Crossposted from the wallstreet journal

India’s Holy Ganges to Get a Cleanup

Government Embarks on $4 Billion Campaign to Treat Heavily Polluted Waters;
Devout Hindus Revere River as ‘Goddess’

By KRISHNA POKHAREL

VARANASI, India—More than a million devout Hindus bathed in the Ganges River
Friday, braving the risk of terrorist attack, stampede and petty crime for
the chance to wash away the sins of a lifetime and open the gateway to
heaven after death.

But perhaps the greatest threat to the devotees who flocked to Haridwar,
India, on one of the most auspicious days of the triennial Kumbh Mela
festival, was the water itself.

The river is intensely polluted with sewage and industrial waste.
Water-treatment facilities have been unable to keep up with India’s rapid
growth, often held back by a shortage of funds and other resources.

A dip in the Ganges River in India is believed by devotees to wash away all
sins. But increasingly it has become heavily polluted with sewage and
industrial waste. Now, thanks to a $4 billion government program aims is
introducing new technology to treat and clean the river.

Now, the spiritually cleansing waters of the Ganges are about to get some
cleaning of their own. The Indian government has embarked on a $4 billion
campaign to ensure that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial
runoff enters the 1,560-mile river. (more…)

This has been crossposted from www.itsgettinghotinhere.org

Climategate was a well coordinated, strategic and devestating attack on the Copenhagen climate talks in December last year. With unprecedented moves from U.S. and China in the run-up, the world’s media and attention was hooked onto the alleged manipulation of data at the University of East Anglia. That stolen information framed the entire negotiations, and set it up for failure.

Today the prospect of a clean-energy economy faces a new threat.

Osama bin Laden has called for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States for climate change, according to a new audiotape released today. Right-wing media outlets including The Daily Telegraph, Drudge and Fox News, are already seizing on the al-Qaida leader’s comments. All this on the same day that the American administration formally announced it’s 2020 carbon targets, and a 39% increase in wind-power.

Those in the struggle for a clean-energy economy and safe climate future, should ask themselves why bin Laden would come out with this statement. This is the man who has shown no concern for human life, indeed revels in killing innocent people – why does he now care about rising sea-levels?

His plan is to drive the wedge between the climate cynics and climate activists even further, and it’s already working. This is the perfect story to kill any federal climate bill in the U.S. In fact it’s the perfect strategy if you desire chaos and destruction.

Any association with him immediately demonises the climate movement, and will maintain the stranglehold of oil-rich nations over the American economy. More worryingly in the long term, a world in the throws of extreme weather and an unpredictable food-supply is rich pickings for a fanatic totalitarian.

1. So how should the environmental movement respond?

2. Immediately and unequivocally condemn his comments. We can’t let ourselves be aligned with a terrorist. Bin Laden isn’t an environmentalist and cares nothing about climate change (because that would mean caring about people).

Whatever your feelings on climate change; don’t use his comments for your cause, because actually he will be using you.

I wrote this poem on new years and thought I would share it:

The morning that followed
Our message was echoed.
A failure! A failure!
My heart in despair.

The science lost, funding tossed,
No commitment in sight.
A stench of injustice,
The result: A failed plight.

“What more did you expect?”
Accusing voices chimed,
“Your efforts are a waste
Of carbon, cash and time”.

Is it a failure?
Were we mistaken?
How will we remember
Copenhagen?

How will we remember
Copenhagen?

I will remember the:

Forming of three fifty
In hundreds of states.
The Hundred thousand
Who marched till late.
Millions worldwide that stood,
And more that signed
In protest for the rights
For all Human Kind.

I will remember the:

Largest mobilisation
In world’s history.
Working in unity.
Despite culture or country.
Rising above divisions
In the “social order”;
Be religion, gender
Or a political border.
(more…)

Who knows what it feels like to go hungry for a meal, a day, or a few days? Probably most of us. But who knows what it feels like to go hungry for a week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks?   

Very few of us.

