Who is afraid of CO2?

by Dr.Harald Wiesendanger– Klartext What the mainstream media is hiding Why we should fear and hate carbon dioxide – A guest article by Elena Louisa Lange about the sense and folly of worrying about “man-made climate change.” In September, the world witnessed five minutes of climate ideology at its finest. Apple, the world’s most capitalized company, produced a promotional film designed to…

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IPU's work to support parliaments on climate change.

Climate change is killing people and destroying lives, development, peace and security all over the world. That's why climate action has been recognized as the top policy priority for the IPU. 

The ultimate goal of the IPU’s action on climate change is to allow all people to live on a healthier planet with warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The IPU helps parliaments make progress on the Paris Agreement as well as other climate treaties, accelerate decarbonization and reduce the carbon footprint within parliaments themselves through its research, tools and meetings. 

All year, the IPU organizes events for parliamentarians to come together and exchange good practice when it comes to legislating, budgeting or scrutinizing government action on climate change. 

The IPU works closely with UN partners on climate change, especially the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

The IPU also endeavours to reduce its own carbon footprint, including its Assemblies. 

Discover the IPU's work on climate change including its events, case studies, toolkits for parliamentarians and good examples of legislation.

Worsening realities in Oceania show need for continued dialogue

Worsening realities in Oceania show need for continued dialogue

Worsening realities for Oceania – such as sea level rise and food security – are leading to urgent calls for help from those most affected. They’re not leading to urgent action from those most able to help though. This year’s COP27 meetings reviewed progress of commitments to pledges made at earlier United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings. It found many countries have…

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Buhari and Nigeria’s climate challenge ahead of COP27, By Aliu Akoshile 

As Nigeria prepares for a robust engagement with other state and non-state actors at the fifth global climate summit in Africa, President Buhari must ensure the seamless harmonisation of the country’s environmental policies and actions, and the on-boarding of all critical stakeholders in energy transition, climate financing, renewable energy, biodiversity, waste management, and the media. Baring…

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Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

We are running out of time to take action on climate change, says Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In a speech titled “Two Years to Save the World,” Stiell emphasized that governments, development banks and business leaders must take steps to avert much more serious impacts of the climate crisis within that time frame, reported Reuters.

“For those who say that climate change is only one of many priorities, like ending poverty, ending hunger, ending pandemics, or improving education, I simply say this: none of these crucial tasks — indeed none of the Sustainable Development Goals — will be possible unless we get the climate crisis under control,” Stiell said in the speech, delivered at London thinktank Chatham House.

According to the UN, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 is essential to keep global heating to within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels. However, for 10 consecutive months, global temperatures have reached record highs, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

“As of today, national climate plans — called Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs —  in aggregate will barely cut emissions at all by 2030,” Stiell said. “We still have a chance to make greenhouse gas emissions tumble, with a new generation of national climate plans. But we need these stronger plans, now. And while every country must submit a new plan, the reality is G20 emissions are around 80% of global emissions.”

The focus of the UN COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, will be for nations to come up with new climate finance goals to support developing countries in tackling climate change and making the transition away from fossil fuels, Reuters reported.

Rare find in the archives!

Poster design by Massimo Vignelli for the UNFCCC COP3 in Kyoto in 1997. For those that don’t recognize that acronym, that’s the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 3rd Conference of the Parties which was held in Kyoto, Japan.

Although we don’t have a copy of the actual poster, we do have this transparency in the archives which was simply filed under “Kyoto poster.” If you know about this poster, we want to hear from you!

“I love ambiguity because, for me, ambiguity means plurality of meanings.” – Massimo Vignelli

This deceivingly simple poster is an excellent example of ambiguity. What does “Sold Out” mean in this poster? Have we sold out of planet earth, as in there is no planet left? Or have we sold out the long term survival of our planet for sort term interests? What do you think?

Image description:

poster with photograph of the earth with a large yellow band across with the text “Sold Out” set on black background.

