Written By:
Demeter - Date published:
9:33 am, April 8th, 2009 - 2 comments
Categories: climate change -
Tags: bonn, emission reduction, un climate talks
The future is starting to look decidedly sci fi.
As the UN climate talks in Bonn draw to a close, developed countries have refused to forward an overall mid-term emissions reduction target ( the cuts they’re willing to make collectively by 2020). Despite science telling us this needs to be in the range of 40 per cent, Greenpeace has worked out that individual country commitments only add up to between 4-14 per cent.
These measly cuts would lead to global warming of a degree that would annihilate much of the planet as we know it.
New Zealand isn’t helping. But we’re not the only ones pissing round.
An article on page two of yesterday’s ECO newsletter (put out daily by NGOs at major UN climate talks since 1972) ‘Going for the Burn’ nicely sums up the alternate reality in which delegates seem to be existing.
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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I know this is a big call, but if ‘science is telling us’ that we basically need to stop what we’re doing, then why do we continue to do what we do while waiting for others (politicians and business) to give us permission to do otherwise?
If we stop doing what we are doing right now, then politicians and business will have no option but to follow suit.
And I know that dropping everything in the dirt means taking very painful hits. Up to now, individuals have made small changes and acted only as individuals. There needs to be collective action on a mass scale; a ‘refusenik’ culture developed from below.
The alternative is, it seems, not just science fiction, but lousy science fiction that no-one will want to be experiencing.
It should be okay, I mean, isn’t that champion of the “Blue Greens” John Key in charge of things now . . . oh, bugger, forgot about that .
Time to bend over, place head firmly between knees and kiss our arse good bye.
Thanks National.