It is 6:13 am and in the Bella Conference Center I am listening to the chair of the AOSIS (Association of Small Island States) trying to fight off uncontrollable tears. I am almost certain that the Group of 77 (a behemoth of 130 plus developing country states) is coming to an end. Countries are divided and I am witnessing accusations fly across the plenary. Why has it taken us so long to arrive at this point? We sit here with the “Copenhangen Accord” staring at our faces. It is a document full of hot air and is not what billions of people across the planet had been promised to deliver atmospheric restitution.

Once again the developed nations have managed to gain somewhat of an upper hand in the wake of greater sacrifices of the larger developing countries. That aside, negotiators had feared from day one of the talks that the documents and the process of negotiating would not mature to the point required in order to allow negotiations to move into the high level segment where over 100 Heads of States would come to sign a just climate deal. Their fears were realized. The process has been deeply flawed and the voices of nations regarding lack of transparency, conspiracy to kill off the Kyoto protocol has been true. I often found myself being witness to the injustice within the UNFCCC process (where had I not gone to certain meetings, I would have missed out on joint drafting sessions which I assumed were only scheduled G-77 coordination meetings). Text messages were sent, rooms were changed, information was not available to all.

All of this, in the wake of the greatest climate conference the world has ever seen since the birth of the Convention some 18 years ago. Why did it take us so long? How did we get so bitterly entrenched in this process? I have seen and learned more about the process as a negotiator in the last 2 weeks than I could have my entire life. As a result, I have become deeply disillusioned. Two nights ago, at the launch of the Maldives “Survival Kit” for nations, President Nasheed had all but given up on the process and called on youth to take to the streets and make this the absolute issue in politics. For nations like the Maldives that lie 1.5 meters above sea level at their highest point, this is an issue of their survival.

I would agree. After a bitter impasse, and stalling of the talks due to the flawed process, negotiators had still not made progress on many of the key issues. In the group discussing “enhanced action on mitigation” I found myself transported back in time as if no progress had been made between the developed and rapidly developing countries on any of the points on emissions reductions. On the issue of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions by developing countries, the parties talked in circles and could not arrive at any concrete conclusions. Finally the Heads of States arrived adding further confusion to an already impossible situation. Having lost a day and half due to the boycott of the talks by members of the African Group and other major developing countries didn’t help but probably was the only thing that kept the two track process (the Kyoto protocol) alive. Late last night, the heads of 25 nations were invited as part of a “friends of the chair” group to help broker a deal: United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Maldives, Grenada, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Algeria, Denmark, Germany, Korea, Bangladesh, France, Gabon, and three others. The leaders of this group tried to hammer out a rough document to provide the basis for further negotiations. This was the Copenhagen Accord.

The deal is far from perfect. It is non-binding for starters and has a range of base years from which the many countries putting up targets can choose. If one looks closely, there is probably no way that it meets the 2 degrees guard rail target that we need at the MOST in order to avert a run-away climate disaster (even though it claims to use 2 degrees as the upper limit). It is far from what the islands need, far from what the Least Developed Nations require and still leaves many questions to be resolved. Yet it is the only thing that can salvage the absolute and utter lack of trust and faith that has been built up over the last two years between parties of the United Nations.

Climate poses the biggest question to humanity as to whether or not we are going to be able to save ourselves. That is after all, what we are trying to do here. At this time, what we need is trust, faith, and greater understanding to move forward. I am only 25 years old. I fear bringing children into this world and as I sit here listening to nation after nation make statements in favor of or against supporting the passing of the Copenhagen Accord, I am now as uncertain as ever as to the future of humanity. We have not attained “climate justice” here today. Nor have we secured our future. Outside over 200 protesters mobilized to arrive at the conference center to organize a “Shame Vigil.” Mind you civil society suffered the most fatal defeat during these talks by having been forcibly locked out in the final days. However, with an unprecedented over 45,000 registered delegates to the talks I think we have indeed arrived at a crucial point where the movement is unstoppable and will only continue to grow.