How Climate Change is threatening Culture's Worldwide

    NO.1

Mass relocations are a thing that is set to happen thanks to climate change. And as more natural disasters happen that circuits the need for climate change education, more doomsday scenarios appear instead of healthy solutions to help save the planet--with the water rising from melting ice caps, it is destroying island and southern communities, and producing record number droughts in different sides of the planet. Why then does the media frame climate change as something inevitable, and how does that produce apathy, not just in regular people, but in these companies as well?

NO. 2

The research about climate change is all about education; informing the public about counter-options to reduce carbon levels in the air. I know this could benefit one person, if not the whole group, and that is what’s important. So how do we define apathy toward climate change? Well, the definition of apathy first is a lack of feeling or emotion towards something. It is based on a variety of subjects, like race, sex, education, age, food, culture, groups of people, etc. How does apathy relate to other negative concepts like indifference, and how are those emotions dangerous?  ‘’How does apathy come to exist? Through ignorance of a toxic and uncoordinated action. Framing is used as an institution and illustrates how it shapes media framing in a toxic event. Even in systems who are supposed to help the average person, are people seen to have a ‘tendency to behave in accordance with what they see as being in their own interests.’’

NO. 3

From “Climate Change and Planned Relocation in Oceania.” Sicherheit Und Frieden (S+F) / Security and Peace, vol. 34, no. 1, 2016, pp. 60–65: ‘‘The sinking islands have become a symbol of the consequences of manmade global warming. The foreshadowing of climate change-related environments and social developments that will affect other parts of the world sooner rather than later. In the current academic and political discourse, migration figures prominently among the social effects of climate change, and climate change-induced migration-conflict nexus, and research and findings have become ever more complex and sophisticated, trying disentangle the ‘long and uncertain casual chains from climate change to social consequences like conflict.’’

NO. 4

In conclusion, the Guna Yala tribe will not be the last island community to relocate because of the rising sea level, thanks to climate change. In fact, billions of people are going to be fleeing, and forced to relocate because of the threatening climate, and the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change understands (UNFCCC). From Climate Change and Planned Relocation: HOW CLIMATE RESETTLEMENT CAN WORK FOR COMMUNITIES. Danish Institute for International Studies, 2017: Entire cultures and societies will have to cope with the ‘‘ability to foster broader resilience-oriented solutions driven by the livelihood needs and strategies of the communities in question. When relocation is found to be necessary, [like in the Guna Yala tribe’s case], it should be approached as an expansion of existing livelihood strategies and mobility patterns, not an end to them.’’

The inclusion of Amazon mangroves in Brazil’s REDD+ program

The Legal Amazon of Brazil holds vast mangrove forests, but a lack of awareness of their value has prevented their inclusion into results-based payments established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Based on an inventory from over 190 forest plots in Amazon mangroves, we estimate total ecosystem carbon stocks of 468 �� 67 Megagrams (Mg) ha−1; which are significantly higher than Brazilian upland biomes currently included into national carbon offset financing. Conversion of mangroves results in potential emissions of 1228 Mg CO2e ha−1, which are 3-fold higher than land use emissions from conversion of the Amazon rainforest. Our work provides the foundation for the inclusion of mangroves in Brazil’s intended Nationally Determined Contribution, and here we show that halting mangrove deforestation in the Legal Amazon would generate avoided emissions of 0.9 ± 0.3 Teragrams (Tg) CO2e yr−1; which is equivalent to the annual carbon accumulation in 82,400 ha of secondary forests.

Read the paper.

