Climate Summit overview

by Brigette DePape

 

Governments at this year’s climate negotiations in Durban failed to take any meaningful action on climate change, allowing emissions to rise to ever more dangerous levels. But if COP17 was an unprecedented failure, the civil disobedience was an unprecedented success.

The text produced at COP17, the 17th Conference of Parties – renamed the ‘Conference of Polluters’ by civil society – is even weaker than at previous negotiations. It is a death sentence for Africa and leaves our future as a giant question mark; governments need only take note of the science-based need to decrease emissions; they don’t have to commit to real reductions.

The Canadian government was exceptionally regressive, meriting the title of “Pariah” on the world stage, primarily for formally withdrawing from Kyoto, an agreement that is becoming lifeless, as more countries refuse to fulfill their responsibilities. Canada and the US each earned the “Colossal Fossil” award for doing the most to block progress. Despite promising to reduce emissions in 1990, Canada has instead pumped out more.

Canada continues to expand the Tar Sands, which means ‘game over’ for the climate, recently approving a $9 billion-dollar mine in Fort McMurray and spending $1.4 billion dollars on subsidies each year to the industry.

The Minister of the Environment would not meet with the Canadian Youth Delegation, the group I am part of, or with various other environmental groups. Canada’s so-called Minister of the Environment met instead with industry groups in the lead-up to Durban. This was also the first year the official Canadian delegation did not include members of the opposition parties.

For years, the oil industry has been pushing Canada to reject Kyoto and it is now clear money talks louder than the voices of concerned young people and citizens.

This year’s COP was exciting because of the spirited civil society mobilizations, including a march of 5,000 people who demanded climate justice. The degree of direct action that took place on the inside climate negotiations was unprecedented this year.

Hundreds of the world’s youth occupied the building in which negotiations took place. Some planted themselves in front of the UN plenary and refused to move until countries guaranteed fair, ambitious, and legally binding action on climate change. Fifteen people were kicked out and two people were arrested.

A young woman disrupted the speech by the US’s climate envoy, publicly stating she feared for her future and calling on her government to act now. She was thrown out of the UN by security.

While people power did not change the outcome, it helped to build public pressure. I joined with six young people from Canada to stand up during Canada’s Environment Minister’s address to the UN plenary and to then turn our backs on him because the Canadian government has turned their back on us. We received more applause from the world’s delegates than our Environment Minister.

After being removed by security from the United Nations, a South African woman called out “Amandla.” This was a Zulu chant used during the movement against the apartheid system. Our response was the traditional “Awethu,” meaning the power is ours.

One person can disobey civilly; hundreds of people can disobey civilly, but when millions of us take direct action and pressure the government to shift to an alternative path, a safe and equitable future can become possible.