Protesters in Bonn call on politicians to fight climate change. Spielvogel / Wikimedia Commons
As the world increasingly looks to be on track for a catastrophic 3°C of global warming, world leaders and diplomats gathered in Bonn, Germany to turn the Paris agreement into a set of rules.
In that sense the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23), which concluded on Saturday, accomplished its goal of keeping the process alive by setting up the rules that will be finalized next year in Poland. But the conference also kicked a number of issues down the road. The round of climate talks heard repeated calls for a more ambitious approach to slashing carbon emissions but did not initiate any conclusive solutions, though it should be noted that no major decisions were expected.
<p>Under the Paris agreement, nearly 200 nations submitted pledges to slow their greenhouse-gas emissions to keep the planet well below 2°C.</p><p>"Climate change is an issue determining our destiny as mankind," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before acknowledging that Germany was likely to miss its emissions goals due to its continued reliance on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>. Germany isn't the only country tied up in coal. Just last Monday <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/13/climate/co2-emissions-rising-again.html" target="_blank">scientists noted</a> that greenhouse gases are likely going to rise again, in part due to the rebound of coal in China.</p><p>But coal's persistence also took a hit—more than 20 countries led by the UK and Canada launched the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Each country involved pledged to end its use of coal by 2030, while the UK pledged to cease burning coal by 2025. It should be noted that coal use has been declining in all of these countries. The U.S., for its part, promoted "clean coal" at the only side event it hosted at the summit.</p><p>Despite playing the role of obstructionist in the coal arena, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/17/planet-at-a-crossroads-climate-summit-makes-progress-but-leaves-much-to-do" target="_blank">observers noted</a> that overall, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement had little effect on the proceeding of negotiations. The U.S. didn't block anything, insiders stated, and remained neutral, while China and India didn't use the vacuum left by the U.S. to gain advantage. Outside the spotlight, a team of career state department negotiators pressured China, India and other developing countries to practice transparency in verifying their emissions reductions. At the same time, U.S. negotiators helped reject proposals from poor countries seeking an increase in climate aid from rich countries.</p><p>Unofficially, the U.S. presence was felt as a U.S. delegation sidestepped the Trump administration's obstinance on climate change. Democratic senators, governors and mayors joined the conference. "We're here because it's in our national security interests to deal with climate change," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/13/bonn-climate-summit-trump-fossil-fuels-protest" target="_blank">New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said</a>.<span></span></p><p>That cities and states are picking up the mantle left behind by Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement is not insignificant. Many U.S. states and even cities are larger than some European states, while urban centers are the primary producers of carbon emissions. "There is an impression by politicians here that President Trump in person is no longer the voice of the free Western world," Christian Ehler, a German lawmaker who heads the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the U.S., said to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/frustrated-foreign-leaders-bypass-washington-in-search-of-blue-state-allies/2017/11/17/3ad10e80-cbab-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.0ef459b00e01" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>. "We are much more carefully looking now to the diversity of what is being discussed in the United States, and we see that California is one of the powerhouses of the world economically."</p><p>By the conclusion of COP23, very few countries announced any new initiatives to cut emissions. A hoped-for announcement from China on a cap-and-trade program was delayed and Germany announced that it would hold "tough discussions" on coal in the future.</p><p>Though many <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-accord/governments-keep-global-climate-deal-on-track-despite-u-s-pullout-idUSKBN1DH29F" target="_blank">environmentalists said</a> Bonn was a step in the right direction, major issues remain to be solved. Current pledges keep the world on track for 3°C of warming, if not more. And the road to making the necessary changes to stay below 2°C seems increasingly difficult to reach. To remain below the Paris agreement's 2°C, nearly all coal plants will need to be taken out of commission or fitted with carbon technology. The transportation sector would need to transition to largely <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric-powered vehicles</a>. World carbon emissions would likely have to peak in the next few years and then fall by half every decade all the way down to zero by midcentury. It remains to be seen whether enough political will can be drummed up for such a transition.<a target="_self"></a></p>
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Martin Schulz / Flickr
Pope Francis issued a strong message to negotiators at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany on Thursday, warning them not to fall into "four perverse attitudes" regarding the future of the planet—"denial, indifference, resignation and trust in inadequate solutions."
Francis, who has long pressed for strong climate action and wrote his 2015 encyclical on the environment, renewed his "urgent call" for renewed dialogue "on how we are building the future of the planet."
<p>
"We need an exchange that unites us all," he said, "because the environmental challenge we are experiencing, and its human roots, regards us all, and affects us all."
</p><p style="">
The pontiff also said he hopes the COP23 talks would be "inspired by the same collaborative and prophetic spirit" of COP21, which led to the landmark signing of the
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> to avoid global temperature rise well below 2°C.
</p><p>
"The Agreement indicates a clear path of transition to a low- or zero-carbon model of economic development, encouraging solidarity and leveraging the strong links between combating climate change and poverty," Francis said.
</p><p style="">
Although the pope did not call any countries out by name, the U.S. is the only country not in support of the Paris agreement due to
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">President Donald Trump</a>'s declared withdrawal from the pact. Syria and Nicaragua, which were the only other holdouts, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/syria-paris-agreement-2507449170.html">recently joined the accord</a>.
</p><p style="">
Trump, who notoriously said global warming is a hoax, has filled his administration with lawmakers who question the science of climate change or
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/scott-pruitt-climate-change-2307785184.html">reject mankind's role</a> in causing the global issue.
</p><p style="">
Francis has spoken against global warming skeptics
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pope-heal-our-creation-2480285190.html" target="_blank">several times before</a>. In September, during an in-flight press conference from Colombia to Rome, the pope said that those who reject <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" target="_blank">climate</a> science remind him of a psalm from the Old Testament about stubbornness.
