Canada At Durban Climate Talks: Talking Green, Walking Dirty

Fresh from Ani’s blog, this video of the large crowd of people have gathered outside the negotiations room at COP17 to stand with Africa as the negotiations come to a close:

Here are other recent posts from Ani, with her observations of COP17:

Talking green, walking dirty: a snapshot of Canada’s negotiation strategy:

What looked like a positive shift yesterday, when the Environment Minister stated he would support a treaty by 2015 seemed to be only another distraction from on of the most destructive projects on earth.

Back home in Canada, the federal government has given the green light to a 9$ billion major mine project in the Alberta tar sands. Canada’s Natural Resources Minister announced yesterday that constructions can now start on Total E&P Canada’s Joslyn North tar sands mine. Read more.

It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done

I am streaming through the halls of the ICC in Durban looking for my future, a future of a rule-based, fair, multilateral system that will adequately deal with climate change.

I can hear the voices of progressive countries, the calls from small island states and least developed countries that 2020 is too late and that we need ambition now. With 24 hours left countries must leave with a mandate for a new legally-binding treaty to start in 2015 and a second commitment-period under the Kyoto Protocol with environmental integrity to close the gap. This means ensuring that Land-use, land-use change, and forestry and hot air loopholes don’t undermine our targets.

Ministers and negotiators, you must advance the demand of global society for effective action. And do not allow the United Sates and others to block progress.  Read more.

Canada obstructs, United States delays, China and EU willing to move:

Some people just didn’t like the speech Canada’s Environment Minister delivered at COP17. The speech seemed to be an oxymoron in itself. “… reasonable Canadians generally—recognize that global issues like climate change require global solutions. … Canada is a willing partner … At home, Canada is already making great progress toward our ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent over 2005 levels by 2020.” Excuse me, but this is not an ambitious target – an ambitious target would be science-based. I guess the six Canadian youth who turned their back on him were not the reasonable Canadians he intended to address in his speech.

It is getting hot at the ICC during the second week of COP. With one days left in the conference parties have started to forget about diplomatic manners.

“Reckless and irresponsible” are the words the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) called the indication of governments that they might just keep this process going for another 4 to 9 years!

“Some are angry and some are depressed, but whatever the expression made by each delegation, they are united in their criticism of Canada,” stated China’s official news agency Xinhua. Read more.