By Damian Carrington

The Guardian

June 15, 2023

Rich countries are signing a “death sentence” for millions of poor people around the world by failing to phase out fossil fuels, the climate activist Greta Thunberg has told governments. She warned on Tuesday that with annual greenhouse gas emissions at an all-time high, only a “rapid and equitable” phaseout of fossil fuels would keep global temperatures within the scientifically advised limit of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. “The coming months and years – right now – will be crucial to what the future looks like. It is what we decide now that will define the rest of humanity’s future,” she told a press conference at UN talks in Bonn, where governments are meeting to discuss the climate crisis. “If we do not [phase out fossil fuels], it will be a death sentence for countless people. It is already a death sentence for countless people,” she said. Thunberg last Friday announced the end of her school strikes, which she has been undertaking on Fridays since 2018 in protest at political inaction on the climate crisis. The campaigner has left school but intends to carry on speaking out on climate issues, while also giving the spotlight to youth voices from the developing world. She said a lack of political will to halt fossil fuel exploration and use was threatening to raise global temperatures by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, which could lead the climate to pass “tipping points”, a cascade of impacts that could create runaway global heating. “We are still rushing towards the cliff. We could trigger feedback loops that are beyond human control, that would throw countless billions under the bus,” she said. The question of phasing out fossil fuels is expected to be a flashpoint at the Cop28 UN climate talks later this year. The summit will take place in Dubai, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a major oil and gas producer. Many countries would like to see Cop28 produce a formal resolution to phase out fossil fuels, or at least to discuss such a phaseout as an official agenda item at the summit. But some countries, chiefly fossil fuel producers including Saudi Arabia, are staunchly opposed, and the UAE presidency has been cautious, saying there is not yet agreement on the agenda. Chairing the talks will be Sultan Al Jaber, a minister in the UAE government who is also chief of the country’s national oil company, Adnoc, which is planning a massive expansion of fossil fuel production capacity. Eric Njuguna, a climate justice organiser from Kenya, speaking with Thunberg, said Al Jaber’s dual role was a conflict of interest, and called on him to resign. “It is a stab in the back for poor countries to have a fossil fuel CEO on top of efforts to constrain the climate crisis,” he said. Al Jaber has told the Guardian he will bring a “business mindset” to the talks, and pointed to his role as co-founder of the Masdar renewable energy company in UAE. He visited the Bonn talks last Thursday, and told a public meeting: “The phase down of fossil fuels is inevitable.” But he stopped well short of promising to put a phaseout of fossil fuels on the Cop28 agenda. The talks in Bonn, which started last Monday and will end on Thursday, are to lay the groundwork for Cop28, the conference of the parties under the UN framework convention on climate change, which begins on 30 November. Progress at Bonn has been slow. Last week’s discussions were characterized by disputes over rich countries that are failing to provide financial assistance to developing countries, to help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the thinktank E3G, said: “Much more work remains to be done to land an agreement at Cop28 for a just and equitable reduction of fossil fuel production and use in a time frame that’s consistent with the Paris [agreement] 1.5C goal.”

China’s path to reducing carbon emissions should be determined by China and not controlled by anyone else, President Xi Jinping told dozens of officials, at the same time as US climate envoy John Kerry is in Beijing seeking consensus on global warming.

Xi was speaking at a two-day national conference on ecological and environmental protection that started on Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday night.

“China’s commitments are unswerving, but the path towards the goals as well as the manner, pace and intensity of efforts to achieve them should and must be determined by the country itself, rather than swayed by others,” he said.

“[We should] actively and steadily work toward carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, foster a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, accelerate the formation of a new power system and strengthen the country’s capability of guaranteeing oil and gas security.”

Xi also urged the country to safeguard ecological security and nuclear and radiation safety to “ensure that the natural environment and conditions, which are the foundation of survival and development, are not threatened or damaged”.

He asked for a concerted legal, market, technological and policy effort to achieve his goals.

The conference was attended by all seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the pinnacle of the party’s decision-making apparatus, as well as a wide range of party and government bodies.

Kerry, whose four-day visit concludes on Wednesday, has met Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi, as he seeks consensus on the fight against climate change.

There are also hopes his trip will add positive momentum to US-China relations, in their worst shape in decades.

Kerry tweeted on Tuesday that he appreciated the opportunity to have “an important discussion” with Li on how the US and China can work together to keep the pledge to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius about pre-industrial levels – a commitment of the 2015 Paris agreement – alive.

Li called for both sides to stick to climate commitments made in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.

Xi promised in September 2020 that China’s carbon emissions would peak by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. In 2021, he said China would tightly control coal consumption and gradually reduce it after 2025.

China has repeatedly emphasised the need to secure its energy security and deliver on its climate commitments.

The most recent government work report to address the issue – submitted to the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, in March by the previous premier Li Keqiang – said research and development of clean energy was a priority for 2023.

