OMNI UN COP 26 GLASGOW COUNTDOWN, #7, 11-12/14

OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown, #7, 11-12/  11-14, 2021

Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology

Omnicenter.org/donate/

Contents OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown, #7, 11-12/11-14, 2021

Early Background Review, October 26, NRDC
Will COP26 Move Us Closer to Solving the Climate Crisis?

Leaders from across the globe will meet soon to accelerate actions to confront climate change. Here’s what to expect.

October 26, 2021

A mural next to the Clydeside Expressway near the Scottish Events Centre, which will be hosting the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference from October 31–November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

Global leaders will meet in November to outline the plans of countries, cities, and industries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The 26th edition of this annual meeting, officially known as the “Conference of the Parties” or COP, will take place in an atmosphere of justified global alarm. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently warned that changes triggered by runaway carbon emissions—including global sea level rise, increasing wildfires, and extreme heat—are already “irreversible for centuries to millennia.” Failure to act immediately will accelerate those dangers, which is why every fraction of degree is crucial when it comes to limiting global temperature rise and why reducing emissions from every major source matters.

COP26, in Glasgow, is the best chance in years for countries to commit themselves to solutions: deep cuts in carbon emissions, the expansion of renewable energy, modernization of transportation systems, investments in equity for low-income countries and communities, and more.

Will leaders seize this opportunity, or will another year pass without adequate action? It all depends on what’s happening right now, in negotiating rooms around the world. To understand the process, we need to start with a bit of history.

Decades of Delays
The United Nations held the first Conference of the Parties back in 1995. COP1 concluded with the Berlin Mandate, a precursor to the Kyoto Protocol. The Berlin Mandate committed world leaders to keep talking but rejected plans to make targets and timetables for carbon emissions reductions legally binding. This decision was crucial and echoed through COP after COP, where big emitters, including the United States, consistently refused to commit to specific and accountable limits on their greenhouse gas emissions.

These “bad COPs” continued until we finally got a “good COP” in 2015. At COP21, held in Paris, the international community agreed to a new process. Every single country in the world would announce a specific target for emissions reductions this decade, by either 2025 or 2030. The targets would not be legally enforceable—a limitation largely the result of political gridlock in the United States—but each nation’s success or failure would be measurable and comparable, providing diplomatic and peer accountability for the first time.

The 2015 commitments were a strong foundation, but even then it was clear that the countries’ emissions targets were inadequate. Recent research suggests that current international commitments would increase greenhouse gas emissions by about 16 percent by 2030 compared to 2010, far short of the roughly 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions that is required to keep the world at 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.  MORE  https://www.nrdc.org/stories/will-cop26-move-us-closer-solving-climate-crisis?gclid=CjwKCAiAvriMBhAuEiwA8Cs5leWDSecw7_BfqbcekcKR38n02AFGZBl1vVvkhPM3xBkT524j3aYoxRoCa6cQAvD_BwE

NOVEMBER 7-  Background
Protests in Europe
Ellen Knickmeyer, et al. (AP).  “Thousands Protest Climate Talks: Activists Frustrated, Call Negotiations ‘Blah, Blah,’ Little Action.”  AD-G (Nov. 7, 2021).  https://apnews.com/article/climate-europe-united-nations-scotland-glasgow-67eb0f86bfa939a3119ac45e7a0a920e

NOVEMBER 11

Carbon tax

Posted Nov 11, 2021 by Anis Chowdhury, Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Originally published: JOMO (November 8, 2021 )  | 

Climate Change, Environment, Financialization, Political EconomyGlobalNewswire

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR: Addressing global warming requires cutting carbon emissions by almost half by 2030! For the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions must fall by 45% below 2010 levels by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5°C, instead of the 2.7°C now expected.

Instead, countries are mainly under pressure to commit to ‘net-zero’ carbon (dioxide, CO2) emissions by 2050 under that deal. Meanwhile, global carbon emissions–now already close to pre-pandemic levels–are rising rapidly despite higher fossil fuel prices.

Emissions from burning coal and gas are already greater now than in 2019. Global oil use is expected to rise as transport recovers from pandemic restrictions. In short, carbon emissions are far from trending towards net-zero by 2050.  MORE    https://mronline.org/2021/11/11/carbon-tax-over-rated/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=carbon-tax-over-rated&mc_cid=b8a0b90199&mc_eid=ab2f7bf95e

Monthly Review does not necessarily adhere to all of the views conveyed in articles republished at MR Online. Our goal is to share a variety of left perspectives that we think our readers will find interesting or useful. —Eds.

