“We don’t have the luxury of feeling discouraged”-Former Vice-President Al Gore Warns of the Dangers of Climate Change at COP24

Posted on December 13, 2018 by bencanellys

“The cheapest and most effective carbon sequestration technology is called a ‘Tree.’ When this technology is taken to scale, it is called a ‘Forest.’” The Former Vice President of the United States and Presidential hopeful paused to let the laughter subside. Holding up a hand, he became deadly serious once more. He had come to COP24 to continue fighting for the cause he had become synonymous with: Climate Change.

As the United States joined countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Russia in denying the dire IPCC 1.5 report and negotiations on the Paris Agreement Work Program slogged on, Al Gore reminded the world that this is a group effort. While the effects of climate change do not affect us all equally, they still affect us all.

Shahid Balouch, a gravedigger, poses for a photograph in a mass grave in the cemetary, as preparations are made in case of another heatwave in Karachi, Pakistan May 13, 2016. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Shahid Balouch, a gravedigger, poses for a photograph in a mass grave in the cemetery, as preparations are made in case of another heatwave in Karachi, Pakistan May 13, 2016. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

High temperatures continue to set records around the world. They melt roads and damage infrastructure; high nighttime temperatures impact agricultural viability; and in Pakistan, the government has dug preemptive mass graves, anticipating the costs to human life. Most concerning, however, are the effects of rising temperatures on global air currents.

When the jet stream is strong, it forms a boundary between lower latitudes and arctic winds known as the Polar Vortex. When high temperatures near the equator push an excess of warm air northward, the jet stream weakens and this boundary dissolves. This occurred at the end of 2017.

The weakened jet stream allowed the Polar Vortex to split in two, sending excessively cold systems into North America, Northern Asia, and Europe. Temperatures plummeted to below -10C, infrastructure collapsed under the weight of snow, and, in Brussels, homeless people who refused shelter were detained for their own safety. All major climate zones, except Antarctica were warmer than their 30 year averages; including the Arctic.

The area between the, now two, polar vortexes, was occupied by vagrant jet stream currents. The warm air washed over the North Pole during what is typically its coldest season; the season when annual sea ice forms and multiyear sea ice is strengthened. Instead the Arctic lost 95% of its multiyear sea ice.
His voice lowered and his tone conspiratorial, Gore looked over the crowd: “This is part of a larger annual weather pattern. However, we do not have the luxury of being discouraged.” We, as world leaders on climate change, have a moral responsibility to reverse these trends, and save our planet and its people.

His words were a call to action, aimed at breaking the political deadlocks that plagued various aspects of the negotiated text. As we move into the last two days of negotiations, we’ll see if his words have galvanized the Parties, or if the same issues plague consensus.

Who is representing the US at COP23?

Posted on November 15, 2017 by yasin

You are on your way to COP23, the place to be for everything climate change. You walk through the doors and find yourself among hundreds of people from all over the world, running from one session to the other, with a quick stop perhaps for a cup of coffee. You attend negotiations and presentations, and develop an understanding of what is important to a country or a block of countries as they attempt to reverse the alarming rise in the planet’s temperature.

After a day or two, the chaos becomes normal and all the different languages you overhear start having a familiar tone. You begin to appreciate the setting: located by the Rhine and intersected by a city park, dotted with ponds where ducks, geese, and swans keep residence. It is beautiful. Then, as you are waiting for an electric car/bus to take you between the Bula and Bonn Zones, you notice a white dome shaped building to the side. Curious, you head there and find a sign for the U.S. Climate Action Center. Peppered throughout the place is the hash tag #wearestillin.

You feel surprised because the U.S. declared its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. But a list of this Center’s events shows these presenters: Al Gore, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, Governor Jerry Brown of California, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, and Governor Jay Inslee of Washington. In other words, a collection of American environmental rock stars and members of the U.S. Climate Alliance fill the place.

But then you notice that the U.S. delegation is hosting a “side event” titled The Role of Cleaner and More Efficient Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power in Climate Mitigation. Unlike events held at the U.S. Climate Action Center, which attracted many attendees, this event drew protests. So who is representing the United States?

A closer look at the U.S. Climate Action Center shows that it as an effort by California Governor Jerry Brown that is funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It has attracted a collection of states, counties and municipalities; colleges and universities; businesses; non-profit organizations; faith organizations; and ordinary citizens. All told, the U.S. Climate Action Center spans all fifty states, 127 million Americans, and $6.2 trillion, all intent on honoring continued U.S. commitment to the Paris Agreement. A delegation called the People’s Delegation at COP23 pledged to the UNFCCC that “we are still in.”

The U.S. delegation, with representatives from the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is the delegation of record. It, and only it, has the authority to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. (at least till the U.S. projected exit in 2020). But I believe the delegation that can effectuate the goals of the Paris Agreement has the upper hand. If “we are still in” manages to reduce GHG emissions in the U.S., then they are the delegation of record!