</p><p style="">
"Man is stupid, the Bible said. It's like that, when you don't want to see, you don't see," he
<a href="http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=16241" target="_blank">said</a> as the papal plane flew near Caribbean islands pummeled by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-irma" target="_blank">Hurricane Irma</a>. His statement was not addressed to any political leader in particular.
</p><p style="">
Meanwhile, the Trump administration used its only public forum at COP23 to promote
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_blank">coal</a>.
</p><p style="">
According to the
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/11/16/world/europe/ap-eu-rel-vatican-climate.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>, the top American representative at the talks told other delegates that the U.S. is still committed to reducing greenhouse gas even though the Trump wants to exit the Paris accord.
</p><p style="">
Dozens of nations have joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance,
<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/climate-change-minister-claire-perry-launches-powering-past-coal-alliance-at-cop23" target="_blank">launched Thursday</a> at the climate talks, to phase out the use of coal by 2030. The alliance involves more than 20 nations including Angola, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Portugal and Switzerland, according to Reuters. The states of Oregon and Washington have also joined.
</p><p>
The climate talks are expected to end Friday.
</p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Jennifer Woodard Maderazo / Flickr
Even though the Trump administration used its only public forum at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn to promote coal, it's clear that many individual U.S. businesses, cities and entire states would rather keep fossil fuels in the ground.
Oregon and Washington state have joined a new global alliance to phase out coal and switch to cleaner power sources to avoid dangerous climate change and to stay below the 2°C target set by the landmark Paris climate agreement two years ago.
<p>
The Powering Past Coal Alliance,
<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/climate-change-minister-claire-perry-launches-powering-past-coal-alliance-at-cop23" target="_blank">launched Thursday</a> at the climate talks, involves more than 20 nations including Angola, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Portugal and Switzerland, according to Reuters.
</p><p>
Notably, the world's biggest coal users—China, India, the U.S., Germany and Russia—have not joined the new pact.
</p><p>
Members of the new alliance will take actions that include setting coal phase-out targets and barring further investments in coal-fired electricity in their jurisdictions or abroad.
</p><p>
The U.S. member states have already made efforts to phase out coal. In 2016, Oregon passed the <a href="http://www.reneworegon.org/coal_to_clean_energy" target="_blank">Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Act</a> to transition off the polluting fossil fuel. And in 2014, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee <a href="https://www.governor.wa.gov/issues/issues/energy-and-climate/carbon-pollution-executive-order" target="_blank">signed an executive order</a> to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the use of electrical power produced by coal.
</p><p>
"Reducing global coal consumption should be a vital and urgent priority for all countries and states. Unabated coal is the dirtiest, most polluting way of generating electricity," Claire Perry, Britain's Minister for Climate Change and Industry, said. "The Powering Past Coal Alliance will signal to the world that the time of coal has passed. The UK is committed to completely phasing out unabated coal-fire power generation no later than 2025 and we hope to inspire others to follow suit."
</p><p>
The plan is to grow the alliance to 50 or more members by the next year's climate talks in Poland.
</p><p>
"Phasing out coal power is good news for the climate, for our health and for our kids. Coal is literally choking our cities, with close to a million people dying every year from coal pollution. I'm thrilled to see so much global momentum for the transition to clean energy—and this is only the beginning," Catherine McKenna, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said.
</p>
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Why I Disrupted Trump's Fossil Fuel Agenda at COP23: A Young Person's First-Hand Account
16 November 2017
Popular
By Michaela Mujica-Steiner
President Donald Trump's fossil fuel agenda was met with disdain Monday evening at COP23. The only official White House event was titled, "The Role of Cleaner and More Efficient Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power in Climate Mitigation." Everyday people from across the world attended it, but they were not there in support of the event, but rather in protest.
As a young person from the United States and a youth delegate with SustainUS, I felt a personal responsibility to hold the United States government accountable for continuing to block progress on the Paris agreement via their ties to a small handful of fossil fuel billionaires. I could feel my palms sweating as I waited in the security line to the get into the event.
<p>I was so nervous, but it helps to know that you're not alone—seven out of ten Americans support urgent climate action and staying in the Paris agreement. Everyday Americans and people from across the globe were standing with me at that very moment. And young people have always been at the forefront of social change movements, pushing the boundaries of what our societies believe is possible. Doing so helps to create space beyond the status quo, which is necessary to advancing the needle in favor of progressive values. By disrupting the status quo, we help to define its boundaries, and by establishing the limits, we determine and set the terms of the debate.</p><p>So that's what I set out to do on Monday evening: set the terms of the debate on fossil fuels at COP, disrupt the Trump administration's lies, inspire people back home, and most importantly, stand on the right side of history. I know that I'll remember Monday's action for the rest of my life, and I hope it will forever be a defining point throughout history when the people declared "No More" to being bullied by corporate elites for profit. </p><p>We the people stood in our full dignity and power, filling the U.S.-backed event with at least a hundred voices. Midway through our song, I looked back at the administration's baffled faces, as I quickly unfurled a banner that read "We the People" with the words "fossil fuel CEOs" crossed out at the top of it. And even when we were escorted out, we continued to sing a beautiful rendition of "God Bless the USA." Walking out of the event doors into a 200+ crowd, I started to tear up.</p><p>I have always looked up to the social movement leaders of the past whose work carries into the present. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi are my heroes. On Monday night, I imagined all the social change makers of the past right by my side as cosmic companions. They've left a legacy, and this generation can follow in their footsteps. Never in my life have I ever considered myself to be a "hero," and that's because, in these dire times, we all have to step up to the plate in being the heroes in this tragic story that is the reality of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>.<br></p><p> Local action has global implications. When I come back from these talks, I'm getting straight to work back home to ensure that my governor in Colorado, Governor Hickenlooper, does not succumb to the interests of the one percent by increasing hydraulic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/">fracking</a>. Together, we can build local movements that have the strength to create a people's uprising outside of this panel event.</p>
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Power of Positivity
By Mike Gaworecki
Last Thursday, at the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany (known as COP23), the World Resources Institute (WRI) announced that $2.1 billion in private investment funds have been committed to efforts to restore degraded lands in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The investments will be made through WRI's Initiative 20×20, which has already put 10 million hectares (about 25 million acres) of land under restoration thanks to 19 private investors who are supporting more than 40 restoration projects.