This is a complicated argument regarding fine-tuning carbon taxes if they are to be fair to the global poor.  Dick

COP26 farce shows that the ‘build back better’ dreams have been crushed.  James Plested.  Mronline.org (11-11-21).

NOVEMBER 12 Official Last Day of COP26

U.N. chief: Climate talks fall short (from Pat Snyder)
COM­PILED BY DEMO­CRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE RE­PORTS.  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. (Nov 12, 2021).  Pledges lack­ing to reach 2030 emis­sions-cuts goal, he says
Read more...
Officials urge bigger actions as COP26 nears conclusion
UN WIRE (11-12-21)
Negotiations at the United Nations climate summit in Scotland, which ends today, are not likely to result in commitments strong enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius -- a goal that "is still in reach but on life support," says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Every country, every city, every company, every financial institution must radically, credibly and verifiably reduce their emissions and decarbonize their portfolios starting now," Guterres says, noting that summit pledges mean little as long as countries continue to subsidize fossil fuels.
 Full Story: National Public Radio/The Associated Press (11/11) 

For Rich Countries To Honor Their Climate Debt, Tax Multinationals.  Popular Resistance.org (11-12-21).

By Léonce Ndikumana, Common Dreams. For once, most of the debtors are not in Africa, but in the North. I am not talking money, but about climate debt, as natural disasters are multiplying and the fight against climate change has become an existential issue. Since industrialized countries have used the available atmospheric space to develop and get rich by exploiting fossil fuels, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)—that is coming to end in Glasgow right now—must be an opportunity to recognize this climate debt to Africa, and to developing countries in general, and to honor it.  -more-

One of the most important things coming out of COP26

Notes from the ground at COP26

Hi Dick,

Today marks the final day of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland – the UN Climate Change Conference bringing together nations to limit the earth's warming. We've got staff on the ground working tirelessly to make sure that the voices of those on the frontlines and of the people are being listened to during these pivotal negotiations.

While we'll be breaking down the results of the talks over the coming days and weeks – I wanted to quickly sit down with a couple 350's team members, Jo Zane from 350's Pacific team and Cansın Leylim from 350 Turkey, who have been on the ground in Glasgow to hear their thoughts about the conference.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to read our interview with Jo and Cansın, then please consider chipping in $500 to support our global movement and amplify the voices of climate activists and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Q: What were our biggest challenges this year at COP?

From Jo: The biggest challenge this year was accessibility. Between the global inequity of COVID-19 vaccine access, visas, and the high cost of attending the conference from flights to lodging meant that there was a lack of representation of not just who was in the room, but what was being said in the negotiation rooms.

The grassroots movements and delegates from first adapter countries (i.e., those that will be hit first and worse by the climate crisis) made sure that 1.5 degrees was in the Paris Climate Accord. Their voices were needed this time around to advocate for the people – especially given that the fossil fuel lobby had a larger delegation than any country.

Q: What were you surprised by?

From Jo: I was most surprised that developed countries still couldn't reach the $100 billion per year goal in climate finance to poorer nations to help them develop clean energy and adapt to climate impacts (even after we saw rich countries mobilize two to three times that amount during the pandemic for just for one country alone).

Q: What are you hoping to see happen next?

From Cansın: Complete phase out of ALL fossil fuels– not just coal. We want to see binding decisions within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) including ending fossil fuel subsidies and finance. We need to direct funding away from fossil fuels and toward not just mitigation to keep heating to 1.5, but also for adaptation to address the impacts we're seeing right now.

Generally, I'm hoping to see our movement rise up to hold the high emitting nations and corporations accountable to the commitments and promises that have been made at COP.

Q: What's giving you hope?

From Cansın: The leadership of the Pacific Climate Warriors and Indigenous communities across the world. They are advocating for all of us inside and outside the hallways of Glasgow and around the world.

And people power. It's enraging that the polluters are adopting our messages, but we will not let them get away with co-opting our movement.

Q: Any final thoughts?

From Jo: The only way COP26 will be a failure is if we let it be. But if we work together to rise up, demand the action that is needed to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees, demand finance flows to vulnerable communities for loss and damage, and demand real action to reach zero carbon emissions – then we are doing what we should be doing.