When I think of people going hungry for weeks on end, I think of the people on this planet who are living in drought ridden land which won’t yield the crops they have been waiting for. I think of those people who are thwarted by the changing monsoon patterns who can’t predict when to plant their seeds. I think of people who have been victims to a hurricane or flood and have loss access to food and water. I think of the victims of climate change: past, present and future. 

But that’s not all.

When I think of people going hungry for weeks on end I also think of determination, dedication, vision and sacrifice. I think of the hunger strikes lead by Gandhi in India’s fight for independence from a British oppression. I think of civil society rising up and reclaiming their power and asking for what is just, what is right. I think of non-violence, of peace and of love. 

And now, I think of the Climate Justice Fast.

(more…)

You take one step forward and one step back, and although you feel that there is a lot of movement you haven’t really gone anywhere.

In the past few days I’ve spoken to many delegates. From Thailand, Swaziland, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Zambia and the list goes on. And as I ask them about how they feel the negotiations are going, they all sigh and shake their head. Frustration is in the air as we hit midway of the second week.

The negotiations aren’t moving forward. People are feeling irritated. And I too am questioning what I am doing here.

Delegates, especially from the developing nations are once again feeling fed up with the continual talking, and insertion of more meetings. The Philippines delegate recently mentioned that despite her being away for a couple of years, the countries were discussing the same things. Every day people rush around, are running late and are stressed out. And as the negotiations “ramp up” more media arrives every day, reporting on the movement and noise as nothing moves forward.

Did you know they’ve inserted yet another two meetings in Bonn and Barcelona before Copenhagen?

I sometimes wonder if we’ll ever get to the deal we need. Most delegates tell me not to expect the “perfect” treaty. Which is the nice way of saying don’t expect it to be strong. However do say that they feel we will strengthen it after the Copenhagen treaty will be signed.

I guess what this is teaching me is at the end of the day, we need to pressure our governments and decision makers on the ground back in our Capitals. We need to push our movements and prove that the public, their constituencies, care about the issue. It is also teaching me not to rely on our governments, and to be ready to accept that they may come out with a crap deal and we’ll have to “stuff” them and create the world that we want to anyway.

We need to be the change and create the change.

On the 2^nd of June India stood up once again to question the science stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), one of the top scientific bodies to prove the existence of climate change. And although it sounds ridiculous, if you look deeper into the Indian argument there is some legitimacy. Or so I believe.

Now when we hear that the IPCC science is being challenged, we automatically assume that means that the challenging party thinks that climate change isn’t happening. That is not the case here. India signed off on the IPCC because it accepted the reality of climate change as described by the report.

So what is India challenging?

The IPCC reports, besides only talking about the impacts of climate change, also state a pathway of emissions reductions for developed countries required to limit emissions to a point of 450ppm equivalent. This scenario gives us a 50% chance of avoiding disastrous climate change, defined as a limit to global temperature increase of 2 degrees. The pathway they stated for a 450ppm scenario was that developed countries need to reduce emissions by 25-40% based on 1990 emissions levels by 2020, and a “significant” deviation from business as usual in developing countries.

However since the report being released, some of the scientists, who are a part of the IPCC, last year came out with a study that gave a recommendation for developing countries – to deviate 15-30% below their business as usual scenario. Where did those numbers come from? That is the contentious point for the Indians.

Mr Pradipto Ghosh, one of the Indian delegates referred to the IPCC report saying that “box 13.7 is being quoted by certain countries as a recommendation to burden sharing”. The scenario is something that came out in a study from one set of European researchers. It takes in a range of different studies and comes out with that scenario of deviation from business as usual for developing countries. Burden sharing should be calculated based on historical responsibility and the capacity to pay.

“The IPCC as a body has not endorsed this, but it is talked about this as if it is a recommendation from the IPCC”. And that is what the key thing is to remember – we need to stick to the science.

So you see why I understand where they are coming from?

This should not mean that developing countries are absolved of all duty to not look after their emission levels or to not develop sustainably. India can’t continue on its business as usual trajectory and needs to ensure it doesn’t lock itself into a high carbon development pathway. India understands that they need to look after its emissions. However we must ensure these calculations based on science and equity approved by the IPCC.