<p style=""><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture">Agriculture</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/forests">forestry</a> and other land uses are responsible for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data" target="_blank">about a quarter of global greenhouse emissions</a>, but in Latin America and the Caribbean, they account for roughly half of all emissions. That's why these sources of climate pollution are featured in the action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (or NDCs), submitted by many countries as part of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris climate agreement</a> (that's also why the UN's program for reducing emissions from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation">deforestation</a> and forest degradation, REDD+, was <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/inclusion-of-redd-in-paris-climate-agreement-heralded-as-major-step-forward-on-deforestation/" target="_blank">included in the Paris agreement as a standalone article</a>).</p><p style="">There's a plethora of recent research showing that, while halting deforestation is of course critical, the restoration of degraded forests and other landscapes are a vital component to meeting the Paris agreement's target of keeping <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">global warming</a> below two degrees Celsius.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNTA0ODUxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTE2NzIzMH0.eR6XDy_3xRyWMOd3e-IQayzoktbkKDzXTqPGWeKyt5s/img.jpg?width=980" id="c1b39" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="24fc6c5b38445f5f2f1be216f6dc40d0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Deforestation on the Peru-Brazil border.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Rhett Butler</small></p>
<p style="">Forests currently remove an estimated 30 percent of manmade carbon emissions from the atmosphere, but a suite of studies released on the eve of COP23 found that they <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/new-research-shows-why-forests-are-absolutely-essential-to-meeting-paris-climate-agreement-goals/" target="_blank">could be sequestering far more</a>—an additional 100 billion metric tons of carbon by the year 2100—if we were to allow young secondary forests to regrow and improve forest management, which would buy us more time to transition the global economy away from fossil fuels and towards renewables.<br></p><p>Another recent <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645.short" target="_blank">study</a> finds that "natural climate solutions," which consist of a number of conservation, restoration and improved management actions that help increase carbon storage or avoid greenhouse gas emissions from forests, wetlands, grasslands and agricultural lands, have the potential to reduce emissions by 11.3 billion metric tons every year by 2030—thus providing 37 percent of the emissions reductions necessary to keep global temperature rise below 2°C.</p><p>WRI originally launched Initiative 20×20 at COP20 in Lima, Peru with a target of restoring 20 million hectares of land in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2020. The initiative was intended to support the goals of the Bonn Challenge, a commitment by dozens of countries and some private entities that have pledged to restore more than 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and the New York Declaration on Forests, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2030.</p><p>So far, 16 countries have committed to restoring 53.2 million hectares of land through Initiative 20×20, far outsripping the initial goal of the program.</p><p>"Restoration in Latin America is an unmissable opportunity," Walter Vergara, the coordinator of Initiative 20×20 at WRI, said in a <a href="http://www.wri.org/news/2017/11/statement-landmark-21-billion-earmarked-restore-degraded-lands-latin-america-offering" target="_blank">statement</a>. "With more than $2 billion of investments earmarked for Latin America alone, restoration is a climate solution that works and is a great investment. Bringing degraded and deforested lands back to life is a win-win-win for investors, governments and local communities. This is precisely why restoration continues to build political and financial momentum."</p><p>But the $2.1 billion in investments pledged so far could have implications beyond Latin America and the Caribbean as investors "move more quickly than ever to capitalize on the business of planting trees," Vergara added.</p><p style="">"WRI research shows the economic benefits of restoring 20 M ha of degraded land in Latin America could reach <a href="http://wri.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%403838%26JDG%3c%3d27.85.LP%3f%40083%3a&RE=MC&RI=5754997&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=40413&Action=Follow+Link" target="_blank">$23 billion</a>, while at the same time reducing GHG emissions, improving food security and livelihoods. The success of Initiative 20×20 in attracting private investment in Latin America is a model for success for other regions and can deliver major emission reductions to meet commitments to the Paris agreement."</p><p style=""><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/2-billion-investment-in-forest-restoration-announced-at-cop23/">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>
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Indigenous communities claimed a victory at COP23 in Bonn Wednesday, as governments acknowledged their leadership role in protecting forests and containing climate change.
Despite comprising 370 million of the world's population and having communal ownership of more than 20 percent of the world's tropical forest carbon, indigenous groups were sidelined at past international climate talks. Often forced to defend their land against the encroachment of agribusiness, loggers and oil corporations, indigenous peoples have long sought international recognition of their rights, autonomy and participation in negotiations.