The time for talk is over, the time for action is now and the flame that has sparked within the movement during COP26 needs to burn more than ever. It's really in the people's hands from here.

Keep an eye out on your inbox for more reflections on COP in the coming days, but in the meantime, please consider chipping in $500 — or whatever you can — to support 350's climate activists around the world. Our people power is stronger than the fossil fuel industry's greed, and together we can take them down.

Thank you for reading and for being a vital member of the climate movement.

Emily Southard
Associate Director Campaigns & Mobilizations
350.org

CONTRIBUTE $500
PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004

Join UNA-USA and UNA Scotland for a post-COP26 event! There's still space available for our joint program with UNA Scotland—a post-COP26 event taking place Saturday, November 20. Join us as we discuss how grassroots organizations can work together to achieve the goals and outcomes from COP26.  Featured speakers include:
Dr Carl Wright, Elected Trustee UNA-UK and Chair Canterbury Climate Action Partnership
Mr David Levaï, Fellow for International Climate Policy and Diplomacy, UN Foundation

UNA-USA (11-12-21)

November 13, 2021 (COP16 was held over a day)

The truth about COP 26

Dick,

At the time of this writing, negotiators in Glasgow are scrambling to finalize an agreement for this year's COP 26 climate talks. They’re expected to work through today, and likely into Sunday. If you’d like the headlines, you can find some helpful links below.

But it’s a beautiful autumn day here in Colorado, where my young daughter and I just finished jumping in the bright yellow leaf pile outside of our back door, and I don’t want to focus on the pledges, agreements, and promises -- the blah, blah, blah -- of what happened in Glasgow.

I want to talk about something that happened outside of the formal conference, in the vast crowd of people who make up the “civil society” contingent at COP.

Yesterday, a new draft text of the agreement was released, with severely weakened commitments and several new loopholes. 

So civil society groups from around the world stood up and walked out of COP 26 to demand just and urgent solutions to the climate crisis. These brave people -- scientists, youth, farmers, parents, Indigenous people, trade union reps, doctors, frontline activists -- marched together, chanting in unison. They carried long, blood-red ribbons to symbolize the dangerous red lines that the negotiators inside the conference had decided to cross.

“Climate justice now!” they chanted. “Power to the people.”

“We are unstoppable!” they shouted. “Another world is possible.”

The truth about COP 26 and all global climate talks is that real change doesn’t happen in the written agreements, much-lauded pledges, or flashy press releases. Does it make a difference when governments pledge action of one variety or another? Undoubtedly yes -- they set benchmarks for accountability, build critical diplomatic pressure, and create momentum for the global tide of change we are currently witnessing.

But that global tide of change wasn’t created by them, and it isn’t sustained by them. 

Every substantial bit of progress toward a just, clean energy future is built on the ever-growing foundation of the climate movement -- the people, like you and like me, who continue to take action in myriad small but critical ways to align our households, our communities, and our nations toward that brighter future.

If the people on the inside who control our governments and economies finally do their part to preserve a livable future for our families and our planet, it will be because the rest of us on the outside never stopped standing up and speaking out.

And I am not discouraged, because I know that we won’t stop.

We are unstoppable. Another world is possible.

Sincerely,

Jessica Hamilton

PS: Want to do something right now? Please take a minute to write to your representative. Tell them to pass the Build Back Better Plan next week. America needs the climate action contained in that bill, and the world needs to know that America is serious.

Further Reading

“Who will pay tops the agenda as UN climate talks approach end,” Reuters 

“5 Things To Know About The Potential New Climate Agreement In Glasgow,” HuffPost 

“Cop26 targets too weak to stop disaster, say Paris agreement architects,” The Guardian 

“Key Cop26 pledges could put world 9% closer to 1.5C pathway,” The Guardian 

“What Indigenous Land Defenders at COP26 Want,” Vogue 

“U.S. and China announce surprise climate agreement at COP26 summit,” NPR 
 

Climate Hawks Vote
PO Box 141
Agoura Hills, CA 91376-0141

Activists Hold ‘People’s Plenary’ In COP26 Hall As Protests Expected

By The Canary. Popular Resistance.org (11-13-21).   The COP26 Coalition has released its declaration for climate justice. It states that: Climate change already impacts and threatens billions of lives, with billions more on the line: it is those that have done the least to cause climate change that are most impacted, especially women, Black, Indigenous Peoples, and people of colour, peasants and rural people, youth, people with disabilities, local communities and frontline communities.The climate crisis also amplifies the structural inequalities and injustices that have been hardwired into our economic and political systems that have resulted in a spiralling debt crisis... -more-
 

