Climate Change

World Leaders Meet to Address Climate Change

by David Van Winkle

World leaders met to define actions to address climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal during the week of December 5. Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, gave the keynote address to welcome ministers from more than 180 countries and more than 9000 delegates to the conference on December 7. Mr. Martin said "We must act and we must act now....It is well known that the primary cause of climate change is human activity....Climate change is a global challenge that demands a global response, yet there are nations that resist, voices that attempt to diminish the urgency or dismiss the science or declare, either in word or in indifference, that this is not our problem to solve.....Well, it is our problem to solve. We are in this together. The time is past to seek comfort in denial. The time is past to pretend that any nation can stand alone, isolated from the global community - for there is but one Earth, and we share it, and there can be no hiding on any island, in any city, within any country, no matter how prosperous, from the consequences of inaction."

At the request of Sierra Club of Canada, former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to Montreal on Friday December 9 to address the conference attendees in the plenary room. His remarks included “There’s no longer any serious doubt that climate change is real, accelerating, and caused by human activities” He pointed to an array of gloomy scientific reports published in past weeks, including evidence that carbon dioxide levels are at their highest in 650,000 years, that glaciers in the Himalayas and Artic sea ice are melting and warm Atlantic currents that bathe northwestern Europe are slowing down. “We have a heavy obligation to act now that we know…..It’s crazy for us to play games with our children’s future….The cleaner technologies would strengthen our economy…in America, there’s no telling how many jobs we could create”, referring to products like hybrid vehicles, wind turbines, insulation for homes, and compact florescent lights.

Despite the fact that the Bush administration has continued to resist official cooperation at the national level, many elected officials in the U.S. are taking significant actions to address climate change. On the municipal level, 195 U. S. mayors - representing more than 40 million people in 38 states - have signed the U.S Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to reduce global warming pollution in their cities by 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. Texas cities that have signed on include McKinney, Denton, Hurst, Austin, and Laredo. Major cities throughout the U.S. that have signed the agreement include Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Albuquerque, and Philadelphia. Seattle Mayor, Greg Nickels, one of the founders of the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (a.k.a. Cool City program), said "I reject the Bush administration's position that you must chose between the environment and the economy. There is no difference between being green and making green."

Many state governments have taken action to address climate change. Twenty states have adopted renewable energy standards (that requiring increasing % of renewable energy use in their states). Eleven states require a 25-30% greenhouse gas reduction for new cars in the future. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican governor of California, has defined an aggressive program to address greenhouse gases, as he sees climate change as a major threat to his state and the world. He sees rising sea levels as a threat to the coast from an erosion perspective, it threatens the underground water supplies, and it threatens to eliminate stored water from the snow/ice of nearby mountains. He has set goals to reduce GHG by 80% by 2050. In the shorter term, the state plans to support increasing populations energy demands by implementing improved efficiency plans to support 55% of the growth needs. The remaining 45% of the needs will come from renewable energy sources. Current law calls for California to have 20% renewable energy by 2017. The governor and the California PUC’s policy is to attain 20% by 2010 and 33% by 2020. Further, California has created an initiative that provides support to home owners for solar technology installation.

U.S Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico sees growing support in the U.S. Senate for national legislative action due to 1) Continuing scientific evidence that climate change is caused by human activity, 2) Increasing public concern on this issue, 3) Strong support from elected officials at the state and local level, 4) Business leaders are seeing increasing regulations at the state level and internationally, 5) Business leaders see regulations as inevitable on this issue. Senator Bingaman said ""We need to get bi-partisan support now"". A senior aide U.S. Olympia Snowe of Maine(R), echoed these comments, adding that support for improved fuel economy standards (CAFE) are increasing in the U.S. Senate and action could be seen as early as 2006.

Labor leaders also echo their concern with the Bush administration's position on climate change. David Foster, Director of District 11, United Steelworkers Union said:" We need new US government policies to support climate change action. The Bush administration’s position that you must chose between the environment and jobs is a false one. The USW has supported renewable energy portfolio legislation and improved auto fuel economy in several states.....The USW is concerned about the isolation policies that the current US government has adopted and is placing the US in uncompetitive positions in a world market."

Enlightened business leaders see action on climate change as an important element in their business. Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc., an Atlanta based manufacturer of rugs and tiles, one of the world's largest said: "" We began our journey towards a zero energy footprint 11 years ago. Our energy use is down by about 50% per revenue in the last 11 years. We are closing smokestacks and effluent pipes. We are making a lot of progress up the sustainability mountain. We intend to continue doing well, by doing good. Our costs are down and our product quality is up......The US needs to get on with increasing CAFE standards, the technology is there, the Japanese are already showing us".

On December 7, 25 leading U.S. economists (including three Nobel laureates) sent a letter to President Bush that said “…unless we act now, the price of dealing with global warming and its disruptive effects is only going to increase.” Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, added “....the cost of inaction on global warming will hurt the American economy. An aggressive rollout of energy efficient cars and trucks, appliances, heating and cooling systems and renewable technologies will save business and consumers significant amounts of money, as well as create high-quality jobs and increase community investment.”

Other world leaders spoke at the conference. Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary of State for Environment of the UK, said "Setting targets is the key driver in making progress on climate change. We need to engage with other countries not currently involved with Kyoto Protocol". She also defined the grandchild test " Can you look your own grandchild in the eye and say that you are doing the right thing?" She added that "The UK will beat the 2012 Kyoto goals."

In one of the more emotional appeals of the conference, leaders of the Inuit people lodged a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Inuit, the people of the ice, have watched their homeland melting before their eyes. The complaint seeks a declaration from the commission that the United States is violating fundamental Inuit rights, by not adopting mandatory limits on emissions, and cooperate with the community of nations to protect the climate.

Bottom line:

1. We have the opportunity and technology to cut our emission of greenhouse gases which fuel climate change.
2. American national leaders have failed to take meaningful steps to address this serious problem. Some still want to deny the science behind climate change created by human activity, instead of taking responsible action.
3. The U.S. must join the world on solutions to climate change.
4. Americans want the Bush administration to stop blocking progress on international global warming agreements.
5. Right now, the real U.S. leaders on climate change solutions can be found in America's city halls and state capitals. They represent the American public's desire to protect our climate.

So, what can you do to help.....

1. You can reduce your own energy consumption.
2. Lobby your municipal leaders to sign up to the Cool City program.
3. Lobby your state congress persons to increase the renewable portfolio standard for Texas.
4. Lobby our governor to develop a comprehensive energy strategy that reduces our dependence upon fossil fuels.
5. Lobby your U.S. Senators and Representatives to pass 1) improved CAFE standards to improve auto gas mileage, 2) Climate change action plan.

Meanwhile in Texas

Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order on Oct. 27 calling for state agencies to expedite the permitting process for new power generation facilities. Since the only new power generating facilities with permits pending are coal-fired power plants, they are the only ones that will benefit from the governor’s order. “Seven new coal plants are being planned for Texas, and they will threaten our air, our water, our wildlife and our economy,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith of Public Citizen’s Texas office. “Burning more coal means we’ll be importing more coal from other states, making the skies over our urban areas even dirtier and ignoring much cleaner and cheaper ways to meet our state’s future energy needs.”

Note: Thank you to Sierra Club of Canada and to Steve Crowley, Chairman of Sierra Club's national conservation committee on Global Warming and Energy, who made the trip of David Van Winkle to the UN conference possible.