Government delegates to the Montreal Climate Conference were greeted by a giant hourglass bearing the message 'Time is Running Out.'
Consider this: Glaciers in western China are expected to have
largely disappeared by 2100; summer sea ice in the Arctic could be
lost well before the end of the century according to some models,
leaving polar bears, ice-dependent seals, walruses and certain
sea-birds facing extinction; and over the next several decades
there is a risk that regional climate changes combined with the
effects of forest clearing could flip the ecosystems of the Amazon
from forest to grassland or desert.
If climate change continues at present rates, the effects it
will have are irreversible. Global average temperature has been
rising since the beginning of industrial society. We believe that
to prevent or at least arrest irreversible damage, we need to keep
this rise below 2 degrees Celsius. This is a position also adopted
by the European Union Heads of Government. It is still economically
and scientifically possible to do this with known technological
means. The decisions made in Montreal will determine whether or not
those options remain viable solutions to global warming.
Greenpeace is doing all it can to make sure that these decisions
are taken, no matter how difficult they are. These are some of the
steps that we hope this summit will achieve:
1. To further develop the Kyoto Protocol for the Second
Commitment Period (2013-2017)
2. To facilitate the introduction of low carbon emitting
technology in developing countries.
3. To mobilize local, regional and international support to halt
tropical deforestation.
Time is Running Out!
As government delegates to the Montreal Climate Conference
crunched through the snow on their way to the Palais de Congress
today, they were greeted by the sight of a giant hourglass bearing
the message 'Time is Running Out.'
The hourglass is meant to remind the delegates that our
environment is changing at an increasingly rapid rate, and not for
the better. The time to act is now.
Governments can send a strong signal that will encourage
business to invest in clean alternatives by agreeing to strengthen
and expand the Kyoto Protocol. Or it can spend the next two weeks
blowing smoke and following the lead of countries like the USA and
Australia who would prefer to do nothing. If they decide on the
latter then we will lose momentum and we will lose the small window
of opportunity we have to bring down emissions of greenhouse
gases.
Click
here to go to the Climate Change website.
Coffee, Anyone?
Solar Generation members from around the world have set up a
solar-powered coffee kiosk outside the entrance to the conference
center. They are asking delegates to take a minute and reflect,
over a hot cup of coffee, on the responsibilities that rest on
their shoulders. The students are accompanied by P.Bear, who is
there to remind the delegates and the public in an
easy-to-understand way that while we may not be seeing the visible
results of global warming yet, other species are. When the ice at
the polar ice caps melts, polar bears lose their home and their
source of food. Click here to
read P Bear's blog, and see video updates of her activities at
the conference.
The Indian Connection
Amruth and Kruttika, the two students from India who are
attending the CoP/MoP, have been part of all this activity as well.
On the 29th, they presented a copy of their film and hundreds of
letters that they had carried with them, to the Indian delegates at
the conference. On the 7th of December, they will be presenting
copies of the film and the letters to A Raja, the Union Minister
for Environment and Forests, who is attending the CoP/MoP. They
will be asking that India commit to supporting the use of renewable
energy, and to phasing out fossil fuels.
View the climate
change flash animation.