<p>Emphasizing their new, internationally enshrined role, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, met with indigenous representatives. The new international procedures working in their support oblige governments abiding by the framework to talk to indigenous communities when they go to the drawing board over carbon emissions. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/15/indigenous-groups-win-greater-climate-recognition-at-bonn-summit" target="_blank">Experts</a> are cautious, however, about the effectiveness that the new procedures bring in terms of including indigenous voices in mainstream debates.</p><p><span></span>"This is an important step forward but only if it really does mean that indigenous and local communities are listened to and their knowledge recognized," Clare Shakya of the <a href="https://www.iied.org/" target="_blank">International Institute for Environment and Development</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/15/indigenous-groups-win-greater-climate-recognition-at-bonn-summit" target="_blank">told</a> the Guardian.</p><p>The <a href="http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2017/sbsta/eng/06.pdf" target="_blank">2015 Paris accord</a> established a "platform for the exchange of experience and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner." The document approved in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/15/indigenous-groups-win-greater-climate-recognition-at-bonn-summit" target="_blank">Bonn</a>, however, goes beyond that, saying that countries "should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities."</p><p>Since 2015, 132 environmentalists have been killed in Brazil alone, most of whom were working against illegal logging in the Amazon. Many of the victims belonged to indigenous communities. An average of four environmental defenders are killed each week around the globe.</p><p>In 2016, a <a href="https://rightsandresources.org/en/publication/community-rights-tenure-country-emission-reduction-programs-fcpf-carbon-fund/#.Wg1m5GiCzIU" target="_blank">study</a> by the Rights and Resources Initiative found that expanding tribal land rights is the most cost-effective measure to protect forests and sequester carbon. The paper also encouraged governments to recognize tribal land rights and bring tribal input into the fold of national action plans.</p>
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COP23: Climate Conference Tip-Toes Around Regenerative Agriculture as Solution to Global Warming
16 November 2017
Popular
Unsplash
By Ercilia Sahores
On Nov. 6, the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) kicked off in Bonn, Germany, the nation's former capital. Germany is one of the world's worst offenders when it comes to pollution. It's also the largest polluter in all of Europe. But Germany is not alone in the polluting business—and countries are not the only big polluters.
The world's top 20 meat and dairy companies emitted more greenhouse gases in 2016 than all of Germany, according to a report published by GRAIN, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and Heinrich Böll Foundation.
<p style="">Let us briefly go back to COP23, where Big Meat and Dairy are also participating. Several statements have been made so far at the meeting and there have been a few surprises. Unfortunately, it seems that COP23 will not be particularly innovative, especially when it comes to agricultural policies.</p><p style=""><strong>COP23 Started Under the Following Premises:</strong></p><p style=""><strong>1. </strong>There is no time to waste and the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> must be implemented as soon as possible.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>2. </strong>The climate disasters we experienced in 2017 (devastating hurricanes and floods, long droughts and extreme temperatures) are not isolated, random events. Rather, they're directly connected to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a> and unless we do something about it, they'll become more and more frequent.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>3. </strong>With or without the U.S. being part of the negotiations, those countries that have signed up must commit to reaching the goal of making sure warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, and ideally, 1.5 degrees Celsius.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>4. </strong>Rich countries must compensate poor countries, which are the most vulnerable to climate change, even when they have been the least responsible for it. The financial commitment agreed upon in Paris is now being reviewed to see if it is sufficient and adequate. It's also crucial to determine how the funding that would have come from the U.S. will be covered once it officially leaves the agreement in 2020.</p><p style=""><strong>COP23 Surprises</strong></p><p style=""><strong>1. </strong><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/syria-paris-agreement-2507449170.html">Syria</a>, the only country that had not signed the Paris climate agreement after Nicaragua joined in late October, has finally agreed to be part of it. As a result, the U.S. has become increasingly more isolated as it's now the only nation on Earth that does not recognize the agreement.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>2. </strong>The general mood (COP's halls are usually the best place to get an idea of what people are really thinking about—beyond protocol) is that the U.S. government's decision to leave the agreement has only created a stronger sense of solidarity among nations, which can now implement and lead the charge to reverse climate change. Many nations are competing to be the recipient of international recognition, as well as the distribution of copious amounts of funding, which in turn will pave the way for the creation of a number of agencies, departments and many other intermediate bodies.</p><p style=""><strong>COP23 As Usual:</strong></p><p style=""><strong>1. </strong>The negotiation of agreements behind closed doors while civil society organizations and NGOs host side events. This is a way to prove that during COPs, there is civil society participation, but without ever really having to compromise.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>2. </strong>Giving more relevance to controversial solutions to which much capital has already been invested and promised, such as <a href="http://ecowatch.com/tag/geoengineering">geoengineering</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear">nuclear energy</a>. It's not a coincidence that despite saying the U.S. will not be part of the negotiations, the Trump administration sent a team to COP23 to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/protestors-cop23-bloomberg-2509352387.html">advocate for more fossil fuel use</a>.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>3. </strong>Pushing existing projects that have proven effective for fighting climate change, but don't seem to have the same financial incentive.</p><p style=""><span></span><strong>4. </strong>Unfortunately, from what we've seen so far, the negotiations seem to ignore <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/regenerative-agriculture">regenerative agriculture</a> as being the solution to climate change. While predictable, this is actually a greater setback than other COPs, which have at least mentioned agriculture, desertification and soil restoration as being key factors in reversing climate change.</p><p style=""><strong>Why Agriculture?</strong></p><p style="">As previously mentioned, last year the world's top 20 meat and dairy companies emitted more greenhouse gases than all of Germany. Industrialized agriculture, which doesn't account for the 500 plus million small farmers and 200 million herders that exist in the world, is a type of production that pollutes the atmosphere, our soils and waterways.</p><p style="">Industrialized agriculture has huge negative impacts on human health too. While producing and selling poison, Big Agriculture ruins not just local economies, but also the means of life and survival of thousands of farmers who rely on a healthy environment for their production.</p><p style="">At <a href="http://regenerationinternational.org/" target="_blank">Regeneration International</a>, we know that industrial agriculture is a critical part of the problem. But we also know that agriculture, done the right way or rather the regenerative way, is a fundamental part of the solution.</p><p style="">The conversations at COP23 would be entirely different if Big Meat and Dairy giants like Cargill, Tyson or JBS were held accountable for the health and environmental destruction they have caused—a significant portion of which has been funded by government subsidies.</p><p style="">COP23 negotiations could actually focus on real solutions if polluting corporations acknowledged their contribution to climate change, and transitioned away from chemical- and factory farm-based agriculture to a system focused on soil health, animal welfare, nutritious food and farmworker rights.</p><p style="">Instead, the negotiations have thus far focused on whether or not the Paris agreement is achievable, a lack of funding and Trump's latest insult. A genuine effort to hold polluting corporations accountable would shift the mood at COP23 from the same corporate rhetoric we so often hear to one centered on human health, environment and climate-related solutions.</p>
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Kumi Naidoo: UN Shouldn’t 'Pander to Madness That Comes Out of the Trump Administration'
14 November 2017
Climate
South African activist Kumi Naidoo joins Democracy Now! at COP23 to discuss the U.S. presence at this year's U.N. climate summit.
