It has been a year since governments in Bali pledged to nail down an agreement to save the climate by December 2009. That means they have one year left to agree on how to stop the climate crisis. This year’s UN meeting on Climate Change has just started in Poznan, Poland and we think it is about time for government leaders to stop the talking, get serious, and start real negotiations that will lead to real action. Forest destruction costs the world economy at least 2 trillion dollars annually. Ocean fish stocks are collapsing, putting a basic source of food for 3 billion people at risk. Droughts and forest fires are destroying our planet’s most precious resources and rising sea levels are threatening to displace hundreds of millions of people before the end of the century.
But it isn’t all bad news. The good news is that the solution is pretty simple: to avoid runaway climate change, the world needs to quit its addiction to coal and stop destroying forests - and that work has to start in Poznan. We need to start investing in a future we can all believe in. We need investments in clean, renewable energy and an end to subsidies for dirty and dangerous energy like coal and nuclear.
Some government leaders have proven that they cannot be trusted to take swift action on climate change based on the facts. From the coal mines of Konin, to the meeting rooms at the UN conference in Poznan, we are taking action to make sure that government leaders know it is time to get serious about climate change and quit coal. Our Quit Coal Tour has set up a Climate Rescue Station in Konin, Poland- one hour from the UN meetings - to highlight the true cost of coal in the lead up to crucial UN climate negotiations. The Rescue Station is currently set up on the edge of an open pit coal mine where activists have been demanding an end to our addiction to coal in a series of direct actions. On December 8th, a week into the talks, the dome will be moved to Poznan town square.
To make sure the truth is heard at the UN meetings, we’ve also sent a team of climate experts to Poznan. We are there to pressure governments to quit coal and work towards a meaningful deal to save the climate. Our message to delegates is simple – it’s time to get serious about tackling climate change.
One year doesn’t seem like a lot of time to most of us, considering the scope of the problem. After two decades of climate negotiations, governments are still tip-toeing around each other when it comes to real solutions to climate change. This year the world is watching the UN negotiations and demanding that governments make good on their promise to come up with an action plan in Copenhagen next year. Be a part of the action and upload your photo to be projected at the UN meeting in Poznan, Poland.
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Now here's what we need from our leaders in Poznan:
• a “climate vision” that will address what the science requires: global emissions peaking by 2015.
• a draft negotiating text on the table and a detailed workplan to get this completed by Copenhagen in December 2009
• Developed countries must agree greenhouse gas emission reduction targets at the upper end of 25-40%, as identified by the IPCC
Hi Friends,
Almost a decade of inaction by our government has left the world with only seven years to stop the worst impacts of global warming. That’s the bad news. The good news is that with a new administration coming to Washington we are closer now than ever to having true national leadership and rejoining the world community in the fight to stop global warming. But we have to make it happen!
This December, President-elect Obama has the opportunity to attend the UN international climate treaty negotiations in Poznań, Poland. The talks are the most important global warming negotiations in years. By attending personally he could signal that America is ready to join the fight against global warming and contribute to the success of the talks.
Just before the election a Greenpeace volunteer, Mellisa Leonard, asked him to do just that. Check out what he said in a video here.
TAKE ACTION! Just follow these steps to encourage President-elect Obama to attend the international climate treaty negotiations in Poznań:
Go to the President-elect’s website where he is asking you to submit suggestions for his new administration:
http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision
In the box labeled “Tell us your vision for the country” ask the President-elect to personally attend the UN climate talks in Poland this December.
Then, click submit and your done!
We can’t save the climate if we don’t pressure our leaders to do so. So go to the President-elect’s site and together we can make him and the United States a leader in the fight against global warming!
For a green and peaceful future,
Chris
Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace has published the second edition of the Energy [R]evolution scenario, updated with the latest economic, technical, and population data. The Energy [R]evolution is the only energy scenario that shows how the world can cut emissions, phase out nuclear power, save money, and maintain global economic development without fueling catastrophic climate change. All we need to kick start this plan is bold energy policy from world leaders.
That’s why we prepared this video– to show what a bold approach to tackling climate change would really look like.
The Energy [R]evolution demonstrates how the planet can get from where we are now to where we need to be to avert the worst effects of global warming. The new global energy scenario outlines how carbon emissions from the energy and transport sectors alone can peak by 2015 and be cut by over 50% by 2050. Aggressive investment in renewable power and energy efficiency could create an annual $360 billion industry, providing half of the world’s electricity. Meanwhile, we could slash more than $18 trillion in fuel costs. We could fight economic downturn and climate change at the same time!
The Energy [R]evolution uses a three-step approach:
Step 1: Electrical efficiency
• Exploit all technical potential for electrical efficiency via technical standards.
Step 2: Structural changes
• Change the way we produce energy in large centralized power stations and move towardsa decentralized energy system that makes use of locally available energy sources such as wind, sun, or geothermal.
• Implement cogeneration technologies, which reuse the huge amounts of thermal energy that is currently wasted by simply allowing it to escape into the atmosphere via cooling towers.
Step 3: Energy-efficient transport
• Build up efficient public transport systems.
• Drastically increase the fuel efficiency of cars, trucks, etc.
Global emissions need to return to current levels by 2020. For this to be achieved, industrialized economies such as the USA, the European Community, and Australia have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30% below 1990 levels. Developing countries like China and India will have to stabilize CO2 emissions by 2020 and start reducing emissions heading towards 2030 and beyond, while providing a secure and affordable energy supply and, most critically, maintaining steady worldwide economic development.
With today’s economic instability, investing in renewable energy technologies is a ‘win-win-win’ scenario: a win for energy security, a win for the economy, and a win for the climate. While ‘business as usual’ energy scenarios come at the cost of the climate and the economy, the Energy [R]evolution makes a clear case for ‘business as unusual’. The renewable industry is ready and able to deliver the needed capacity to make the energy revolution a reality. There is no technical impediment to doing this, just a political barrier to overcome as we rebuild the global energy sector.
YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN- Join the Energy [R]evolution.
The Energy [R]evolution Scenario provides a practical blueprint for the world’s renewable energy future, and was developed in conjunction with specialists from the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and more than 30 scientists and engineers from universities, institutes, and the renewable energy industry around the world.
We've laid out the blueprint, but it will take all of us working together to make this revolution a reality.
Join the Energy [R]evolution today and help us fight for a sustainable future!