It is 7:00 am on December 19th and I am unsure as to what the outcome will be. I leave you with this:

“In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel.” –Severn Suzuki (age 12), Rio Earth Summit 1992

PM Manmohan Singh and President Barak Obama

The red sari signifies the festivity of marriage and celebrating a bond which will last lifetimes. For India, it was important to drape a red sari to get wedded strategically to US as Dr. Singh said in an interview to The Washington Post, “We are strategic partners”. Just yesterday Dr Manmohan Singh and his wife flew back from Washington DC after having a successful round of bilateral negotiations with Obama. The agenda for the bilateral was mostly around fighting terrrorism and making US put pressure on Pakistan to take strong action on the terrorists attack in Mumbai last year.

But more than just that it was key to defining the new political equations between an existing powerhouse and an emerging superpower. The big issues which were in discussion were :nuclear disarmament ,poverty alleviation,energy security, terrorism and building consensus on the nitty gritty details of the nuclear deal.
These “four or five big global issues” will form the cornerstones of the new India-US strategic partnership in the next few decades, which has been unveiled towards the end of Dr Singh’s state visit to the US, the first such by any world leader during the Obama presidency.

In total 6 Memoranda-of-understandings were signed, 2 memoranda-of-interest as well as several other initiatives and agreements.

A shade of green with the red saree

A green partnership has been signed onto which calls for the following three things:
Launch of a “Green Partnership” to strengthen U.S./India cooperation on clean energy, climate change, and food security. This reflects our two countries’ commitment to taking vigorous action to combat climate change, ensuring mutual energy security, working towards global food security, and building a clean energy economy that will drive investment, job creation, and economic growth throughout the 21st century.

Launch of an Indo-U.S. Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative, supported by U.S. and Indian government funding and private sector contributions. This new Initiative will include a Joint Research Center operating in both the United States and India to foster innovation and joint efforts to accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies. The Initiative will facilitate joint research, scientific exchanges, and sharing of proven innovation and deployment policies.

Support for an Indian EPA that will focus on creating a more effective system of environmental governance, regulation and enforcement. Working with the India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide technical support to help establish an Indian National Environmental Protection Authority.

What about the Copenhagen Deal?
In the extended MOU signed , there is the following mention of the Copenhagen outcome.
Prime Minister Singh and President Obama affirmed that the Copenhagen outcome must be comprehensive and cover mitigation, adaptation, finance, and technology. Moreover, it should reflect emission reduction targets for developed countries and nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries. There should be scaled-up finance, technology, and capacity-building support. There should be full transparency as to the implementation of their mitigation commitments and appropriate processes for review. Both leaders resolved to take significant mitigation actions and to stand by these commitments.

From the above statement one infers , India is still sticking to its stance on taking the nationally appropriate mitigation “actions” and the US has not only accepted this as a comprehensive outcome in contradiction to its strong belief to see India and China take “responsibility” beyond NAMA but also reaffirming the big responsibility of putting numbers on the table.

Although the catch is that the US would want full MRV- report on all actions to where the money is being used to mitigate in receiving countries. And India will only accept MRV for the additional finance and technlogy coming through from the developed world.

Could this be a non mover? Or could they still come to a consensus in Copenhagen?
Are India and US “partners in crime” to bring a weak deal in Copenhagen?
We hope not, and if nothing, we can celebrate the acceptance of a Copenhagen Outcome by the two big players.

National Civil Society Coalition for Climate Justice and Equitable Development

This document is prepared from the perspective of safeguarding the interests of the marginalised majority in India

Civil Society Perspective and Position on the vital issue of climate justice

We, representatives of organizations and networks believe that the discourse on Climate Change cannot and must not be delinked from:
The life and livelihoods of rural women and men, especially those who are economically and socially disadvantaged. It is a fact that climate change is impacting and would impact the poor communities first and worst. Amongst poor communities, economically and socially marginalized women bear the greatest brunt of climate change.
The current debate over the development path, that has in more than one ways contributed to the crisis, should now be used as an opportunity to adopt a new development paradigm.

We call upon Government of India to:

Proactively pressurize the industrialized countries, in particular the United States, to immediately take binding targets for substantial reduction of their emissions using the 1990 baseline because there are limits to adaptation for the poor people

Keep their Bali promise, take binding targets and reduce their emissions by at least 40% by 2020 and 90% by 2050 with 1990 as the reference point.

Assist the developing countries by finance and technology in order for them to pursue a low carbon pathway.