The only other point to note is that in the short term it will be easier and cheaper to have developing countries develop sustainably as they haven’t locked themselves into high carbon infrastructure. Hence feasibility is possibly what these numbers have been influenced by.

So India is not questioning the science of climate change, but the science of the specific targets countries are asking the developing countries to take on.

My Question:

Equity vs. feasibility – which way do we go?

This is cross posted from www.adoptanegotiator.com, written by Anna Collins.

So what actually happens at UN climate talks? Well I can tell you one thing,

A lot of talking… and not so much listening!

The talks opened this morning as they always do with a plenary session. That’s when all the countries sit behind their name plaques in big long rows, along with many other observers in the room, some of us even sitting on the floor. A panel sits on the stage and open the talks then lots of different groups and countries make statements from their chairs. Mostly it happens in English, though I did get excited this morning when Bolivia started speaking and we all had to put on our headphones and listen to the translation! It’s a good job we did too as from what I understood Bolivia basically said that they want to get rid of the draft text we have on the table and start writing all over again! This is something quite a few countries are also asking for. With so few months left until Copenhagen things could really get scary if this is called for more and they are listened to.

Plenary Filling Up

I also enjoyed plenary today when Russia got politely asked not to speak for so long next time! It was like being at school but everyone was being over polite! Then there was some ‘banter’ over how long their statement had been in relation to the EU’s, it seems even the UN can have in-jokes!

But the highlight of the plenary was when, after a representative spoke for the Alliance of Small Island States, led by the youth and with a few other participants, a round of applause was given for what they had to say (this is definitely not normal behaviour in these kind of meetings). The Alliance of Small Island States are…well exactly that! A group of small islands who group together to get their voice heard on a global scale! So evidently they have a huge amount to loose if these negotiations do not come up with a good deal. The basic points of their speech today were that time is running out. They are already experiencing the impacts of climate change and for them any deal is a matter of survival! Insufficient actions on mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology, will undermine their existence. For them the agreements will not be just words, but LIFE! (Thanks must go to Andrea who was taking much better notes than me at this point!)

So I hope I gave you a bit of an idea about how these talks work in real life. Basically a few people were saying good stuff this morning… and a few not so good.

But what I really wonder as I think back over the session, is how much any of them were really listening to each other. It seems to me that we’ve all put our plates on the table and no one wants, or is willing, to move. When someone is pleading for their countries mere survival how can you seriously listen and then not respond with action!

Which begs the question…why we call them negotiations at all?

In yesterday’s interaction Mr Pradipto Ghosh’s, an Indian negotiator, the major message was that these negotiations need to ensure that India can continue its growth.

I agree with Mr Ghosh’s comment. India does need to “grow”. With the largest population of people living below the world’s poverty line, with 400 million people who can’t access commercial energy, with major issues social justice, we cannot afford to agree to a deal that will impede on our development. Before we tackle problems of tomorrow we need to tackle the problems of today.

However in my opinion the detail is in the definition of growth and development. Will it be through lots of big dirty coal power plants? Or clean renewables? Will it be through excessive consumption by the upper class? Or through increasing the living standards amongst those poorest in India? The devil is in the detail. Our growth needs to ensure energy security, food security, water security and equity within our own country. We can’t continue growth in our business as usual style.

Mr R.K. Sethi reminded me that India has a society that has traditionally been very sustainable society. All three negotiators highlighting India’s recycling system, telling me about the kabadiwalla, and how most materials are recycled to a point that we will rarely see in the developed world. No doubt, yes India has a very sustainable history; but what about the sludge in our Yamuna, pollution in the Ganga and piles of rubbish on every street, in every river and all over the country? Did they just appear out of nowhere?

