Sinsinawa
Spectrum
A Congregation News Magazine
Sr. Joy Attends Climate Change Convention
Banners in the shape of sails identify some of the
non-governmental groups leading the 100,000 people
marching to the UN conference center to make pleas
for fair and binding global reductions in carbon
emissions.
In December, 45,000 citizens of the world gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, as part of the 15th United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties (COP 15) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. All around the city, “Hopenhagen” signs were displayed. The world was watching for a just and fair outcome to the convention.
by Joy Peterson, PBVM, Promoter of Peace & Justice
The United Nations (UN) Convention on Climate Change was the result of the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro where countries met to address the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol established legally-binding reductions of emissions for the 189 countries that have ratified the document. Since the terms of the protocol expire in 2012, the Copenhagen Conference was considered crucial for creating a fair, ambitious, and legally-binding agreement to move climate change action forward.
While there seemed to be wide agreement at COP 15 that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere must be stabilized, from the outset, coming to agreement on establishing the level of limits was a stumbling block. Less developed countries called for carbon limits of 350 parts per million (ppm) of the atmosphere. More developed nations and fast-growing countries like India, China, and South Africa wanted the limit set at 450 ppm. Unfortunately, the ambitious agreement that many had hoped for did not come from the conference. Instead, a political accord was reached in which governments “recognize” the need to reduce carbon concentrations and promise to “enhance our long-term, cooperative action to combat climate change.”
Words like “recognize” and “enhance” carry no legally-binding commitments, and this was a great frustration to many who had hoped for something more substantial in terms of action. At the same time, many believe that the struggles to reach agreement at Copenhagen demonstrated how seriously governments are taking climate policy. While there was difficulty in setting carbon limits, some direction was set. A Green Climate Fund will be established to help more vulnerable nations adapt to the effects of climate change. And in a separate agreement, steps were taken to address degradation of forests and to fund deforestation in poor countries. While governments were struggling to work out new levels of agreement on climate issues, those of us who came as representatives of nongovernmental organizations were lobbying government representatives and participating in parallel events on issues of climate change. Many groups, including various government-sponsored institutions, offered educational programs on topics such as geothermal heating of homes, electrical cars, the impact of climate change on persons living in poverty, and genetically modified agricultural products.
One evening, I attended a program offered by the government of Bolivia. This event was hosted as part of Bolivia’s effort to gain UN support for a Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon and South African Cormac Cullinan, an environmental lawyer, presented the background for this movement. Cullinan challenged listeners to give up the attitude of ownership that has historically allowed humans to go so far as to “own” other humans―slaves, wives, and children. The Rights of Mother Earth calls for a relationship to Earth where respect for harmony with creation replaces an attitude of domination. Pope Benedict spoke with a similar attitude in his World Day of Peace homily when he envisioned “right relationship among all of God’s people and with the Earth that sustains us.”
During the conference, I joined others from the United States on a transportation tour of the city. Since Copenhagen is known as one of the most livable cities in the world, the U.S. delegation offered this tour as an opportunity to learn from a place that has significantly reduced carbon emissions while building a state-of-the-art transit system. Over 150,000 Copenhageners ride their bikes to work each day. By constructing well-marked, wide bicycle lanes, city planners hope that by 2015, 50 percent of the residents will bike to work.
On one of my last days in Copenhagen, I attended an ecumenical prayer service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame where the Archbishop of Canterbury’s homily challenged us with two questions: “How do we show that we love God’s creation? How do we learn to trust one another in a world of limited resources?” He gave an answer using the Scripture 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear where love exists. Rather, perfect love banishes fear.” After hearing the stories of the climate- induced struggles of my global sisters and brothers, I brought this conviction home: When we love, we are not afraid to act to protect Earth’s resources nor are we afraid to reduce our consumption of those resources so that all humanity has equal access to Earth’s riches.