Thursday, November 16, 2006
updates
Dear folks,
Political update:
(photograph right: Joining a Demo in Nairobi and meeting the president of the Conference, last Friday)
Well, things have ground down to an impasse. The Article 9 issue, on the review of the Kyoto Protocol, has now been kicked to the COP President, who is forming a ‘friends of the Chair’ group, and the issue will get sorted out at ministerial level, or not.
The day started off well, building on the momentum created last night with the adoption of the AWG text on future commitments for Annex I countries. The UK, Germany and others within Europe started floating a proposal which would get this process done by 2009, and which wasn’t half bad.
But soon, because of the informal nature of these talks, and with ministers just arriving, it broke down into a bit of chaos and loss of momentum…which is where we stand at present.
There are many who think there is still a deal to be had. The ‘problems’, on the extremes, are Canada and Japan one one side; and some combination of India, China, and of course the Saudis. There are indications that China and/or India may move in the end but that remains to be seen.
Today’s formal sessions were mostly consumed with speechifying, which if you’re interested, are no doubt reproduced in either webcast or print form or both on the UNFCCC web site.
Finally, attached please find a report from Red who took advantage of the lull in adaptation activites to dig into the status of the Special Climate Change Fund. His report is attached.
Hopefully something will happen tomorrow.
Cheers,
Steve
Well, things have ground down to an impasse. The Article 9 issue, on the review of the Kyoto Protocol, has now been kicked to the COP President, who is forming a ‘friends of the Chair’ group, and the issue will get sorted out at ministerial level, or not.
The day started off well, building on the momentum created last night with the adoption of the AWG text on future commitments for Annex I countries. The UK, Germany and others within Europe started floating a proposal which would get this process done by 2009, and which wasn’t half bad.
But soon, because of the informal nature of these talks, and with ministers just arriving, it broke down into a bit of chaos and loss of momentum…which is where we stand at present.
There are many who think there is still a deal to be had. The ‘problems’, on the extremes, are Canada and Japan one one side; and some combination of India, China, and of course the Saudis. There are indications that China and/or India may move in the end but that remains to be seen.
Today’s formal sessions were mostly consumed with speechifying, which if you’re interested, are no doubt reproduced in either webcast or print form or both on the UNFCCC web site.
Finally, attached please find a report from Red who took advantage of the lull in adaptation activites to dig into the status of the Special Climate Change Fund. His report is attached.
Hopefully something will happen tomorrow.
Cheers,
Steve
Media update from Mhairi
Raindrops keep falling on my head... no really enough already...especially as UN Guards won't allow you to "borrow" their umbrellas to traverse through the UN building and out into the torrent outside so one can stay dry heaven forbid.
Kofi appeared today and boy did we know it as barricade after barricade was erected around the compound and many more men in shades appeared, who talked to themselves alot. Even with that we were well attended at the CAN international press briefing and not a pair of shades in sight.
Steve was spectacular alongside IPCC head Pachuari, IEA Head Claude Mandile, UNEP head Achim Steiner and German Env. Minister Gabriel in the side event on the World Energy Outlook and not a nuke question in sight. Since Gabriel blasted the nuclear content of the WEO, Steve didn’t have much to add.
Media today:
Canada.am - CTV
CTV News
CBC News
Radio Canada
Reuters x 2
La Presse
Radio Canada RDI
Radio Canada "The Noon phone -in show"
Radio Canada Radio Toronto
CBC News World
Bless Rona Ambrose and her inability to see the world as it really is, and indeed bless Steven Guilbeault for helping the media understand how unable she is.
Also
BBC Radio 4
BBC World News Africa
So as they say here in Nairobi - la la salama twa nani kashu
Solar Generation Update from Agnes
Today was our now already 'traditional' Ministers event, where the SolarGeneration youth ask for a special commitment from all the Ministers. This year we asked the ministers to show their commitment to keep Global Warming below 2 degrees, by moving their flag from 5 degrees
on a thermometer to below the 2 degree line (it's a bit hard to imagine, but pictures will be available on ftp tomorrow!). Although we were only with a small SG and GP team and we had to buy all our props in the supermarket, the result looked quite impressive and we managed to get 24 ministers to participate and thereby showing their commitment!
Mhairi even noticed the UK delegate moving the UK flag to below the 2 degree line (when nobody was watching!), after we left it standing at the booth at 6 o'clock. There was a lot of media interest and a list with names of the participating ministers and heads of delegations as well as a media overview will be sent out tomorrow.
A list of countries that participated is below:
Slovakia
France
Dominican Republic
Uganda
Marshall Islands
Qatar
Namibia
Kenya
Tanzania
Guinee
Bangladesh
Kyrgyzstan
Iceland
Brazil
Slovenia
Tuvalu
Senegal
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Togo
Burundi
Switzerland
Slovenia
UK
Steve Sawyer
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