COP26: Governments Play Deaf To Social Movements

By Emilio Godoy, The Citizen. Glasgow, Scotland .Popular Resistance.org (11-13-21).   One element that runs through all social movement climate summits is their rejection of the official meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the low ambition of its outcomes – and the treaty’s 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) was no exception. The leaders of the UNFCCC “gladly welcome those who caused the crisis. COP26 has done nothing but pretend and greenwash,” Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a member of the non-governmental organization Youth Advocates for Climate Action from the Philippines, told IPS during a rally... -more-

Why Are You Asking Us To Compromise On Our Lives?

By Vijay Prashad, The Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. PopularResistance.org (11-13-21).   Nothing useful seemed to emerge from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP26 this week. The leaders of developed countries made tired speeches about their commitment to reversing the climate catastrophe. Their words rang with the clichés of spin doctors, their sincerity zero, their actual commitments to lowering carbon emissions nil. Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a Filipino climate activist and spokesperson for Fridays for Future, said that these leaders ‘spew empty, tired promises’, leaving young people like her with a ‘sense of...  -more-

Nations’ talks on phasing out coal go into wee hours (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), Nov 13, 2021 

Nations’ talks on phasing out coal go into wee hours.  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Nov 13, 2021.   Read more...

COP26 is over 

Hi Dick,

COP26 is over. Despite decades of pressure from the climate movement, the world’s governments have once more missed an opportunity to acknowledge that fossil fuels are the root cause of the climate crisis. [1] 

This is maddening, Dick - it was the least they could do - but ultimately it doesn't matter. The era of unchecked power of the coal, oil and gas industry is coming to an end fast - not because of one word in the text of an agreement, but because it's the only way forward. It’s because we will not bow down to the fossil fuel industry and their demands. It’s because of people and communities who continue putting their bodies on the line. The youth taking to the streets. The campaigners who spent two decades fighting for this and will not give up until we've won climate justice for all. It’s because of you, and all the people who keep showing up and taking action.

During these past weeks, it was people power that shone bright in Glasgow - and people were leading the way. The UN climate conference made an effort, but in the end didn’t deliver. No keeping all fossil fuels in the ground. No billions that we needed to support people struggling with climate impacts and fund a just transition everywhere. No end to all subsidies to coal, oil and gas.

Whatever the outcome of COP26, we’re not backing off. We never meant to. We keep fighting. We have a plan to keep the pressure on rich countries to deliver on their commitments and accept their responsibility.

Please, can you help us grow even bigger and more powerful, before our next campaign push, and invite your friends and family to join us? Simply forward them this email, or hit one of the buttons:

On Friday, the climate justice movement showed our true, vibrant colours in Glasgow. The People’s Plenary was proof of how powerful, diverse, brave and unified our movement is. COP26 didn’t deliver an ambitious agreement, but it doesn’t matter: the climate justice movement has already triggered the change that we need. [2]

There’s only one possible path to keep global heating under 1.5°C: a rapid end to coal, oil and gas, and a huge global investment into clean, just energy transition for everyone. And 1.5°C is not optional. It is an absolute necessity. It's our red line.

The UN climate conference is only one stepping stone on that path. We’re already on our way. What matters now is how fast we move down this path. Each year of delay, each 0.1°C of heating will cost people in vulnerable frontline communities lives and livelihoods. We have to move faster.

This is why we keep showing up and fighting at COP year after year. We do it to lift up the real climate leadership: that of the youth, the Indigenous and frontline communities, the people rising up against the oppressions of colonialism, capitalism and climate crisis.

Together we can and will keep fighting for climate justice, inside the negotiating rooms and outside, on the streets, in our communities. 

Dick, thank you for being part of this fight.

Onwards,
Cansin, for the entire 350.org team 

 PS: We’re at the end of many months of hard work. From supporting activists from the Most Affected Countries and Indigenous Leaders, to organising powerful actions to end fossil finance across the world, to flooding social media with our stories and demands: none of this would have happened without you and others in our global community. Will you take one more step, and make a donation to support 350.org in our work to build a powerful movement for climate justice?