Nationally, we call upon the Government of India to:
1. Climate Change is increasingly being recognized as a development issue for many reasons. From a macro perspective it questions the fossil fuel based development model that the world has been pursuing since the industrial revolution. This current development model is threatening the earth’s sustainability and could have irreparable consequences. From a micro perspective the impacts of climate change affects those that are most vulnerable: the marginalized majority of the world.

2. Given that around 70% of India’s population depends on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture for survival, climate change implications are enormous. Climate change will affect the water sector the most. This is also the core of development for rural communities dependent on agriculture and hence the need for focus on water security. Women will be especially vulnerable to the climate phenomenon. The rural communities, especially the women being the victims of climate change, should form the base for understanding the climate change impacts and should provide the perspective to plan a new development paradigm to mitigate and adapt climate change.

3. There is ample evidence to indicate that water resources are increasingly going to be affected by climate change. We are in a country already where safe water availability, even for domestic and livestock needs is in a crisis situation. When resources are scarce, it is the historically marginalized, the dalits, adivasis and the other minorities who face the burden the most. Women, who shoulder the responsibility of meeting domestic water, needs face even more challenges in meeting these needs. Given the basic requirement for safe drinking water and sanitation for health and overall socioeconomic development, this lack of availability amounts to a violation of human rights. This needs to be corrected. (more…)

Conservation Action Trust and Kolwanimata Mitra Mandal join hands to demand for action against climate change and to maintain CO₂ level in the atmosphere at 350ppm.

On the 14^th of Oct 09 in Mumbai city at 4 pm, India, the fishermen community of Sarsole village, Navi Mumbai and Conservation Action Trust will showcase an event symbolizing the necessity to urge world leaders to take bold and immediate steps to address climate change and reduce carbon emission, to move beyond speeches and to initiate action on the ground as a part of the global day of action coordinated by 350.org. The fishermen will create a 350 symbol in the Thane Creek which will mark their protest against individual governments’ selfish negotiations rather than cooperating for a global consensus.

The Conservation Action Trust (www.cat.org.in) is a registered non-profit organization formed to protect the environment, particularly forests and wildlife. The main purpose of the Trust is to educate and enlighten decision makers and the public about the importance of forests and mangrove, wetlands for our survival.

Kolwanimata Mitra Mandal is a registered organization of fishermen at Sarsole which is one of the fishermen villages along the coast of Navi Mumbai. KMM is around four years old. It comprises of 40-50 boys of the village. Their mission is to highlight the issues concerning the lives of the small fishing village to the authorities who have turned a blind eye to their problems.

After decades of denial, humanities have woken up to the possible terminal illness of the planet, being global warming. Now is the time to act, to control the damage before the effects become irreversible. (more…)

Dear Friends,

The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) was nothing more than an idea in January 2008. Since its official launch as a platform for youth and young professionals in March 2008 it has grown by leaps and bounds and now known to millions throughout the world. It has been a wonderful journey to attempt to build a unifying youth movement on a topic that is often considered controversial and which has not yet entered the psyche of the ordinary person in India—though we are all living its consequences daily. A simple vision, “an idea whose time had come,” we did not intend for it to make as much noise as it has but we believe that it offers a ray of hope in a climate of change. By tapping the passion of youth energy and their desire to make change and have their voices heard by policy makers we’ve managed to connect everyday students and young people directly to the Prime Minister’s Office. It has not been easy: it has meant doing the unimaginable, the daring, and thinking about out of the box solutions to build a movement that is based on solutions.

The challenge of such a movement is to strive to keep things democratic, transparent and inclusive. A movement is only as strong as the people who are passionate to drive it and the beauty of IYCN is that it attracts those who wish to take leadership and to lead, not follow in others’ efforts. In keeping things inclusive and democratic, it has been a difficult task to simply “manage” a network that has mushroomed and gotten much interest from established civil society members, government, and companies. Till date it has been a volunteer driven effort and a few young people who didn’t know what they were doing realized through trial and error the level of professionalism that is required. We are continuing to become more and more professional and try to reach out to as many people as possible in order to build a united movement and one that is representative of youth voices on the issue of climate in India.

IYCN is an entity that inspires a movement simply asking people what they aim to do to tackle the climate challenge and in the process inspire others into action. One year ago we asked people to join the network because it was “Something New, Something Bold.” Today, we are no longer new, we are simply bold. Help shape the movement-join us! Support. Unite. Share. Engage. Inspire. Change.

