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Having just
arrived back from COP17 to attend to my real job, I would like to share my
perceptions of my week there. I didn’t have any major expectations probably given
all the turmoil in the run up to the event. Being in the industry and having
the benefit of seeing tenders going backwards and forwards only to then be
retracted and then reissued culminating in much last minute activity.
I think it
was mainly as a result of this low base of an expectation that when I arrived
there, I had a sense of comfort that the outcome was respectable and that once
again, against all odds and on the back of a successful world cup in 2010, good
ol’ South African folk pulled it off once again, or at least insofar as the
running of the event went.
But while I
do believe that the event was a smooth one, I also believe that it could have
been better planned and this is probably best illustrated by the fact that it
wasn’t a green event. Green events require careful planning and procurement to
ensure minimal environmental impact. This was indeed disappointing given the
intense scrutiny placed on the environmental impact of these COP gatherings by
sceptics and the media. I would have thought that this would have been a
priority and that every effort would have been made to ensure that COP17 was
the epitome of a green event. This was not the case and probably as a result of
the last minute scurry to attend to greening which would automatically have
left those tasked with this with many fewer options.
The
exhibition areas were intense and I felt a sense of overload as there was just so
many options that this would have paralysed even the most information hungry
individual. There were literally hundreds of stalls and break out rooms with
side events happening the whole day every day till late at night comprising
thousands of climate change response pundits from all cultures delivering their
messages and presenting their offerings. I loved stopping to talk to people
know that nine times out of then there would mostly be common interests and
stimulating discussion.
I also loved
the fact that there were so many diverse cultures and nationalities all singing
from the same hymn sheet, doing as much as they can in their respective
capacities to understand and address the issues and all hoping that the “VIP’s”
in the negotiating rooms act urgently to avoid a climate catastrophe. This
unfortunately seemed in stark contrast
to the thinking inside the negotiating rooms where the most powerful and heavily
polluting nations, seemed not to be able to agree on anything that would
further the cause and reduce the impacts of what is now destined to be a
compromised experience over the next century.
The whole
party started on a downer and was pinned against a backdrop of Canada’s
announcement on the first day that it was not interested in the being part of
the Kyoto Protocol for another commitment period. Their determined refusal to
take on any further binding agreement gave tacit immunity to other
industrialised nations such as Japan, Russia, Australia and the USA (like they
need a reason) that if they too said no, it would be Canada that will be
remembers for their defiance.
It was
obviously easy for India, China and Brazil to commit to a further commitment period
under the Kyoto Protocol as it was them who were the net beneficiaries of the
first commitment period with their access to exploitation of carbon funding
from richer nations under the Clean Development Mechanism. They were all
however still not prepared to take on tangible binding targets, only willing to
look at making a commitment to reduction after the IPCC release their latest
climate science data in 2013 to then be reflected in a climate treaty in 2015
to start in 2020 effectively creating an entire decade of procrastination
While the
reality is that we need to see global emissions peaking and then to start
tapering off during this decade still in order to have any chance of coming in
under a 2% increase in global temperatures, it was probably the lack of urgency
on the part of the world’s leaders that was most distressing. The only
consistent messages were the soft voices of the climate oppressed; those most
vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, consistently urging their
richer counterparts to come to their senses for the sake of their people.
Members of Aosis (Association of Small Island States) and the LDC’s (least
developed countries, mostly in Africa) and supported by South Africa being the
most vocal in their appeal.
I visited
the Greenpeace tent on the beachfront and watch a very moving documentary
titled the Weathergods which documented 3 tribes in South Africa, Mali and
Kenya and very clearly and honestly articulated their ordeal at the hands of
climate change. It clearly illustrated how their reality had become a daily
struggle for food and water became part of their daily routine. I framed these
images of hopelessness and destitution against the COP17 gathering and the efforts
of those sitting behind their microphones in the negotiating rooms and felt
saddened by how disconnected these people were from the realities of the issues
they were actually addressing and how little compassion our species have come
to feel for each other.
But while I
do see the necessity for these annual multi-lateral negotiations, have respect
for hard work that the negotiators put in and fully understand the slow process
of getting the all the nations of the world with their diverse cultures and
economic realities to actually co-operate and agree on a common way forward,
there were many things outside of the negotiations that I found extremely
encouraging and positive.
For one
thing, I was enormously proud of the leadership stance that South Africa took
throughout the negotiations by being one of the only developing countries
willing to take on a voluntary reduction target and pushing as hard as they
could to save the Kyoto Protocol. I am firm of the belief that there was
nothing more they could have done to sway the situation. There was nothing that
would have distracted the richer countries of the world from their economic
woes and national self interest at this time.
But it was
ultimately businesses, NGO’s and civil society from across the globe that was
most encouraging. I spent the weekend at the World Climate Summit at the Elangeni,
attended many panel discussions and networking sessions and found that that
global enterprises are making an meaningful effort in addressing their
environmental impacts and are starting to see the benefits. They are now able
to cite case studies of how their green focus and innovation has resulted in
billions of dollars of savings, a reduced risk profile to investors, access to
new markets and greater brand value. The story is a compelling one and one that
is creating a groundswell of commercial activity around efficiency and green
innovation.
From a South
African corporate perspective, Tuesday saw the announcement of the results of
both the JSE SRI index and the Carbon Disclosure Project. These were both
extremely positive events that emphasised the sophistication of large South
African company’s in terms of their environmental and social governance. South
Africa was second only after Europe in terms of respondents to the CDP with 83%
of the top 100 companies voluntarily making disclosures relating to their
response to climate change. It became even clearer to me that with this shift
in corporate consciousness, however slow this may be, business leaders will end
up being the main purveyors of change by addressing their own direct
environmental impacts, as well as those of their supply chain, their staff,
their customers and their investors and eventually play a more positive role in
influencing governments to provide more certainty and exert greater political
will...
So all in all, the event can be remembered as a respectable event, with a positive, albei last minute outcome both in terms of the organisation and the multilateral negotiations. Durban actually turned out to be philosophically very important as all the countries of the world agreed in principle for the first time ever to a climate treaty to begin in 2020, the details of which need to be ironed out by 2015 , but basically means that both developing and developed nations will be bound to a commitment to reduce their emissions. Granted the devil is definitely in the detail, but this has to be seen as very positive. The Kyoto Protocol has been granted a stay of execution and will continue beyond 2012 with fewer countries than before and mainly as a result of tremendous leadership shown by the EU despite their economic woes and finally there is a commitment by rich nations to the funding of the $100b Green Climate Fund. So while it may all have been a bit last minute and may seem that the commitments were without the level of detail that would have given us all a warmer, fuzzier feeling, I think that people would remember Durban as actually being pivotal in the ongoing talks and where the level of awareness and the debate has been raised considerably on the world stage and that South Africa can be proud of their contribution to addressing this massive issue.
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