Coquitlam's Anjali Appadurai gives UN climate negotiators in Durban swift kick in the ass

by Stephen Hui on December 9th, 2011 at 4:36 PM

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Faced with government officials bent on selling out the world's future, a native of Coquitlam has said what needed to be said at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban.

Speaking to a COP17 plenary, Anjali Appadurai, who is studying at College of the Atlantic in Maine, told climate negotiators today (December 9) that "you’ve failed to meet pledges, you’ve missed targets, and you’ve broken promises".

Here's an excerpt of her inspiring speech:

The IEA tells us that we have 5 years until the window to avoid irreversible climate change closes.
The science tells us that we have 5 years, MAXIMUM. You’re saying: give us 10.
The most stark betrayal of your generation’s responsibility to ours is that you call this AMBITION.
Where is the courage in this room? Now is not the time for incremental action. In the long-run, these will be seen as the defining moments of an era in which narrow self-interest prevailed over science, reason, and common compassion.
There is real ambition in this room but it’s been dismissed as radical, deemed not “politically possible”.
Long-term thinking is not radical. What’s radical is to completely alter the planet’s climate, to betray the future of my generation and to condemn millions to death by climate change.
What’s radical is to write off the fact that change is within our reach.

Then, as Appadurai left the stage, she mic checked the meeting, Occupy-style.

Right on.

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Comments

12 Comments

Futile

Dec 9, 2011 at 7:02pm

What is the point of having these climate conferences? No one wants to sacrifice their economy to make the world better place. The world is rule by capitalists that rely on perpetual growth to make a profit. In order to have a strong economy they need to keep making useless stuff for people to consume. They are more concerned with shareholder's demand than find out what it means to be happy and healthy. Who gives a f**k about climate change anyway? Being green doesn't make any money!

NoLeftNutter

Dec 9, 2011 at 8:17pm

Gaak, more misguided socialism in the form of mythical belief of CAGW. Anjali needs to perpetuate the myth like all the others on the gravy train or else the trips to sunny locals with other people's money will dry up.

Gene Logan

Dec 9, 2011 at 9:50pm

Jesus, NoLeftNutter, do you ever give it a fucking rest?! Boy do you ever need to get a dog ... or take up knitting ... read more than one book ...or turn off FOX news(?) once in a while and get out and walk the sea wall.

Mamakel

Dec 9, 2011 at 10:36pm

With the 2 previous morons working on the case... WE'RE ALL DOOMED. Thank God for the Youth Movement.

NoLeftNutter

Dec 10, 2011 at 8:37am

GL, I'd be happy to take up a new hobby if The Straight provided some objective coverage of this issue, Charlie Smith's recent column shows that he worships at the alter of Gore and Suzuki. Why do the bed-wetting alarmists never question the financial motives of those on the CAGW side? Makes me wonder.

Kim

Dec 10, 2011 at 12:39pm

@NoLeftNutter:

Every single national and international government or scientific body has confirmed the science (which dates back to the 1800s -- http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm) that when we humans burn fossil fuels we are destabilizing our planet's global climate system (and global supplies of food, water, energy...) through the accumulation of heat trapping carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. Even the oil companies, which supply the stuff, have admitted as much:

"For us the debate on climate change is over. We are tackling the challenges of a new energy future. We continue to develop technologies to reduce CO2 from our operations and to produce more efficient fuels and lubricants for customers. We are calling on governments to establish policies that will encourage a reduction in CO2 emissions."

Shell Oil,http://www.shell.com/home/content/environment_society/environment/climat...

"Rising greenhouse gas emissions pose significant risks to society and ecosystems."

ExxonMobil, http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/safety_climate.aspx

What's it going to take for you to accept reality too?

Kim

Dec 10, 2011 at 12:48pm

As for your question of the financial motives, here it is: The International Energy Agency recently released its 2011 World Energy Outlook report stating that:

"Delaying action [on climate change] is a false economy: for every $1 of investment in cleaner technology that is avoided in the power sector before 2020, an additional $4.30 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for the increased emissions."

http://www.iea.org/weo/docs/weo2011/pressrelease.pdf

Mark Fornataro

Dec 10, 2011 at 12:52pm

Gene Logan and Kim, as a previous poster pointed out, we should go easy on the poor,hapless NoLeftNutter- after all by his own admission he's down to one testical and apparently doesn't have the balls to face reality.