At the United Nations Climate Summit, on September 23, President Obama said:
For all the immediate challenges that we gather to address this week -- terrorism, instability, inequality, disease -- there’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate.Then he bombed ISIS in Syria, and Climate Change vanished from the media. However, there was an effort by Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate PAC to make Climate Change a factor in the election.
When we meet next Thursday, after election day, we will know if the Climate Change issue had any impact at all. We will look back at the UN Climate Summit and consider what was said by the two most prominent speakers, President Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio.
-------------------------------- Update 11/6/14 -------------------------------
Here are links to some of the information that was referenced in our discussion:
1) Book about Climate Change impact on world security:
Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence by Christian Parenti
2) On the Pentagon report that Climate Change as a threat multiplier, including "infectious diseases and terrorism." The full report is HERE.
3) Concerning the methane plumes in DiCaprio's talk, here is some background information on methane hydrates.
4) Climate Action Plan that was mentioned by Obama in his UN summit talk.
5) When Obama said that the US was helping developing nations in Africa to get clean energy, he was referring to the Power Africa program.
6) Here is a list the UN Climate Change Conferences. Kyoto was COP3 in 1997. Copenhagen was COP15 in 2009. Next month is COP20 in Lima. Next year, at COP21 in Paris, the nations of the world will make pledges, hopefully binding, to meet carbon reduction targets.
I think that Obama should have said that terrorism and disease are made worst by Climate Change. This would have kept Climate Change alive as an issue, even as the media was distracted by ISIS and Ebola. It may have also improved the Democrats chances in the election.
ReplyDeleteCOP-20, in Lima, Peru, will start on December 1.
ReplyDelete"COP-20 is the last meeting of the parties before next year’s meeting in Paris (COP-21) where countries will decide on a new global climate agreement under the UNFCCC. Much of what is decided in Paris will be negotiated over the coming year; indeed, a draft negotiating text will be prepared before the Lima conference. COP-21 in Paris is the world’s last chance to achieve a global, legally binding climate protocol or other legal instrument, and the decisions made at COP-20 directly impact the level of ambition and scope of the agreement to come out of Paris."
See http://www.columbiasd.org/cop-20-for-beginners/
Last Sunday, the IPCC issued the final part of its Assessment Report on climate change, AR5. Here is a link to the IPCC webpage. The report represents the best scientific opinion on Climate Change and it say that Climate Change is real, caused by man and will cause serious problems if nothing is done.
ReplyDeleteHere is a YouTube video of the announcement, which include Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon has become the default world leader to push for climate action. It was he who called the climate summing in New York in September.
In the video, Ban Ki-moon says he was not a scientist, but unlike some Republicans, he speaks to them to learn about climate change.
We now have an answer in the effectiveness of Tom Steyer's effort to make Climate Change a political issue, see How Green Was My Election
ReplyDeleteThis article has a more positive spin for Climate Change as an issue in future elections.
Delete“A climate denier can’t win the White House in 2016 — and the GOP knows it,” said Taylor-Miesle, citing Republicans’ use of the much-lampooned “I am not a scientist” talking point as evidence that “flat-out denial is no longer an option.”
Here is an article which identifies the top carbon emitters by country and region.
ReplyDelete