Progress in Durban: Fits and Starts
The negotiations in Durban are more than merely government-to-government negotiations -- they are a powerful combination and probably the only way to counter the overwhelming focus on the fossil fuel industry lobby in spreading misinformation.
Guest blog by James Dailey, a member of the Board of Climate Solutions and co-founder of Microenergycredits.com
The negotiations in Durban are more than merely government-to-government negotiations -- they are an open forum for civil society to push for more action, for new ideas to be explored, for innovative technology to be highlighted, and for carbon financing and accounting rules to be discussed. It’s a powerful combination and probably the only way to counter the overwhelming focus on the fossil fuel industry lobby in spreading misinformation.
More than half way through the climate negotiations here, we have enormous agreement that something must be done, done quickly, and in keeping with literally decades of scientific research which says we’re running out of time. Moreover, business leaders at the World Climate Summit – happening in parallel – have spoken encouragingly about the fact that technologies are now available if barriers to entry are knocked down. That’s good news.
Back home in the Northwest, discussions about climate solutions focus on the possible and pragmatic, but often leave out the most effective tool to date – i.e. putting a price on carbon. These negotiations really highlight how far the U.S. negotiating position is from the reality of the science and the rest of the world.
What is clear in Durban is that even if the U.S. at a federal level is anemic in its negotiating authority, there is enough action at the state and municipal level and business community to justify some sense of forward momentum. California, the world’s seventh largest economy is joining into the carbon cap and trade markets in 2013. The U.S. Navy has talked about its actions to protect assets against climate change impacts. The Carbon War Room highlights shipping container carbon accounting. Nike is talking about its streamlining and decarbonizing of its supply chain. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the US Government has, in the past few years financed billions of dollars in clean energy projects and is an arm of the US Government that makes money– “The clean energy transformation is the most obvious economic opportunity of the last century” said a representative this week.
They’re all onto something, and they’re certainly not waiting for the federal government to lead the U.S. to addressing climate change. That is perhaps the best news of all.