India must ensure it doesn’t follow the western pathway of development. We need to ensure we remain sustainable. That we continue to use kulladhs (clay cups) not plastic cutlery, that we make use of our wonderful sun, that we don’t clog our roadways with more cars and air pollution. We mustn’t kid ourselves that we are sustainable when people are dying from the toxicity in our rivers, pollution in our air and the degradation of our forests and agricultural land. We must not forget the Indian traditional ways of living, and fall into the trap and flashiness of the western world. In the words of Mr J M Mauskar from today’s meetings – we can always do better. In the word’s of Deepa Gupta (me) – we have to do better.

So what is my message?

Yes India needs to grow. But it needs to do so sustainably. What is the point of economic growth if majority of the people’s standard of living goes down. The economy is dependent on the environment. We can’t decouple the two. With 70% of India’s population dependent on agriculture, the majority of jobs coming from agribusiness, forestry, fisheries and tourism, meaning about 80% of India’s population being directly employed through natural resources and being directly affected by environmental degradation.

My message to the negotiators?

Thank you for keeping in mind India’s growth and working to make sure that we get an equitable deal that ensures India’s continued growth. However don’t forget to define what you mean by growth, because business as usual would suggest environmental degradation. We need to protect our environment and minimise climate change. Our growth depends on it.

Our life depends on it.

As we were having our first youth meeting I looked outside to the beautiful sunny, green garden with a fountain. Who else do I see but three of our Indian negotiators. How is this possible? Indian bureaucrats are often quite hard to access or catch – but I guess I’m not in India. I’m writing from Bonn at the interim UN meetings on climate. It is not uncommon at these negotiations to come across negotiating teams and bureaucrats having lunch, in corridors, walking in and out of meetings, and it’s not uncommon to exchange smiles, say hello and slap high fives (well almost).

So what are these Negotiations about?

Some say climate change, some say trade, some say geo-politics. Officially it’s about emissions mitigation targets, financing, technology transfer, adaptation and forest protection. But what is it really about? For me as a young person, I would say it’s about equity. Both global south equity and inter-generational equity. The developed countries are pushing to maintain their lifestyles and are resisting change, whilst the developing countries fighting for their survival (and the emerging economies neither completely here nor there, creating a group of their own).

It is a tight political environment. Canada is coming out with ludicrous ideas such as “decide your own target” or 3% emissions reductions by 2020 on 1990 levels. US is trying to pass through its first climate bill through congress – called the Waxman Markey bill that is being watered down day by day. Japan will be coming out with its 2020 targets over the next 2 weeks, eating out of the palm of its industries. Australia is debating it’s Emissions Trading Scheme with the government committing to 5% reductions by 2020, falling back to being puppets of the fossil fuel lobby. Doesn’t the future look bright?! People have said this is when it gets interesting. The major economies, especially the developed countries are trying to suck as much out of the other countries and are trying to get themselves the cheapest bargain possible. All the while the least developed countries and island nations are still pushing for their survival of a 350ppm target and 45% reductions by 2020 – what stark contrasts. Some believe that the negotiations may break down (some hope that they will). Let’s see what happens.

We are living in interesting times!

December this year in Copenhagen the countries of the world are going to sign a treaty that will change our life as we know it. Their commitments today will affect our quality of life tomorrow.

Most people don’t know that countries from all over the world have been debating and negotiating the global response to climate change for over a decade under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention) – and are still negotiating. There was an international treaty signed in 1997 called the Kyoto Protocol however in 2012 the first commitment period will end, hence the need for a new treaty to determine the pathway for the next 40 years.

International meetings that have happened every year and the major UNFCCC meetings this year are happening in Bonn, Bangkok and Copenhagen, along with the G8 meetings and UN General Assembly in New York.

There are three Indian young people who have managed to get to Bonn for the UNFCCC meeting that will start on the 1^st of June and will go for 12 days. Here the negotiations amongst all the countries will continue to work on what will be the biggest treaty of our lives.

We want to make sure we communicate these negotiations back to the people of India and keep these channels open to you. If there is something you want us to do or communicate to the negotiators of the world please let us know.

To make this as effective as possible however we need your help.

