Top: Copenhagen (Henrik Johansen, CC); Bottom: Istanbul (Ivan Mlinaric, CC)
Week two of the climate summit in Copenhagen.
Put delegates from 190+ nations in a city together with NGOs, activists, and media…and shake.
I’m not sure what outcomes to expect. As the conference nears its conclusion, perhaps the participants will eke out a positive agreement. Let’s hope that nations make individual commitments to reduce CO2 emissions and forge greater cooperation towards sustainability.
Amidst the chaos that accompanies crisis and diversity are authentic concerns, ambition, and goodwill. There are positive signs: as I’m writing this, the media announced that the U.S. and five other nations will pledge US$3.5 billion to protect rainforests.
Still, do I expect boldness? Not really. People in power tend not to want to change the rules. Risk averse “leaders” dance around each other at summits. And when a crowd moves towards a precipice, it’s difficult to convince those pushing to change direction. (That’s the real challenge here.)
As others have noted, anything beyond agreeing to agree that global warming is a problem (which nations have been doing since Rio in 1992) and that negotiation will continue, would be progress. Twitter posts (“tweets”) today from Alex Steffens of Worldchanging and Hunter Lovins of Natural Capital Solutions:
Steffens: Having been at both, I agree. @hlovins COP same people as at Rio saying same thing, no advances
Lovins: Insanity at COP 15. Going to 350.org event with Bill McKibben. Word is talks completely broken down. Real action in cities anyway, not here
“Cities act”
As Lovins notes, cities are moving ahead to address climate change. This week, two conferences — one in Copenhagen alongside the global summit, one in Istanbul — focus on the role of cities.
Under the banner of “Cities act,” the mayors from more than 80 cities are gathering in Copenhagen (metro pop. 1.9 million) for the Climate Summit for Mayors, which is sponsored by ICLEI and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. More than half the world’s population now lives in cities. How municipal governments and urban residents shift their practices will play a prominent role among efforts to combat climate change and its effects. From the AP:
Today’s cities and towns consume two-thirds of the world’s total primary energy and produce more than 70 percent of its energy-related CO2 emissions, the International Energy Agency reports. That will grow to 76 percent by 2030, the agency says. Most comes from electrifying and heating private, commercial and municipal buildings.
In a report last week, the IEA’s executive director, Nabuo Tanaka, said local authorities “have significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” through renewable energy and other means. “Yet relatively few are taking up the challenge,” he said.
The Mayors’ Summit can galvanize the network of cities to lead the global shift towards more conscious use of resources and energy. With more concrete understanding of how climate change may impact their cities’ residents, some city governments are forging ahead with mitigation and adaptation plans. According to David Miller, mayor of Toronto and head of the C40:
“The battle against climate change will be won or lost in cities. While nations talk, cities are acting to fight climate change.”
At one panel, Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle noted that 1016 US cities are signed onto Kyoto Treaty, even though the US hasn’t ratified the treaty.
“Cities Can Save the Earth”
2000 km away in Istanbul (pop. 12.6 million), designers, developers, academics, and advocates gathered this week for the 8th Ecocity World Summit. Proclaiming “Cities Can Save The Earth,” the conference focuses on ecological approaches to urban sustainability. “Get the city right and everything else has a chance.” From Treehugger:
With the world’s attention focused on climate change talks in Copenhagen, where world leaders may or may not reach an agreement by the end of the week, a parallel gathering in Istanbul is exploring practical solutions to the climate challenge. At the Ecocity World Summit, the answer to climate change and other environmental, social and even economic problems lies in how we design, build and live in our cities.
“Cities are important as solutions to the climate change challenge,” said Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute. Larsen, who just flew in from Copenhagen, described the negotiations at COP 15 as “a process where every country comes to the table trying to concede as little as possible. We will not solve the problem this way,” she added.
In contrast, city designers (whether they be professional planners, policy-makers or citizen activists) are already addressing the challenge, she said, by changing the way cities function. As examples, she noted a plan to make new homes in EU countries carbon neutral by 2020, and the Complete Streets movement in the US.
[updated 12/17/09]
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