"The U.N. cannot continue to pander to the madness that comes out of the Trump administration," Naidoo said, after the U.S. hosted a panel at the conference with a forum pushing coal, gas and nuclear power.
Watch the interview below:
Here's a transcript of the interview:
Amy Goodman: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We're broadcasting live from the U.N. climate summit here in Bonn, Germany. We just played for you the protest that took place, the revolt that took place yesterday at the U.S.'s only session that they held here, this first COP after President Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. But it's a four-year process. And if that goes through, it ends the day after the next Election Day. The official debut of the U.S. administration was at a forum pushing coal, gas and nuclear power, the presentation including speakers from Peabody Energy, NuScale nuclear and a gas exporter.
We are continuing our conversation now with Kumi Naidoo, South African activist, former head of Greenpeace, now chairperson of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
Now, we have pleaded with David Banks, the U.S. president's representative, President Trump's representative here, who said he was completely accessible, stayed right next to our booth throughout the time all of our producers went out to talk to him, but said he would not come on the broadcast, at least today. We'll attempt to try. But, Kumi Naidoo, as you went off the set for a few minutes, you got a chance to speak with David Banks.
Kumi Naidoo: Yes. I spent about 15 minutes with him. He seems to be a decent human being. He basically is not denying any of the things that we are saying, but his argument is, "Oh, technology and innovation will sort everything out." And I—
Amy Goodman: But not solar and wind.
Kumi Naidoo: Yeah, yeah. No, it's really focused on a hold—and I put it to him that "Do you realize that you are actually giving up economic opportunities, because of successful economies?" Body language suggests that they are aware of that. And the fact, the isolation—and they say they—President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of coming back. But right now, let me tell you—and, Amy, you and I have been at COPs for so long. Right now, almost now, people want to say, "Actually, if the U.S. is going to behave like this, better they stay out. Let the rest of the world go ahead. And we'll work with the governors of those states that want to be involved, the majority of municipalities in the United States that want to be involved, the civil society." And—
Amy Goodman: This is the We are Still In coalition.
Kumi Naidoo: Yeah, yeah.
Amy Goodman: Yesterday, Governors Inslee and Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, and Washington state, almost took over the U.S. government's press event—
Kumi Naidoo: Yes, yes.
Amy Goodman: —by just coming in and stating, basically, "This is a sham."
Kumi Naidoo: And I want to say something to the UNFCC. The people that did that peaceful protest, they've been debadged and thrown out. Right?
Amy Goodman: They have been, yesterday?
Kumi Naidoo: That's what I understand. I stand to be corrected, if that—anyway, I did a protest; that's what happened to me, as well, some years ago. But what they did with that panel, this only first panel, is an impeachable offense, really. I mean, it may—they come and present something—
Amy Goodman: You mean the U.S. government.
Kumi Naidoo: The U.S. government.
Amy Goodman: The Trump administration.
Kumi Naidoo: To do a panel that actually goes against 99.99 percent of those scientific consensus in the world—right?—and to give them a platform to do that, I say to the UNFCCC that, in fact, it is inappropriate, and the U.N. cannot continue to pander to the madness that comes out of the Trump administration. We have to say to them, "If you want to be out, you stay out. Don't come and poison this negotiations the way that you're doing." Those that are aligned to the vision of the Paris accord, limit—you know, imperfect as it is, let us move ahead. Because what they do here is they come, they suck up a lot of oxygen, they hold back negotiations. And let's be blunt about it. It's not as if the Obama administration was perfect here. They also held us back. It's just that, you know—or, certainly, the Trump administration—
Amy Goodman: We have 10 seconds for your final message.
Kumi Naidoo: —also did it. So, time is running out. We need American people. And we are happy that at least the American people are with us, if not the American president.
Amy Goodman: We thank you so much, Kumi Naidoo, South African activist, former head of Greenpeace, now chairperson of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
And that does it for our broadcast here in Bonn, Germany.
Reposted with permission from our media associate Democracy Now!.
UNFCCC
The prime minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, is the official host of this year's UN Climate Summit, COP 23. But we're meeting in a cold, rainy small city in Germany, Bonn, not the sunny tropics of Fiji. Logistics dictates that. Fiji could not host, nor many countries afford, to fly there for the conference.
But it's also symbolic—small island nations like Fiji are at greatest risk for actual physical extinction from climate change and associated sea level rise, and Fiji has already had to move 40 communities away from the heat driven tides. Soon some of them will be forced to relocate—climate refugees may well be one of the most dramatic early warning signs if we fail to curb the rising thermometer—and the swollen oceans that thermometer inexorably entrains.