Al Gore’s Global Turning Point

Posted on November 10, 2017 by nicole

Once again, Former Vice President Al Gore made an impactful appearance at the COP. He forewarned the crowd that the first half of his presentation may be rather disheartening, but that the second half would bring to light the points we must truly focus on to move forward. Scientists and politicians alike have emphasized at COP23 that the world is facing some of the most frequent and devastating ‘natural’ disasters since the recordation of history. Gore stated that the UN has determined this time the “worst humanitarian crisis since 1945.”

While Gore remained upbeat and lighthearted with his inclusion of slides such as flooding in England having little effect on the operation of a local pub, or the presidential implications of a wildfire in Washington having no effect on a game of golf: his speech was impassioned. He decried the subsidization of fossil fuels in comparison to renewable energy. And his voice nearly roared on the cost climate change has wrecked on the global economy. He stated that the amount is “unacceptable and cannot be maintained.”

But once his speech reached the dismal humanitarian crisis in Syria, he skillfully lightened the crowd’s mood with different countries’ initiatives to curb the negative impacts of climate change. He spoke of India’s commitment to introduce only electric cars in 2025; of Germany’s commitment to wind power; and the unilateral transition from coal and fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Gore emphasized that “we’re at a tipping point on a global basis.” The world can choose to move forward with clean initiatives, implementing the world’s commitment to the Paris Agreement; or we can sit in our big houses and tweet about it.

More state AGs to go after Exxon

Posted on April 6, 2016 by tbach

As we featured back in September, 2015, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists of Inside Climate News outed Exxon for first doing peer-reviewed research into climate change before choosing to invest its time and money into climate change denial groups like the Global Climate Coalition. Since then, a number of politicians have called for investigation of whether the fossil fuel company broke any laws, including those that protect shareholder interests.

Last week a coalition of 17 attorneys general from across the US announced investigations of climate-related fraud. The coalition includes California, Connecticut, D.C., Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. AGs from Massachusetts and the US Virgin Islands will investigate ExxonMobil’s alleged misleading of shareholders and the public on climate risk. New York and California’s AGs have already gone down this path. All of these states committed to working together as “creatively, collaboratively, and aggressively” as possible to combat climate change. The inevitable comparisons with Big Tobacco in the 1990s have come out, whether by former VP Al Gore or in Naomi Oreskes’ excellent book, Merchants of Doubt.

Insight from Al

Posted on December 12, 2014 by tbach

This post was written by Rebecca Davidson.

Al Gore, 2006 Nobel Laureate and former U.S. Vice President, briefed a small group of non-governmental organization delegates yesterday at COP20 in Lima. He spoke about his optimism for finding climate solutions and the urgency for doing so. Gore is a long-time environmental advocate, pushing for innovative climate initiatives in the public and political spheres. Building on the work that led to the book and documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and his Nobel Prize shared with the IPCC, Gore founded the Climate Reality Project to find ways to turn awareness into action. Get Loud, Get Smart, Get Active. These are the motivating catch phrases of the Climate Reality Project.

Al’s in the House

Although he didn’t speak about the Climate Reality Project directly at the briefing, Mr. Gore did address the ways in which we are already developing a higher level of climate awareness and the innovative tech solutions that are pushing us towards a different kind of tipping point. No, not the tipping point from anthropogenic CO2 emissions that are melting the ice caps (although that is happening too). It’s the tipping point from society shifting its old-school fossil-fuel paradigm for producing energy. Mr. Gore cites that – for instance – more solar photovoltaic has been installed in CA in the last 2 years than over the previous 30 combined. This trend sends clear signals to big business and policy makers on what a new global economy can aim for. We need to speed up this transition, exhorted Gore, for the survival of civilization.

So what to do? Mr. Gore expresses both emotion and optimism while simultaneously pushing big business and government. His Climate Project website cuts right to the chase: “Big Polluters like oil and coal companies aren’t going down without a fight. After all, they’re making billions from dirty energy while the rest of us pay to clean up their mess. That’s why they’ve spent decades running well-funded campaigns to mislead and deceive the public about what’s really happening to the planet. These polluters—and the special-interest groups they support—are even following the exact same playbook as the tobacco industry used to confuse the public about smoking and cancer.”

As part of today’s briefing, Mr. Gore underscored the uniquely powerful voice of young people. If young people commit to environmental integrity and honesty, they can more clearly describe and work toward an evolving climate regime. Likewise he pointed out how indigenous people, when given an opportunity, can play an active role in developing mitigation benefits; a 2014 WRI study shows a direct link between strengthening community forest rights and mitigating climate risk.

Mr. Gore closed by encouraging everyone in the room to “keep it up please.” With only a few days left here in Lima, and the long road to Paris, “the stakes are so high. My view is optimistic.”