In April, the National Energy Administration announced plans to add 160 million kilowatts of installed wind and solar capacity by the end of this year, boosting the share of wind and solar electricity to 15.3 per cent of society’s energy use.

“Three years after making its carbon-reduction pledge, China’s energy and industrial transitions are still far from complete,” said Ma Jun, director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, a non-profit environmental research firm.

While China’s renewable energy is increasing, China has approved more coal projects recently, noted Ma. “Due to complex geopolitical changes, China has shifted its focus to energy security,” he said.

A major stumbling block to an agreement between the US and China on climate issues is China’s use of coal power. Washington wants China to reduce its domestic reliance on coal to cut more methane emissions. But Xi has reiterated many times that it is a matter of “energy security”.

There has been a significant increase in approvals for coal power projects within China since last summer’s extreme heatwave, which led to power supply crunches in several southern provinces. The rise in domestic approvals has sparked international concern about China’s ability to deliver on its climate promise.

On Kerry’s last visit to China in August 2021, he asked Beijing to stop funding coal power projects outside its borders. A month later, at the UN General Assembly, Xi announced that China would no longer build new coal power overseas.

Regarding China and US’s differences in climate issues and carbon reduction, Ma said, “What we have to see is what kind of cooperation the two sides are going to go for, and whether they can achieve a win-win situation on what each side is good at.”

On This Day In History

December 12th, 2015: The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted.

The Earthshot Innovation Summit will be HUGE.

I’m sad that Prince William is probably going to miss it for obvious reasons but wow, this is big!

The summit will take place on the morning of September 21, 2022 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. It will be hosted by Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions; it will bring together heads of state, government and civil society leaders, philanthropists, business executives, and grassroots climate activists from around the world.

Bloomberg, Global Advisor to the Winners of The Earthshot Prize, will welcome a number of speakers and special guests including:

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Member of The Earthshot Prize Council

Alexandra Cousteau, Senior Advisor to Oceana

Alyssa Gaines, 2022 National Youth Poet Laureate

Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris

Bill Gates, Co-Chair and Board Member, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Brad Smith, President, Microsoft;

The Honorable Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Australia

Cate Blanchett, Actor and Member of The Earthshot Prize Council

Christiana Figueres, Chair of The Earthshot Prize and Former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

Ambassador Cindy McCain, US Ambassador, United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture

Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

Gayle Smith, CEO, One Campaign

Hannah Jones, CEO, The Earthshot Prize

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Member of The Earthshot Prize Council

Joy Harjo, 23rd United States Poet Laureate

Matt Damon, Actor and Activist, Co-Founder, Water.org

Urban Word NYC Youth Poets Rev. Lennox Yearwood, CEO and President, Hip Hop Caucus

Mindy Lubber, CEO and President, Ceres

Tokunboh Ishmael, Founding Trustee, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital

Ruth Porat, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Alphabet and Google and,

Oscar the Grouch.

And The inaugural Finalists and Winners of The Earthshot Prize.

The event will be held from 8:00am-12:30pm ET at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

The Summit’s mainstage program will feature keynote remarks, panel discussions, fireside chats, and presentations celebrating The Earthshot Prize’s 2021 Finalists and spotlighting the Prize’s five key pillars of climate solutions: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build A Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate.

Dahiru: Towards a resolution of Nigeria's climate concerns, By Seyifunmi Adebote

Dahiru: Towards a resolution of Nigeria’s climate concerns, By Seyifunmi Adebote

Before Dr Dahiru’s announcement, concerns had been raised about the prolonged delay in implementing the Climate Change Act, especially considering the five-year Action Plan timeline, with projections that the first plan should be produced no later than 12 months from the commencement of the Act. The legislation places climate change action in the broader context of efforts to achieve inclusive…

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By Scott Scheffer 

The U.S. is by far the largest and most active military in the world and the number one institutional emitter of greenhouse gasses. U.S. emissions per capita are among the worst in the world — even excluding the millions of gallons of jet fuel and diesel fuel needed to keep the Pentagon’s tanks, jet fighters, and aircraft carrier groups threatening and brutalizing the world. But the U.S. is now on the hot seat over another long-simmering issue – climate finance.