<p style="">Bainimarama also sounds one of the key themes of this year's conference—at the host pavilion, Fiji displays an island outrigger and the president's theme is "We are all in the same canoe." An astonishing array of societies seem ready to embrace that reality—even the Saudi government pauses in the middle of its rather fraught current crisis to concur, affirming its support for the agreement. And the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/syria-paris-agreement-2507449170.html">Syrians join Paris</a>, clearly for the purpose of highlighting American isolation as now the only functioning society to reject the agreement. (Functioning of course is in the eyes of the beholder).</p><p style="">In withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, Trump famously announced that he, after all, represented Pittsburgh, not Paris. Pittsburgh, however, is in the canoe with Bainimarama, not sulking on the sands with Trump. Mayor Bill Peduto is here, following up on his sharp rebuke to Trump's claim to represent his city, which, after all, voted overwhelming for Hilary Clinton. Back in June Peduto's response to Trump denigration of Paris was to <a href="http://time.com/4802340/paris-agreement-pittsburgh-mayor-bill-peduto-donald-trump/" target="_blank">slam him for claiming to speak for Steel City, saying,</a> "We will follow the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>."</p><p style="">Now Peduto is here with another pungent message for the President. "Time moves in one direction. If you wait for the mills to come back, or the mines to reopen, you are just going to wait. Pittsburgh is not waiting. In Alleghany County where the U.S. coal industry was born, near where the first oil well was drilled, and at the center of the natural gas fracking boom, we have more workers in the solar industry than coal, oil and natural gas combined."</p><p style="">Peduto isn't ceding anything to Trump—not even newly bulked up Twitter. <a href="https://twitter.com/billpeduto/status/929679913908690944" target="_blank">Here's a sample of what he is sending home from Bonn</a>:</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4741d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76PYWE1576663517"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="929679913908690944" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bonn Voyage. Thank you @ICLEI @MikeBloomberg @algore & my fellow Mayors. We ALL have a responsibility to protect ou… https://t.co/QTjlGaAH0E</div> — bill peduto (@bill peduto)<a href="https://twitter.com/billpeduto/statuses/929679913908690944">1510487938.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">I encounter Peduto at the U.S. Climate Action Center—the unofficially outsourced presence of America at this COP since the Trump administration refused to properly support the official federal government pavilion.<br></p><p style="">In response, the mobilization of cities, states, universities and businesses that flip back and forth between calling themselves "America's Pledge" and "We are still In" created a new thing—a space not for a country's government but for a society. It was so unusual that even the friendly UN had to make us locate ourselves outside of any official space—which simply meant anyone could come without a credential, and come they did. We had 45 minute waits to get into what turned out to be the largest single venue in Bonn, filled with hot and cold running U.S. Senators (all alas Democrats), coffee better than anywhere else, and a contrast that caused New York Times reporter Lisa Friedman to compare the physical scale of Donald Trump's "Great Again" (but not so big) America with the America's Pledge presence.</p><p style="">Here's Friedman's tweet of the official U.S. presence:</p><p style="">And here's, as she said, the entrance to the official U.S. Pavilion:</p><strong><br></strong><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="700e4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="P6BSJR1576663517"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="928984838497079296" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Tiny US del office at #COP23. https://t.co/faWPYjUWQX</div> — Lisa Friedman (@Lisa Friedman)<a href="https://twitter.com/LFFriedman/statuses/928984838497079296">1510322219.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">And just for contrast here is the alternate, Bloomberg-funded U.S. Pavilion. This is just the entrance.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed" style="">
</p><div id="d7eea" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5MESWP1576663518"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="929024312706764801" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">And just for contrast here is the alternate, Bloomberg-funded US Pavilion. This is just the entrance. #COP23 https://t.co/udwXKtTHys</div> — Lisa Friedman (@Lisa Friedman)<a href="https://twitter.com/LFFriedman/statuses/929024312706764801">1510331631.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style=""><a href="https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/929024312706764801" target="_blank"></a>The energy around this space prompted Friedman <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/climate/bonn-climate-change.html?_r=0" target="_blank">in a subsequent article</a> to say:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Informally led by Gov. Jerry Brown of California; Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, and Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington ... Perhaps no group has made a bigger splash on the world stage this year than the coalition of the United Sates governors, mayors and businesses who call themselves the <a href="https://www.wearestillin.com/us-action-climate-change-irreversible" target="_blank">We Are Still In</a> coalition"</p><p style="">A lot of eloquence, and frustration, and caring has been expressed here. But maybe the sharp physical contrast between the Fijian canoe, the shuttered office that President Trump thinks expresses greatness, and the grit that has—and continues to—express Pittsburgh and the American people, says it best.</p>
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Protestors Halt Trump’s 'Clean Fossil Fuels' Panel at COP23, Dismissed as 'Promoting Tobacco at a Cancer Summit'
14 November 2017
Popular
Thuli Makama
By Andy Rowell
Donald Trump's attempts to promote so called "false solutions" at the UN climate conference in Bonn backfired badly Monday.
The U.S. delegation had organized the event, "The Role of Cleaner and More Efficient Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power in Climate Mitigation," to promote what many see as "false solutions" to climate change, such as nuclear, the misnomer of "clean coal" and carbon capture and storage or CCS.