References:
[1] 350.org: People power will deliver what historic polluters are not
[2] 350.org on Facebook: PEOPLE POWER! 
[3] 350.org: Power to change things is with the people

“6 takeaways from the U.N. Climate Conference.”   The New York Times.   Nov. 13, 2021.
[For me the #1 takeaway is that we must now be engaged in direct action—from Jane Fonda’s high-level DC rallies to individual niches throughout the country.  –D]

The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said the top priority must be to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.Credit...Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Before it started, the United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow known as COP26 was billed by its chief organizer as the “last, best hope” to save the planet.

Halfway through, optimistic reviews of its progress noted that heads of state and titans of industry showed up in force to start the gathering with splashy new climate promises, a sign that momentum was building in the right direction.

The pessimistic outlook? Gauzy promises mean little without concrete plans to follow through. The Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused the conference of consisting of a lot of “blah, blah, blah.”

On Saturday, diplomats from nearly 200 countries struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying efforts to fight climate change, by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to “at least double” funding by 2025 to protect the most vulnerable nations from the hazards of a hotter planet.

Here’s a look at some key takeaways from the 26th annual United Nations climate change summit. 

Time for action is running out

The agreement established a clear consensus that all nations need to do much more, immediately, to prevent a catastrophic rise in global temperatures.

When the conference opened the U.N. Secretary General, António Guterres, said the top priority must be to limit the rise in global temperatures to just 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. That’s the threshold, scientists have warned, beyond which the risk of calamities like deadly heat waves, water shortages and ecosystem collapse grows immensely. (The world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius.)  [“scientists” =  the United Nations IPCC  --D]

·       Dig deeper into the moment.

Special offer: Subscribe for $1 a week.

“The reality is you’ve got two different truths going on,” Helen Mountford, vice president for climate and economics at the World Resources Institute, said last week. “We’ve made much more progress than we ever could’ve imagined a couple years ago. But it’s still nowhere near enough.”

The agreement outlines specific steps the world should take, from slashing global carbon dioxide emissions nearly in half by 2030 to curbing emissions of methane, another potent greenhouse gas. And it sets up new rules to hold countries accountable for the progress they make — or fail to make.

The environment minister of the Maldives, Shauna Aminath, said the latest text lacked the “urgency” that vulnerable countries like hers required. “What looks balanced and pragmatic to other parties will not help the Maldives adapt in time,” she said.

Who needs to cut and how much?  MORE  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/climate/cop26-climate-summit-takeaways.html

NOVEMBER 14 (2 days after official end)

2.4 Degrees Is A Disaster – But COP Won’t Stop It

By Chris Saltmarsh, Tribune Magazine. Popular Resistance.org (11-14-21).    Regardless of the outcome of COP26, one inevitability is that the rich and powerful celebrate whatever the conference produces as vital progress. Only a disaster on the level of COP15 in Copenhagen might put a stop to the self-congratulatory triumphalism. Already, though, most observing the negotiations with a critical eye are highlighting how inadequate their product will be. Ed Miliband has said we’re ‘miles from where we need to be’ and Greta Thunberg declared COP26 to be a ‘failure’. These condemnations are backed up by analysis from... -more-

Be the people's resistance media!
Forward this email to a friend and share the articles on social media.

Nations hash out deal; climate summit ends.  COM­PILED BY DEMO­CRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE RE­PORTS.  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Nov 14, 2021.   Ac­cord fo­cuses on short term, misses goal.    Read more...

CONTENTSOMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown, #6, 11-10/  11-11, 2021
https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/11/omni-un-cop26-glasgow-countdown-6-11-10.html

Nov. 10
An update from the 26th UN climate talks
Congress must hold Big Oil accountable
Official notes baby steps, not leaps
COP26 participants urged to prioritize gender equity
Fossil fuel goals set; COP26 draft sounds climate alarm
Tell Biden to keep his promise and cancel this Fossil Fuel sale!
COP26 Update

Nov. 11
UN-Backed Banker Alliance Announces 'Green' Plan
COP26 Can Learn From West Papua’s Green Resistance
Cop26: Surging Wood Pellet Industry Threatens Climate
COP26: How The World’s Militaries Hide Their Huge Carbon Emissions
COP26: Military pollution is the skeleton in the West’s climate closet
COP26: We have until tomorrow to fix this
A call for help from the climate talks 
'Harrowing' report downplays threat of climate change to national security.   

END OMNI UN COP26 Glasgow Countdown #7, Nov. 14, 2021