Friday, July 21, 2006
Ted Glick column
It's behind the "Read more!" link, and deals with the G8 summit just ended...
G8 Leaders: How Low Can They Go?
It was the big news coming out of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, early this week. George Bush and Tony Blair had an unscripted conversation over Monday lunch without knowing that a live microphone was picking up their words. Their conversation was being transmitted to, in the words of the New York Times, “gleeful journalists.”
Bush cursing was the really big news. Also notable was his disdain for Kofi Annan’s efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
It was an appropriate ending to a thoroughly lousy weekend.
Compared to 2005’s G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the 2006 meeting was a case of two steps backwards and then two more for good measure. And that’s saying something, because not much happened in Gleneagles.
What did happen leading up to and at Gleneagles was that Tony Blair, chair of that event, put climate change at the top of the agenda. About a week before it convened in July, he said, “It is incredibly important that we do get some clear agreement that we need to move to a low-carbon economy, that we need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and we need to do so urgently.”
Gleneagles produced little in the way of concrete commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, in large part because of Bush’s obstructionism. But there was a statement, “Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development,” which made some important points, among them: “Climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe. . . We know enough to act now to put ourselves on a path to slow and, as the science justifies, stop and then reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. . . We will act with resolve and urgency now to meet our shared and multiple objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the global environment, enhancing energy security and cutting air pollution in conjunction with our vigorous efforts to reduce poverty.”
Fast forward to this past weekend. Going into it, Vladimir Putin made it clear that at the top of his agenda was “energy security,” and this did not mean a dramatic shift to renewables. Apparently Tony Blair and the other G8 leaders had no problem with this, with the exception of France’s Jacques Chirac, quoted in a Reuters news story as saying, “we cannot talk about energy security while there is no progress on climate change. Mankind is dancing on the edge of a volcano.”
The Reuters story reported on a G8 statement that “acknowledged divisions among the world’s top economies on promoting nuclear energy and tackling climate change. . .
“Graham Saul at Oil Change International said the G8 statement predicted a massive increase in demand for fossil fuels over the next century.
“’The G8 can’t fight climate change and subsidize an expansion of fossil fuels at the same time. This is a complete contradiction and a dramatic failure of leadership on the part of the G8,” Saul said.”
There was a ray of sunshine, however, amidst the gloom in St. Petersburg.
A story released by Environment New Service on July 16 reported that 37 brave activists from a number of European countries were arrested while “blockading the entrance of a hotel on the Nevsky Prospekt which was used by participants of the G8 summit.” The article quoted them as saying in a statement, “’Nuclear reactors are dangerous, extremely expensive, take many years to build, and require massive government subsidies.’
“The activists say they would like this funding to be used to quickly reduce carbon emissions through energy efficiency measures, development of renewable energy sources, and restoration of damaged wetland and forest ecosystems.”
The St. Petersburg 37 are challenging all of us who say that we get it on climate change. Let’s draw strength from their example. Let’s get visible in the streets on this urgent issue. Let’s come out in large numbers all over the country on November 4th, the International Day of Climate Action. Around the world climate activists are making plans for significant actions on that day. Organizing has begun in the USA for local actions in all parts of the country that help to mobilize a large turnout of climate-conscious voters a few days later.
And five weeks from now, on August 26th, a year after Hurricane Katrina, many hundreds of people will rally in front of the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Hurricane Center in D.C. We will call for an end to the cover-up and denial by its top leadership of the steady stream of scientific reports which make the connection between global warming and major storms like last year’s Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
If the governments are diddling around with this urgent crisis, we the people must seize the initiative and force them to act.
Ted Glick and Mike Tidwell are, respectively, coordinator and director of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council (www.climateemergency.org). Ted can be reached at 973-338-5398 or usajointheworld@igc.org.
G8 Leaders: How Low Can They Go?
It was the big news coming out of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, early this week. George Bush and Tony Blair had an unscripted conversation over Monday lunch without knowing that a live microphone was picking up their words. Their conversation was being transmitted to, in the words of the New York Times, “gleeful journalists.”
Bush cursing was the really big news. Also notable was his disdain for Kofi Annan’s efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
It was an appropriate ending to a thoroughly lousy weekend.
Compared to 2005’s G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the 2006 meeting was a case of two steps backwards and then two more for good measure. And that’s saying something, because not much happened in Gleneagles.
What did happen leading up to and at Gleneagles was that Tony Blair, chair of that event, put climate change at the top of the agenda. About a week before it convened in July, he said, “It is incredibly important that we do get some clear agreement that we need to move to a low-carbon economy, that we need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and we need to do so urgently.”
Gleneagles produced little in the way of concrete commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, in large part because of Bush’s obstructionism. But there was a statement, “Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development,” which made some important points, among them: “Climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe. . . We know enough to act now to put ourselves on a path to slow and, as the science justifies, stop and then reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. . . We will act with resolve and urgency now to meet our shared and multiple objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the global environment, enhancing energy security and cutting air pollution in conjunction with our vigorous efforts to reduce poverty.”
Fast forward to this past weekend. Going into it, Vladimir Putin made it clear that at the top of his agenda was “energy security,” and this did not mean a dramatic shift to renewables. Apparently Tony Blair and the other G8 leaders had no problem with this, with the exception of France’s Jacques Chirac, quoted in a Reuters news story as saying, “we cannot talk about energy security while there is no progress on climate change. Mankind is dancing on the edge of a volcano.”
The Reuters story reported on a G8 statement that “acknowledged divisions among the world’s top economies on promoting nuclear energy and tackling climate change. . .
“Graham Saul at Oil Change International said the G8 statement predicted a massive increase in demand for fossil fuels over the next century.
“’The G8 can’t fight climate change and subsidize an expansion of fossil fuels at the same time. This is a complete contradiction and a dramatic failure of leadership on the part of the G8,” Saul said.”
There was a ray of sunshine, however, amidst the gloom in St. Petersburg.
A story released by Environment New Service on July 16 reported that 37 brave activists from a number of European countries were arrested while “blockading the entrance of a hotel on the Nevsky Prospekt which was used by participants of the G8 summit.” The article quoted them as saying in a statement, “’Nuclear reactors are dangerous, extremely expensive, take many years to build, and require massive government subsidies.’
“The activists say they would like this funding to be used to quickly reduce carbon emissions through energy efficiency measures, development of renewable energy sources, and restoration of damaged wetland and forest ecosystems.”
The St. Petersburg 37 are challenging all of us who say that we get it on climate change. Let’s draw strength from their example. Let’s get visible in the streets on this urgent issue. Let’s come out in large numbers all over the country on November 4th, the International Day of Climate Action. Around the world climate activists are making plans for significant actions on that day. Organizing has begun in the USA for local actions in all parts of the country that help to mobilize a large turnout of climate-conscious voters a few days later.
And five weeks from now, on August 26th, a year after Hurricane Katrina, many hundreds of people will rally in front of the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Hurricane Center in D.C. We will call for an end to the cover-up and denial by its top leadership of the steady stream of scientific reports which make the connection between global warming and major storms like last year’s Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
If the governments are diddling around with this urgent crisis, we the people must seize the initiative and force them to act.
Ted Glick and Mike Tidwell are, respectively, coordinator and director of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council (www.climateemergency.org). Ted can be reached at 973-338-5398 or usajointheworld@igc.org.
// posted by Gregg Jocoy @ 4:19 PM 