<p>It included speakers from, amongst others, Peabody Energy, the largest coal producer in the U.S. "The discussion needs to be not if we use coal but how," argued Peabody.</p><p>However, the event was disrupted by activists singing a version of "God Bless the USA" and holding banners such as "We the people." Participants were also heckled and booed.</p><p>Just after White House energy adviser George David Banks began the introductions, hundreds of activists stood up and started singing lyrics that included the lines: "<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOh-QpeX4AAKxKl.jpg" target="_blank">So you claim to be an American</a> / But we see right through your greed / it's killing all across the world for that coal money / we proudly stand up and tell you / to keep it in the ground."</p><p>Collin Rees, a campaigner from Oil Change International who was in the room, tweeted: "Protestors just shut down U.S.-sponsored event on "clean fossil fuels" at #COP23—hundreds of people streaming out, singing & chanting. Room is nearly empty now that they're gone! #WeThePeople"</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="ca464" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="WCQ7E61576663519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="930140967042273281" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Protestors just shut down U.S.-sponsored event on "clean fossil fuels" at #COP23 – hundreds of people streaming out… https://t.co/QHPCUOF8eY</div> — Collin Rees (@Collin Rees)<a href="https://twitter.com/collinrees/statuses/930140967042273281">1510597862.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>In total, the protest delayed it by seven minutes, but its impact went global. As the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/13/activists-singing-god-bless-the-u-s-a-interrupt-u-s-coal-focused-event-at-climate-conference/?utm_term=.308336406a0a" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> noted, "The interruption underscores the controversy over the panel, as well as the broader animosity toward the Trump administration at the climate conference."<br></p><p>Delegates lined up to criticize the event. <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/13/white-house-bonn-climate-talks-protest-244846" target="_blank">Tuaoi Uepa</a>, a delegate from the Marshall Islands, called it "ridiculous," adding, "There's no such thing as clean fossil fuels ... We can't move to the future like that."</p><p>Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/930121983492280320" target="_blank">argued</a> in a Twitter post that "promoting coal at a climate summit is like promoting tobacco at a cancer summit."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4822c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="JJBE0D1576663519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="930121983492280320" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My statement on the U.S. fossil fuels event at #COP23 today. https://t.co/ajEeoV0QEw</div> — Mike Bloomberg (@Mike Bloomberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/statuses/930121983492280320">1510593336.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Washington State governor <a href="http://pic.twitter.com/SW0fod1FlJ" target="_blank">Jay Inslee</a>, a Democrat who attended the event, also tweeted that the world "has rejected <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@realDonaldTrump</a>'s <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier">denial of climate science</a>."<br></p><p>Makoma Lekalakala, a delegate from <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-science-wine/drinking-age-oldest-evidence-of-wine-making-found-near-tbilisi-idUKKBN1DD2KM?il=0" target="_blank">South Africa</a>, added, "They are climate criminals … We should stop them promoting false solutions to climate change."</p><p>After being evicted, the activists continued their protest outside, singing: "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/13/activists-singing-god-bless-the-u-s-a-interrupt-u-s-coal-focused-event-at-climate-conference/?utm_term=.308336406a0a" target="_blank">Climate justice now</a>! Keep it in the ground!"</p>
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'Music Is Our Universal Language': Celebrities Unite on Climate Action at Carnegie Hall Concert
07 November 2017
Climate
Pathway to Paris
Pathway to Paris gave voice to the urgent issue of climate change on Sunday night at Carnegie Hall, celebrating the launch of its 1000 Cities initiative and the organization's three years of environmental advocacy. Founded by Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon, Pathway to Paris orchestrated the event in partnership with the UN Development Programme and 350.org—bringing together a collection of artists, activists, academics, musicians, politicians and innovators to shine a light on 1000 Cities' imperative mission, supported by a Care2 petition which invites the world's cities to transition off of fossil fuels in a call to action.
The evening opened with powerful speeches and performances by Pathway to Paris founders and curators of the evening, Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon, encapsulating the essence of Pathway to Paris. "Climate change is our unifying global concern," said Jesse Paris Smith. "It breaks down and defines the geographical borders and walls we have created, it unifies us all and urges us to realize our collective voice."
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMzQ4MjAyNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTg2NTE0NX0.WjMcglSBumDnHcCLZb8MlLuWdVLy_W_45M4IMIBG2PY/img.jpg?width=980" id="62473" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="febc19901e2aa7ba88cdc8850f9b1d77" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Flea performs.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Pathway to Paris</small></p><p style="">"Music is our universal language. The power of music brings us together, showing how truly interconnected we all are. The Earth is our home, and our home <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-water-epa-pruitt-2303183613.html">is in danger</a>. The signs are loud and clear, there is no longer time for borders and walls. Our hope is that by the end of this night, you will all be climate leaders." Foon went on to announce the new 1000 cities initiative. "We believe the solution lies within transforming our cities and communities," said Foon. </p><p style="">"This evening, Pathway to Paris is launching the 1000 Cities initiative, an initiative to unite the world to move above and beyond the targets outlined in the the Paris agreement. Tonight we are inviting 1000 cities around the world to become 100% renewable and transition off of fossil fuels by 2040 in order to make <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris</a> real."</p><p style="">The evening's attendees enjoyed many once-in-a-lifetime moments, including R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe covering "Sunday Morning" by Velvet Underground, Patti Smith's retelling of Cat Stevens' "Where Do the Children Play" and Joan Baez dancing with Talib Kweli, who was backed on the bass guitar by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d46c64e9e75515349d2d9178f1951f14"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/benandjerrysUS/videos/10155106398626461/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p style="">Concert-goers were also asked to participate in the evening's events, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/community/bill_mckibben/">Bill McKibben</a> paused the show for 60 seconds to allow attendees to write letters to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt">Scott Pruitt</a>, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Olafur Eliasson used <a href="http://littlesun.com/shop" target="_blank">Little Sun</a> solar-energy lights to orchestrate a breathtaking illumination of Carnegie Hall, before revealing that each light used would be sent to Puerto Rico to help those still lacking power following <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-maria">Hurricane Maria</a>. Tenzin Choegyal also invited 10 Himalayan elders to the stage during his set to sing in the beautiful hall.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMzQ4MjI2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTk0NDcyMn0.iCNSRxZBYbcGYvRAG0xNULh_uOlcP7NPE-YMb8NYw20/img.jpg?width=980" id="7d9f4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="05e5a0bbe10a1f40c565834a512a9f41" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon meet with Bill McKibben.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Pathway to Paris</small></p><p style="">Heralded by Patti Smith's fierce cries of "it's decreed the people rule," the crowd ascended into a deafening chant as Stipe, Baez, Kweli, Cat Power, Tanya Tagaq, Tenzin Choegyal, Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon and the 3,000 people in attendance contributed their voices to "People Have the Power;" collectively reminding the world that we have "The power to dream, to rule and to wrestle the world from fools." </p><p style="">The festivities continued late into the night as concert-goers, VIPs and the evening's talent gathered together in celebration. Guests included Maggie Gyllenhall, Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Norton, Mario Batali and Nick Zinner of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.</p>
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UNFCCC / Facebook
By Robert McSweeney and Rosamund Pearce
For the next two weeks, thousands of negotiators, policymakers, researchers, journalists and campaigners are gathering in Bonn for the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23).
