation in Durban is 100% political, the governments aren't meeting their emissions and will try to opt out of Kyoto as an excuse. Canadian energy professionals reported to the Environment Minister the cause of urban heat islands had been found and why billions in energy is spent every year responding to the symptoms.
The same UV that burns our skin is burning buildings and causing them to generate heat close to boiling temperature. We are responding to the symptoms with massive energy waste when it could be addressed without re-inventing the wheel. Look at the video including the time-lapsed infrared video of buildings being radiated right after sunrise. Keep it simple, we need to stop manmade heat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isfE-B129Vg
baby
Dec 3, 2011 at 6:19pm
NFN, do you bike everywhere? Do you unplug your appliances when you don't need them? Do you use heated water for shower every day? Is it absolutely necessary?