The tension was palpable at the United Nations headquarters last week, as world leaders gathered to begin addressing the issue of climate change. With Copenhagen a little over two months away, the international community has placed substantial pressure on heads of state to begin laying the groundwork for further discussions in the Danish capital.
The trouble, as always, proved to be in translating eloquent speeches and soaring promises into direct policy measures and concrete commitments. While U.S. president Barack Obama addressed the need for leadership on the part of developed countries, he also highlighted the equal need for commitment from their developing neighbours. Following Obama, President Hu Jin Tao of China spoke on behalf of a nation awakening to the environmental implications of development. Many praised President Tao for his genuine eagerness to address the issue of CO2 emissions and possible caps.
Throughout all this, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was conspicuously absent from the General Assembly. John McNee, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, filled his seat instead. Later, a Globe and Mail bureau blog revealed that Prime Minister Harper had chosen to skip this UN summit on climate change in favour of attending a Tim Hortons media event in Oakville. When asked whether this donut run was at all appropriate, a Conservative Party spokesperson is said to have answered in the affirmative.
This is the type of political immaturity that concerned Canadians must address. The irreverence that the Harper government has shown over the years towards climate change issues is distressing. Even after the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, warned that the scenarios predicted by the current scientific evidence leave no room for inaction, the Canadian government has turned a blind eye to the fact that we are now working with diminishing margins of time.
The numbers say it all: Canada currently stands at 25 per cent over the 1990 baseline level for greenhouse gas emissions, a far cry from our original Kyoto pact. Yet despite such dire warnings of less than optimal conditions, the government has been all but progressive. By fidgeting with the baseline and continually supporting the tar sands industry that has been so detrimental to our reaching the CO2 emissions target, the Canadian government continues to serve an obstructionist role on the international stage.
Perhaps this explains the myriad grassroots movements that have sprung up, bringing such concerns to the fore. From environmental awareness campaigns such as EarthCycle on our very own campus to activism planned on a global scale, the likes of which include the International Day of Climate Action on October 24, options for those wishing to contribute, particularly youth, are numerous.
The International Day of Climate Action, which falls at the heart of Power Shift (a youth-led training and lobbying campaign in Ottawa) aims to make activism fun and accessible. Throughout the world, grassroots events have been planned around the theme of climate change and the number 350, the number of CO2 parts per million that has been scientifically proven to be the safest upper limit for CO2 emissions globally (we are currently at 389 ppm).
The Day of Action promises church bells ringing 350 times, cyclists biking 350 metres, students baking 350 oatmeal cookies, and so on, in over 125 countries. All this action stems from the belief that it is now incumbent on every global citizen to ensure a bold and equitable climate policy is passed in Copenhagen.
One part of the growing momentum leading up to “COP15,” as the summit is colloquially called, was a global premiere of the much talked-about film, Age of Stupid. A pseudo-documentary set in 2055, it presents the last man on earth asking the question: why didn’t we save ourselves from climate change when we had the chance?
Before the screening, Graham Saul, Executive Director of Climate Action Network and co-sponsor of the global premiere, pre-emptively comforted the audience not to despair but to act. And yet the grief was profound as the ending credits rolled. The film aptly identifies consumerism as the predominant thought of our time, while questioning our dangerous over-reliance on fossil fuels.
Though many are skeptical, perhaps politicians will realize that there is no use in negotiating with the laws of science. Perhaps this is the finale to the age of stupid, and perhaps human ingenuity will prevail. Perhaps Prime Minister Harper will choose diplomacy over donuts next time. Perhaps.