The talks—hosted by Fiji, but held in Germany—are the next installment of UNFCCC international climate negotiations, following on from the landmark Paris agreement at COP21 in 2015 and the steps taken towards implementation at COP22 in Marrakech last year.
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Carbon Brief dives into the data to find out how many people each country has sent to Bonn—and the gender balance of each delegation.
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<strong>Parties</strong>
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According to the UNFCCC's <a href="http://unfccc.int/documentation/documents/advanced_search/items/6911.php?priref=600009876" target="_blank">provisional list</a>, there are some 11,300 participants at COP23 on behalf of a particular country or "party." That's down from <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-which-countries-have-sent-the-most-delegates-to-cop21" target="_blank">around 15,000 at COP21</a> in Paris in 2015.
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In addition, there are a further 6,176 attendees representing UN bodies, specialized agencies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), plus 1,633 journalists covering the talks. This puts the total number of delegates at just more than 19,000—approximately half the number that went to COP21.
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Carbon Brief's analysis of the provisional list shows that the largest party delegations come from Africa—in fact, the whole top five of our list are African countries.
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In first place is Côte d'Ivoire with 492 participants; a delegation that is 137 people larger than the second-placed country, Guinea (355 people). It's second place again for Guinea, whose 398-strong delegation was only smaller than Morocco's (439) at COP21 in Paris.
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Making up the rest of the Top 5 is the Democratic Republic of Congo (340), Congo (308) and Morocco (253).
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The highest-placed European country is Germany in sixth with 230 participants—perhaps unsurprising considering the talks are being held in Bonn.
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Other European parties with sizeable delegations include France (177), Poland (77) and the European Union (76). The UK comes someway down the list with 45, which is the average delegation size across the 196 parties attending Bonn.
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Despite President Donald Trump's intention <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/global-reaction-trump-pulls-us-out-paris-agreement-climate-change" target="_blank">to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement</a>, the U.S. has still sent 48 delegates to Bonn. Though this is less than half the number present at COP21 in Paris in 2015. In contrast, neighbors Canada has a team of 161.
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Other prominent CO2 emitters also have large delegations, including Indonesia (158), Brazil (128), Japan (109), China (82) and Russia (71). It's also worth noting that some countries allocate some of their party badges to NGOs, which can artificially inflate the size of their official delegation.
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You can explore the delegation sizes across all the countries represented at COP23 in the map below. The darker the shading, the more delegates that country has brought along. Mouse over the countries to see the number of delegates and the population size. </p><p>
The full list of participants and party delegation sizes can be found <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O77lFB_pcVmosqS9mSzB5LdnOdeaPzkH0qztFFk81rQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p>
Note: This data is based on the number of people who had registered for the talks by the end of October this year. The UNFCCC will publish a final list at the end of the COP. Our analysis is based on named participants only, which account for 8,795 people out of a total of 11,306. As Carbon Brief discovered in our analysis of <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-which-countries-have-sent-the-most-delegates-to-cop21" target="_blank">delegates to COP21</a>, the UNFCCC does not provide details of some "party overflow" delegates.</p>
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<a href="https://public.tableau.com/views/DelegatestoCOP23bycountry/Dashboard1?:embed=y&:embed_code_version=3&:loadOrderID=0&:display_count=yes&publish=yes" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMzQzOTk1Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDY3MDg1OX0.F-E7NkNg368bqju0M7x5hPxXZ2fFHLdYBCIbOVuHYeg/img.png?width=980" id="e37b5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb237f92bd5329b6321364318ea47d0b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a>
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<p><strong>Gender Balance </strong></p><p> As the UNFCCC's list provides the full name of each participant, it's possible to work out the balance of men to women that each country is sending to Bonn. On average, party delegations at this year's COP are 62 percent male to 38 percent female</p><p>Some large delegations with an even male-female split include Turkey (86 delegates, 50 percent female), Poland (77 delegates, 53 percent female) and hosts Fiji (74 delegates, 50 percent female). The UK team is 67 percent female to 33 percent male, while the U.S. delegation is 38 percent female.</p><p style="">
Three countries have sent all-female delegations to COP23: Latvia (five delegates in total), Albania (four) and Guyana (four).
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In contrast, five countries have sent entirely male delegations: Libya (11 delegates in total), Mauritius (four), the Republic of Moldova (three), North Korea (three) and Somalia (three).
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Eritrea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also have all-male delegations, but these three countries have only sent one person to the talks. The Vatican (six delegates) has also sent only male representatives, but the Vatican is only present at the negotiations as an "Observer State" rather than a party.
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<em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-which-countries-sent-most-delegates-cop23" target="_blank">Carbon Brief</a>. </em>
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