Copenhagen Accord Leaves Many Unhappy

The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference has now closed, wrapping up the marathon talks that were attended by representatives from 193 nations.

The conference has seen the development of what will now be known as the Copenhagen Accord, which is a statement of intent surrounding climate change and not a legally binding treaty. The Accord was led by the United States, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and rather than setting specified greenhouse gas cuts it instead outlines a committment to limit global temperature changes to within 2 degrees Celcius. This 2 degree C range is significant as it is seen as the threshold or tipping point for dangerous changes to our global climate.

Under the Accord all countries are to submit written plans to the United Nations outlining how they plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions by January 2010. These will then form part of the Accord.

The Accord also outlines a commitment to developing countries to provide $100billion per year in aid from 2020, although the details of this commitment are not yet clear.

It is important to note that generally United Nations led talks are meant to be agreed by unanimity, however a compromise was reached in this instance to avoid the talks collapsing entirely. Instead those countries that were in favour of the Accord can be listed alongiside those that were against.

The nations of Sudan, Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezula and Bolivia were very vocal in their denouncement of the Accord.

The details of the Accord will be followed up on during hte upcoming conference in Bonn, Germany due to take place in May 2010, with the final outcome expected in teim for the Conference in Mexico at the end of 2010.

Penrith Walks Against Warming

After a week or so of overcast, cool and showery days it was a minor miracle that Sunday 11 November dawned as a mostly sunny and fine day - just perfect for the Penrith Walk Against Warming.

More than 100 people turned up to Weir Reserve in Penrith to lend their support to the walk, which aims to increase awareness of the issue of climate change and global warming among all levels of the community.

Just after 10am the crowd gathered for a couple of short speeches - one from Councillor Karen McKeown, who is Penrith City Council's Sustainability Champion, and another from a concerned local resident, Nevin Sweeney. Following these words the group headed off for a march along the Great River Walk.

It was a leisurely stroll alongside the beautiful Nepean River with most people stopping to pick up a temporary tattoo to mark the day!

After getting back to Weir Reserve there was plenty of time (and space) to relax with a sausage sandwich and cold drink thanks to the Penrith Lions Club and to pick up a free native tree to take home and plant in the garden.

All in all it was a great day that I'm sure will be bigger and better in 2008!

Swimmer Suffers for the Planet

When you think about the impacts you might ‘suffer’ if you were to make some changes to live more sustainably and reduce your impact on climate change they probably seem fairly inconsequential when you read about the extremes that swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh has gone to! Suffering through shorter showers and having to deal with the inconvenience of TVs and washing machines switched off at the wall just doesn’t seem to cut it.

On July 15 Pugh undertook a world first by swimming a kilometre in the north poles freezing waters (-1.8˚C!!), and he did this to raise awareness of the effects that climate change is having on the polar ice caps and the rapid rate at which they are melting. Pugh says ‘I can’t think of a better way to show that climate change is a reality than by swimming in a place that should be totally frozen over.’

Pugh braved the water for 18 minutes and 50 seconds while he thrashed out a lazy kilometre in a pool formed in thick ice by rising global temperatures. On emerging he said “I hope my swim will inspire world leaders to take climate change seriously. The decisions which they make over the next few years will determine the biodiversity of our world.”

It’s definitely inspiring to hear of someone so committed to a cause, and his brave call to action has generated a huge amount of media highlighting the issue of climate change and the need to act now. Though, based on the number and content of articles and stories that have been appearing in the media these days about climate change, global warming and other related subjects it seems that global attention to this issue is quickly increasing in priority and becoming more mainstream.

This week's announcement by the Federal Government of their plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme by 2012 is just another sign that climate change is an issue that is not going to disappear.

So, why not be inspired by Lewis Gordon Pugh and take the time to make a few more changes for the planet – lucky for us we needn’t jump into freezing cold water to do it! Although I do hear that Greenpeace are looking for volunteers to strip off for a photo on a shrinking glacier in Switzerland in the next couple of weeks!

But seriously, there are plenty of ways you can make a difference – check out some of our fact sheets or visit the websites listed below.

Useful Websites:
1. NABERS - http://www.nabers.com.au/home.aspx
2. GreenPower - http://www.greenpower.gov.au/home.aspx
3. Energy Smart - http://www.energysmart.com.au/
4. NSW Government Climate Change - http://www.greenhouse.nsw.gov.au/
5. It's A Living Thing - http://www.itsalivingthing.net.au/
6. Australian Greenhouse Office - http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/