Coming on the heels of the UN Climate summit last Tuesday (Sept. 22nd) and the G20, another climate summit started in Bangkok on Monday, September 28th. Todd Stern, the U.S. climate envoy, is attending the Bangkok summit, but Pres. Obama is not. There are so many of these summits now it’s hard to keep track of them, (this one is second to last before Copenhagen) but you can follow news of this one on the UNFCCC website here.
These talks are bigger and longer than last week’s meetings. The Bangkok climate talks are building on the “Bali Action Plan” that was started two years ago. So little has actually been accomplished since then. The talks will last about two weeks, and are attended by 1,500 delegates representing 180 countries. The talks will resume on Wednesday, September 30th. (That’s the same day Senators Boxer and Kerry introduce the new U.S. Senate climate/jobs bill) Here’s an opening statement at the Bangkok talks by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer.
Highlight of his brief comments: There is no Plan B. The process is painfully slow and we must increase our ambition, to cut emissions. In other words, it’s now or never. Even the U.S. climate envoy, Todd Stern, has said things are moving too slowly. Yvo de Boer’s whole statement is here: Statement (85 kB)
Unfortunately, some things are working fast against strong climate action. Pres. Obama is talking down the importance of a climate change agreement by Copenhagen, according to the Guardian last week, and the oil industry is pouring millions of dollars into misinformation campaigns like “CO2 is Green” which makes such outlandish and completely dishonest claims such as “CO2 is Earth’s greatest airborne fertilizer. Without it – No Life On Earth!“ and “Climate Change is the Norm“. Yes, those are real statements, and deliberately intended to mislead people.
Their website might be delusional, but it’s also very slick, though everything on it is one lie after another. Why are old super-rich oil men funding this website and a new dishonest advertisement too? Because they are terrified that CO2 will be labeled a pollutant and regulated, which is exactly what should happen. They are also terrified of climate change legislation — even weak legislation like the Waxman-Markey bill. Apparently, Oil Man greed is a very powerful super-emotion — so powerful it makes men to want the planet’s climate destroyed rather then lose out on oil profits for another 10 years or until the entire fossil fuel system collapses.
Meanwhile, other countries seem mystified as to why Americans are so uninformed about climate change, and so confused. Campaigns like this are part of the reason. Some of these anti-truth campaigns and actions are overt and some of them are very sneaky, like paying people to comment on websites and even on blogs. So I hope they are discussing how to combat misinformation campaigns at the Bangkok talks. It might not be a big problem in the rest of the world but the U.S. has a huge problem with this type of thing happening.
According to the Guardian:
So who’s behind “CO2 is green” and this advert? One of its founders is H Leighton Steward who, until his retirement in 2000, was the vice chairman of Burlington Resources, a Houston-based oil and gas company bought by ConocoPhillips in 2006. Steward received the American Petroleum Institute’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in 2001 and remains an honorary director of the oil industry lobby group. In other words, we can conclude that this man boasts a particular pedigree within the oil industry.
The Washington Post (which admits it has taken a half-page advert from the “CO2 is green” group) is reporting that Steward, along with some associates, is now trying to establish the group as a charity:
Steward has joined forces with Corbin J Robertson Jr, chief executive of and leading shareholder in Natural Resource Partners, a Houston-based owner of coal resources that lets other companies mine in return for royalties. Its revenues were $291m [£184m] in 2008. They have formed two groups – CO2 Is Green designated for advocacy and Plants Need CO2 for education – with about $1m. Plants Need CO2 has applied for 501(c)(3) tax status, so that contributions would qualify as charitable donations, said Natural Resource Partners general counsel Wyatt L Hogan, who also serves on the group’s board.
How is a website full of lies a “charity”?
Also see: Barack Obama’s key climate bill hit by $45m PR campaign–Surge in oil, gas and coal industry lobbying against Democratic leadership on ‘cap and trade’ legislation.
It’s a good thing that the Bangkok talks are proceeding and that there will be other gatherings before the final decisions in Copenhagen. They are trying to hammer out the wording of the 200-page climate negotiating text before December.
“At the Bangkok meeting, the second to last before Copenhagen, 1,500 delegates from 180 countries will try to reduce the 200-page draft agreement to something more manageable. Along the way, they hope to close the gap between rich and poor positions and come close to agreement on such issues as reducing deforestation and sharing of technology.
The two-week meeting follows a U.N. climate summit last week in New York, where 100 world leaders expressed their support for a deal.
President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitting countries, each vowed tough measures to combat climate change.”
Read full article : Climate talks resume in Bangkok with deal in doubt
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