understand the mechanisms of climate change

As nations continue struggling at the Bella Center and a real deal becomes less and less probable, let me show you a nice video explaining the mechanisms of climate change. Wake up, Freak out!

Climate Change Politics

During my stay in Copenhagen i met Professor Elworthy who is an expert in Political Science. See the interview below:

I apologize for the sound quality, the interview took place at a noisy café inside an airport.

rising stars from the sinking paradise

This morning the prime ministers of the pacific islands met in Berlin their role in the COP15 climate conference. Even though they hold only 0.6 percent of the total CO2 output, the impacts on climate change for small island countries will be hazardous. As water level rises, coasts will wander into the country shrinking their total land surface or even flooding them completely.

Their only chance lies in raising awareness. The prime minister of the Maldives Nasheed did so in holding a cabinet meeting 6 meters beneath the surface of the water.

When speaking to the people climate summit, Klimaforum, yesterday morning he earned strong support from green activists. He said in an interview to the ARD: “I can move, but the animals, the culture, my home cant”. Some hours later he spoke to officials at the COP15 conference as well telling them to stop talking and finally start negotiating a binding specific deal, told me David Sheppard, Director of the SPREP, an intergovernmental environment organization of the Pacific islands countries and territories.

It’s not only the Maldives, but there are many other island cultures in the Pacific Ocean as well. Even though their economical impact might be relatively small, their credibility in changing back towards a sustainable development is high up because their own homes are threatened. If no action will be taken, we soon loose these island paradises. They will eventually sink like Vineta.

But will those Stars from small countries like Tuvalu or Samoa be able to convince 192 countries in signing a binding treaty? Noone really beliefs it anymore. Experts rather expect a unspecific declaration in Copenhagen. The real deal however is expected to be signed in Mexico in December 2010.

links:

• Cabinet submarine meeting: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/07/maldives-underwater-cabinet-meeting
• SPREP: http://sprep.org/

outside cop15

After green movements have shown their impact on society with 100.000 people protesting for a deal in Copenhagen, negotiations started in second week.

Registration line

Thousands of people waiting in the registration line at Bella center waiting up to six hours (according to joycemurray) imply discussions become more focused over time. Toady Africa led protests stopped the talks on a climate deal temporarily. But the COP15 summit is not simply government negotiations. It’s professors discussion alternative measures for climate politics, it’s activists debating in workshops about sustainability issues at the Klimaform – the alternative climate summit – and of course it’s demonstration, flash mobs, helicopters and racing police cars.

I just talked to an native Alaskan sent by the University of Alaska who returned to Copenhagen a little time ago after having enjoyed his weekend in Paris and having visited museums of Alaskan Culture. He was enjoying the COP15 summit because of all the side workshops and seminars on sustainable measures in construction, energy and transportation. He was the first to built wind turbines in his state. This conference serves not simply for governmental negotiations, but is a huge platform for idea exchange for the green movement. For observers like this Alaskan this summit already is a huge success, now it’s up to the political leaders to set a deal.

Politicians talk, leaders act

Outside of the Bella Center, somewhere lost at the limits of Copenhagen, thousands of people stood in the freezing Danish dark holding candles and raising their voice for climate change. I asked some of them why they think it’s important to be there and join this tremendous choir. “I do not understand the scientific mechanisms behind, but what I want is a sustainable development to preserve this world for the future” one girl around my age told me. “Even I am not an expert in climate science; I know that emissions have to be cut to reach that goal.”

Science is not leading to one opinion but rather offers a large variety of point of views and arguments and even more possible tools and solutions for a problem. But its not delivering a clear answer. The whole climate debate tends to be very scientific and that is its biggest problem. This big shapeless emission enemy terrorizes the foundations of the world and a bunch of nerds are paid to find thousands of possible solutions. They tell them to politicians and therefore politicians talk.

Inside the Bella center the world climate conference is nothing else than a large gathering of all kinds of people from all kinds of places; with gloomy presentations and I guess all kinds of boring debates; ending up in some kind of a deal. (#realdeal)

But the difference to other conferences becomes obvious when one stands in the registration hall. There is one counter for diplomats and people working for governments but there are four counters assigned to NGOs. It was not the political establishment who brought up the climate change debate. It was done by the people’s movement; it was done by activists raising attention bringing themselves into risky situations; by demonstrations against nuclear power generation. Traditionally the nature-conversation movement has had a lot of impact, but will it be able to push governments to change economies to set a global climate deal? They need strong leaders who take up their clear ideas and construct a big solution. Maybe leaders like Obama. They need him because leaders act.

“Politicians talk, leaders act.” Is a slogan by greenpeace I saw tonight in front of the Bella Center.

Bilder von der Demonstration

Please, what is sustainability?

Sustainability is maybe the second most important word after CO2 in current climate change discussions. Is it signing up for regenerative electricity, is it cutting away comfort and luxury, is it being a vegetarian?

Sustainability derives from the Latin word “sustenere” which means to rest, endure … The word sustained was first used in forestry and meant to reduce the amount of trees only to an amount where the forest could renew itself within a lifecycle period. This makes it easy to understand the concept of sustainability. It is defined as the usage of a renewable system in a way that its key characteristics remain and its stock can grow back naturally.

What about resources and needs? It states that resources have to be preserved for future generations. They can be exploited but only to the amount where regeneration of this resource needs one life cycle. Meeting nowadays needs depending of the ability to meet the needs of future generations and not limiting their lifestyle.

How modeling this abstract concept of sustainability? There tend to be three different dimensions: economical, ecological and social sustainability. Economical deals about ensuring the financial future of organizations like corporations. Ecological sustainability means preserving the environment in its original state. The social dimension however aims on a society where every individual can participate and different social powers have are equalized.

So what about renewable energy, luxury and vegetarians?

Give me a comment I have got a flight to catch …

what a climate hero blog is supposed to be

Hello everyone! From now on and for the next fourteen days, I will try to be a climate hero. For me this is a person that strictly rallies to lower carbon emissions in daily life.

In this blog I will explain the basic concepts climate people talk about all the time and how one can apply them in daily live and business. First of all I would like to start in exploring the very basics: like what is sustainability, what is the green house effect, what is CCS. Next I will focus on daily live while staying in Copenhagen for the weekend, trying to understand why many people work hard on reaching lower emissions. Back in Berlin I would like to develop a plan on how to reduce efficiently your very own carbon offset at home.

For further reading, I would recommend following texts:

• Nicholas Stern: “The global deal”
• Hans-Peter Dürr: “Warum es ums Ganze geht” [German]
• Al Gore: “Our choice”
• and a podcast covering all three books in German

Finally I would like to thank Bundjugend.de for their support!