Sincerely,

IYCN Team

Annual Report

The following was part of a press briefing at the US Climate Action Network Organized press conference in Pittsburgh, USA coinciding with the G-20 Summit.  International youth gathered together to voice concerns over the need to “green” the economic recovery of the planet–high on the agenda of the world leaders gathered there.  Youth Press Advisory

Two years ago at the UN Climate negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, I happened to have the opportunity to attend as a member of the US youth delegation (because I was studying in the US). Upon arriving at the negotiations and after countless hours spent submitting our policy proposals to the UN Convention I realized that there is a growing and vibrant youth movement dedicated to the cause. These youth are actively trying to influence the negotiations. I became conscious of the fact that there were not any Indian youth in this growing international youth caucus present on the sidelines of the conference. I decided to introduce myself to the Indian Government negotiators as a “youth representative.” I was met with a cold and blank stare and then asked, “youth? Shouldn’t they have the same view as their elders?” I knew then that my life would never be the same again.

To be fair, I respect my elders and I know that there are many out there who are on the “far side of fifty” (age 50 that is) who have worked hard to make the world a better place. Generations have come and gone and nearly all of them have had a defining issue to tackle. My generation, labeled the “silent generation” by Thomas Friedman, is caught behind our computers and on facebook, having struggled to come to terms with the seemingly perfect world with an uncertain future of which we are not in control. Many in the climate movement are aware of the political deadlock between developed and developing nations over the issue of climate equity and historical emissions and responsibilities. Though we claim to be talking climate for the sake of future generations, nothing that we are doing is actually putting future generations in a better environment than that enjoyed by generations passed. So let’s get serious about generational equity because those in control sure aren’t.

While the climate crisis looms, we are currently consumed by a financial crisis that has gripped the planet. Just as financial institutions played with the public’s money, we are playing with the global commons that is our climate. We already know the impacts of unabated borrowing of money that does not exist. Can we play the same game with the lives of future generations as we borrow for our unsustainable growth today?

Global leaders are meeting at the summit in Pittsburgh and on the agenda is rebuilding the planet’s economy and hopefully, cooling down the planet. Let us turn this economic crisis into an opportunity of global proportions and usher a new era of genuine, sustainable development. I come from a young country—75% youth–that is facing many challenges. My own ancestral home in the desert sands of western Rajasthan only received electricity a year ago—electricity promised to my grandfather 25 years ago. Yet it is a land bursting with opportunity. Sure enough there is an army of youth in India that are ready to take that stand and that are dreaming of a clean, green country – one which will take this opportunity to build a green economy and support the growth of a green jobs movement. With 500 million people still in the dark, there are millions to be trained in sustainable energy enterprises alone. Let us not forget that this is a country that has half a million engineers graduating annually—a potentially potent force to engineer the country into the paragon of sustainable development.

While youth are 48% of the global population they are not an official part of the negotiation process at the international level. Though many of us are silent, many more are launching revolutions to transform our local communities. I was transformed by my experience in Bali and knew that in the labyrinth process of the negotiations all sense of urgency—of our future—is lost. This hopelessness was transcended through the creation of the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) which has grown in waves and caught the attention of young people, civil society, companies and the same government that questioned the role of youth on the topic two years ago. Similarly youth movements for the cause are rising across the planet—daring governments to break the deadlock. We envision a future which ensures the survival of all peoples and all nations. The debate is old and it is time for some fresh air. A bail-out for the planet is a bailout we will not regret.

Unlimited: Renewable Energy in the 21st Century is a documentary film aimed at providing a general introduction about the virtues and benefits of moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.

I think this film is interesting in that it has such great young speakers and it really brings the issue of generational equity right in our faces.  Who will pay for this?  The “Far side of fify?”  It is funny how some of the smartest citizens of the planet are the youngest ones.

By Rajesh Kalra (August 7, 2009) Courtesy The Times of India

We have a cycling group in Gurgaon, where I live, and since we are all yatris (travellers) and use pedal power, we named our group Pedalyatri. Our aim is to explore hidden treasures around Gurgaon, Faridabad and Delhi. So, we often find ourselves scouring Google earth, looking for elusive trails over Aravalis, and then trying them out. Nine out of 10, our assessment of whether the route is cycleable or not is accurate.