1. Forward this message to your friends on facebook, orkut, email, twitter (anything and everything!).
2. If you are a part of other networks, another organisation, contribute to newsletters at your college, corporation or local community, please keep them up to date and let me know what networks your liasing with at deepa@iycn.in.
3. If you have connections with any forms of media (newspapers, magazines, radio, blogs, facebook groups etc) again please let me know and also forward the blog posts and calls to action to those media channels as well.
4. Finally if you want to be involved in this in a greater capacity, again let me know.

The negotiators and governments of the world need to know who they’re accountable to. They are accountable to us, the people who have to live on this planet.

If you want to get updates, create pressure and help us take action from Bonn now until Copenhagen please sign up to this googlegroup: http://groups.google.com/group/india-climate-tracker

You can also follow us blogging about the negotiations at: http://adoptanegotiator.org/

This is the deal that will decide the fate of our planet as we know it. And I’m not exaggerating. It is our future as young people that will be affected from this treaty. So let’s work together and make the negotiators realise that they’re not negotiating in a bubble.

The world is watching them.

Looking forward to your cooperation.

Climate Change has emerged as the single biggest threat to the existence of humans on Earth. Unless measures are taken to counter it, we will reach a point of no return. It is developing countries like India that will face the impacts of climate change. So we need to take measures to help mitigate climate change and also help our disadvantaged sections adapt to the impacts of it. This motivated the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) to initiate the Rural Energy Project (REP), the first of its kind in India where a project has been run totally by the youth.

The first REP will be implemented in two villages on the outskirts of Coimbatore which come under project area of Shanti Ashram which is one of the well known NGOs working for the upliftment of socially and economically backward villages in Coimbatore. Two villages, MGR Nagar and Ambedkar Nagar in Madukkarai have been identified for the project. The project is to distribute 70 solar lanterns at subsidized rates to below poverty line families who do not have access to electricity in their households.

At present, the children in these villages face a lot of difficulties in studying as they have to either study under street lights or using kerosene lamps’ light. Families spent up to Rs.200/- every month to buy kerosene for lighting. This has a severe impact on their daily budget. Since all the kerosene is used for lamps, only wood is used for cooking which places a greater stress on the women as they have to spend upto 4-6 hours everyday collecting firewood to keep the fires burning. Further the smoke from wood stoves causes eye irritation for women and is one of the major causes of respiratory problems not just for them but also their children as most of the households have only a single room and the smoke circulates in them as there is lack of proper ventilation.

To ensure a better quality of life for the villagers by helping them own solar lanterns, IYCN is facilitating the supply of such lanterns. It has partnered with Darbari Green Energy Systems Ltd. (DGESL), a company from New Delhi whose mission is to provide a reliable source of renewable energy worldwide and thereby reduce the carbon emissions from burning kerosene and wood. They have come forward to supply us with 70 LED light solar lanterns at a cost of Rs.675/- per lantern (actual cost is Rs.2500/-). Green Wings, the environmental student wing of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University , will be coordinating the implementation of the project on behalf of IYCN. The project is scheduled to be launched on April 12^th (Sunday) at the project villages. A pre-event press release has been planned on April 11^th at the Shanti Ashram premises. An eleven member team from DGESL which also includes many foreign journalists will be arriving in Coimbatore on 11^th April for the launch.

After the launch of this project, distribution of smokeless wood stoves will be taken up for every household in the target villages. This will reduce the amount of wood consumed and will reduce the carbon emissions from the burning of wood. Further, the health impacts from smoke have also been shown to decrease by the use of the chullahs.

It’s so easy to become swept up with life in India. There are so many stories here – inspiring and sad. So many people from all walks of life. Such stark contrasts of rich and poor, enlightened and corrupt.

I want to take you all on my journey during the IYCN climate solutions road tour. I want to introduce you to the people I met; To see the landscape as it changed; To show you the different languages, music and dances. To introduce you to the farmers, village women, and the labourers, to introduce you to the cleaners on the street, to the vice chancellors, politicians and CEOs. I wish you could see the fired up students who want to create a revolution and overthrow the corruption, to the idealistic children wanting to protect the environment, and to the masses who want change. I want to introduce you to the social workers and brilliant minds that are transforming the world. I feel like we have all the things to create a revolution and maybe stop climate change, however I’m not sure how to harness the energy and strategically make it happen. I want to show you the beautiful palaces and organic farms, the solar innovations, tribal villages and earthy ashrams. I want to show you the effects of climate change which are so visible here – visible to the farmer, the coastal residents, the animals, the everyday person – which although are sad, brings me back to reality of what is a likely scenario in our lifetime and teaches me about what role I may need to play in a future of runaway climate change in a country that will be very severely impacted.

I have learnt that majority of the Indian people understand climate change (the concept, not always the jargon). And let me tell you majority of Indians don’t want climate change to happen, because it will impede on their development. (The only group not included were India’s elite to a certain extent). I have realised more than ever the need to redefine development.

Why? Today a country’s progress is often defined by GDP – how much a country sells/consumes. This means a country where everyone buys more stuff will have a higher GDP. So if you buy a cake, instead of making it at home, you’re contributing to a higher GDP – why is home-made cake less valued less then bought cake? That’s a question for my economics teacher cause I like home made cake better. My point is, if based on our current model of progress and development, where the USA is considered to be one the most developed in the world, and the American dream is to have a big house, car, TV etc. – what would happen if India became “developed”? Do you think we have enough trees to chop and resources in the ground for India to use in such a scenario along with the rest of the world? It’s physically not possible. Our world doesn’t have enough resources to sustain humanity like that.

Yet wouldn’t you agree that majority of Indians (or any person in poverty from any country) shouldn’t continue living in the conditions they are living in? Not every Indian dream’s of a TV and a car. True our elite and middle class are moving in that direction – but that still cuts out a decent 700 million people. Most are aiming to fulfil basic needs. And the middle class and elite are moving towards living the American dream, because that’s all they’re being shown and taught. That’s what the entire world is being taught. Media and globalisation continues to encourage us that the only way to be happy is through “development by consumption” – and the only way to develop is by moving to the cities and creating flyovers and buildings with air conditioners. And climate change is being fuelled by unsustainable levels and styles of consumption. (more…)

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, IYCN has opened up its steering committee applications, looking for vibrant, dedicated, reliable and motivated young people to take on some positions that need filling! We have six positions that need to be filled to ensure that we continue operating as a network and are able to more effectively build a nation wide climate movement. The positions are chair, media & publications director, member & supporter groups director, partnerships director, funding director, corporate relations director, you can check out more detailed descriptions in the link below, or send me an email at deepa@iycn.in with the heading “steeing committee query”.

You can check out application details and more detailed position descriptions on http://www.iycn.in/steering_committee.htm. The applications close on the 15th, and we’ll be conducting interviews from the 15th to the 25th, which is when the steering committee will be announced. All steering committee members selected will be required to keep the 5th and 6th of March free for their induction training, and the 7th and 8th of March free for the IYCN 2009 planning weekend that will be held in Delhi.

Remember if steering committee is not something you can or want to apply for, you still have many more leadership opportunities available. You can participate in the IYCN climate leadership program and give presentations to build awarness and action amongst youth; You can start your own eco-group on campus, at school, at work or in your community; You can also coordinate activties in your town, city, region or state. The opportunities are endless as long as you take the initiative.

Good Luck!

I wrote this between Hyderabad and Pune 2 weeks ago on the India Climate Solutions Road Tour.

I’ve driven the reva a few times. It’s amazing to sit in a car which has no ignition, and when driving on a smooth silent road there is nothing but silence, and when you brake you can’t feel the petrol being guzzled away, or smell the fumes. It’s an experience of the future.

With us in our caravan of alternative vehicles we have 3 solar powered electric reva’s, a waste vegetable oil powered van (which is also a home with a bed, toilet, shower, table, kitchen, fridge, film and editing equipment etc – where the electronics are powered by solar) and a pure plant oil fuelled truck.
Where do I start! I’m travelling across India – which is an experience in itself. I guess highlights are the best. (more…)