There have been times when the trails have proven to be extremely puncture prone, so much so that on one of the rides, 14 of us ended up with over 40 punctures. As a group, however, we enjoy it and over a period, we have become so good at fixing punctures and changing tubes that the joke amongst ourselves is that we are better at it than any cycle mechanic.

We have also been to areas of the Aravalis that have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is the same area that the apex court’s monitoring body had recently said was unauthorised and must not be developed. We have seen in this area the name plates of super rich and super powerful, occupying virtually the entire hill top in some cases. These include several among those we often find holding forth on various fora about what is right and wrong. One name plate among these illegally developed parts is that of a powerful and prominent union cabinet minister in the current government.

However, despite the ability to lap it all up with a smile, we certainly weren’t prepared for a sight that hit us on one of our recent trails. We had been reading all about how the mining mafia, in their greed, had raped the Aravalis. These stories had often been accompanied by a picture or two. But this was not what we expected.

What had happened that this ride of ours was turning into another puncture festival, so we decided that we would walk a few KMs to the road head, repair the tyres and then ride. We followed the map on our GPS purposefully when we suddenly came across a giant hole in the ground. What we saw cannot really be described in words, so I will let the photographs do the hard task, while I will attempt to add captions wherever necessary.

Photos: Anand Sinha/Bobby Joseph/Rajesh Kalra

(The trail was thorny, and all of us had punctures so we decided to walk.)

(more…)

Do you want to report on the most compelling stories of the climate crisis?  Are you an amateur photographer wanting to learn the skills of your trade while doing your part to save the climate? Or maybe you are a videographer wanting to change the outcome of the UN Climate Negotiations (COP 15).

We are calling all passionate youth journalists who want to use their skills to launch “Survival,” to the forefront of the international political debate, amplify voices underrepresented by traditional media, and report on the most compelling climate stories from around the world.

Project Survival Media is a global youth journalism network that aims to influence the outcome of the COP 15 by broadcasting the most critical message of our time: As world leaders negotiate a new climate treaty, “Survival is Not Negotiable.”

We are seven media teams, one for each continent.  We build stories together that will focus on those roles in society that are most impacted by climate change: factory workers, farmers, mothers, organizers, and health care providers.

Who is eligible?
-    Any young person between the ages of 15-30.
-    Have some experience in any of the following: blogging, reporting, photography, or videography.
-    Has either a background in: climate change, human rights issues, global and local environmental justice struggles.
-    Living anywhere on one of the seven continents

Click Here to complete an application to be on the Project Survival Regional Media Teams.  ALL applications must be submitted by: September 11th, 2009.

Ever seen raw, passionate energy for a cause unleashed in pure form?  Ever heard of direct action to save the planet?  From July 18th to the 23rd, Delhi saw a historic event take place:  Badlaav.  Approximately 200 youth from across the country descended on Delhi to engage in workshops to unleash their potential to launch creative environmental campaigns to address the climate challenge and the Millienium Development Goals.  Eight bright youth from Hyderabad who were returning from Delhi to Secundrabad in Andra Pradesh state channeled their energy derived from the event into a force to be reckoned with on the 24 hr train journey.  These incredible young people wasted no time in taking action and in reaching out to a thousand people right away–talk about being the change!

Swetha recounts:

We the “Hyderabadies”, (Swetha, Ramya, Nakul, Pratusha, Namrata, Abhinay and Sanjay) after Badlaav  were in full spirits and wanted to start taking action. We were so impatient that we decided not to waste the train journey time from New Delhi to Hyderabad. So we decided to have a “350 on the Train” campaign. At around 11:30 am on 26th July 2009, we started talking to people right from coaches S1 to S12 and then moved on to those in the 4 A/C compartments. We started talking to people in the language they were comfortable with:  Telugu, Hindi, or English.  In order to cover a larger audience we split into two groups.

We talked to the passengers about climate change, its effects, actions they can take and about the concept of 350ppm. We also asked them to join the 350 global campaign on 24th of October 2009. During the ride we met people from various professions (doctors, teachers, journalists, etc).  Some of the passengers loved our zeal and enthusiasm but others acted like skeptics.  Time will have the latter on our side.
The campaign came to an end at Secunderabad station where we gathered as many people as possible. We had 350 banners and took a number of photos. When it was over, we were all completely exhausted. The satisfaction we had in spreading the message to around 1000 people in just one day was greater than the exhaustion!