Carlos García-Robles

This morning’s meeting was probably the last one. A lot of us have been disappointed about what has happened (or not happened) here at the COP. Even though it was somehow expected, we are still drained and depressed.

After the meeting, I went to sit in one of the multiple corners of the venue, and saw all these people walking from one place to another trying not to be late for the next (possibly) senseless meeting or negotiation.

Well, maybe for big business it’s not so senseless, they are definitely the big winners here, as they will keep on with their "business as usual" plus they will get some more profit from polluting with all these crazy offsetting mechanisms.

So expectations to reach an agreement here at Poznan are very low. As I see it, these negotiations are sold out to the people with fancy suits who got us in this mess in the first place. Will you allow them to keep making the COPs a series of international business meetings to see how they will take advantage of climate change as a business opportunity?  Ok, some of my colleagues from FoE tell me that not all businesses are bad, like wind and solar... But the problem is how businesses are structured and how they work, not what they sell.

As global civil society we should block this nonsense and make a call not to accept what’s going on here. I don’t understand why people can’t see the urgency of our situation, this is why it is so important to inform and empower!

I’m a little disappointed about the international youth group (not Young FoE - those guys are great), at first it was looking good, they were planning outrageous actions to wake the delegates up, but sadly some of those involved watered down the actions (just like some of the grown ups also at the UNFCCC), afraid they would loose their accreditation. BUT, there are some youth groups and young people that are not letting themselves be manipulated by the status quo, these are the true heroes and my respect goes out to them.

OK! I feel better now! No more pessimism. We need to keep on fighting for a fair and clean planet. You probably are thinking that I’m too pessimistic and that I’m not giving any positive thoughts on how we could fix this mess.. but that’s another post =)

PS: Poland is sooo much into 80s pop music!! you can hear it all over the place. Maybe there’s a historical reason why?

Cheers!

I had decided to take Monday off, but, guess what? Even though there are no formal negotiations today, I'm here at the conference attending all sorts of press conferences, side events and meetings. So much for taking it easy.

Here at the COP 14 most people are talking about CDMs, REDD, FCPF, LCA and..GEF. Hold on.. what!!?? No, I didn’t get it either. Uhh well, some of these things have to do with offsetting.. aha, yes ..well, this means for example that if I throw rubbish in my back yard, I can pay my poor neighbor some money so he doesn’t cut his grass so the wind can blow some of my rubbish in his backyard and then he keeps it there well hidden, because this would mean ..it would mean... no I don’t know what it would mean!!

This is ridiculous, wouldn’t it be easier not to throw any trash at all? And in this case, stop emitting Co2??

To me it just sounds like legalized bribing to keep polluting so big business can keep making more profit and governments are letting this happen just because they are scared their economy will collapse. But then again, isn't this happening already??

Cheers!

YEAAHH!! On the morning of the 6th I just couldn’t get up, not only because of this exhausting week - the party last night also had something to do with it. However, thinking that I was going to bike and march for the climate just pulled me out of bed.

After a good breakfast, we headed to the "castle" in downtown Poznan where at least 200 people were ready to send a strong message: if we as people from all over the world can get together to move around the city without emitting any Co2, why can’t everyone else?

Our Polish friends made arrangements so that everybody could have a non Co2 emitting two wheeler and they did it very well. We had a great ride.

A polish Santa was leading the group shouting climate change stuff in polish, while we were waving at the crowds gathering on the pavements. Everybody was smiling and having fun, plus it was the best way to get to know and feel the city.

And after the ride, the march! It was amazing. It looked more like a party than anything else, people were cheering, laughing, dancing, playing music and having fun. Some had all sorts of crazy outfits, banners and painted faces.

And yes, as always in these kind of demonstrations the police were all over, it was crazy, after the bike ride we saw this police guy with a tank of tear gas, guess where, in front of the MC...yes... pathetic.

The scene was amazing though, people gathering on the streets to fight for the climate were surrounded. Front and back there were police cars and police men following us all the way on the sides. The, almost, armoured horses were blocking the side  streets and a helicopter was following us all the way to the conference venue. 

There was so much positive energy and determination though, for most of the time, the police were merely a slight distraction.

At the end it all turned out well and people felt they had accomplished what they set out to do. We had this feeling that at last something had happened that was worth being happy about.

Now its Sunday morning and the Friends of the Earth International folks are having a very technical meeting reviewing all the outcomes of the week. I’m just sitting here trying to look smart and taking notes.

There's a lot of talk about the Climate Justice Now - a coalition Friends of the Earth of involved with - because of the great response there was to the march which they organised. Lots of groups had Climate Justice Now banners, especially the ones from the South. This movement could be a force to be reckoned with.

Thanx for reading!
Carlos

Hello all!

AHHH I am exhausted and it is only the 4th day of negotiations at COP14! 

All this energy from so many people with so many diverse interests and concerns is overwhelming .. but you know, this makes me think that all of this movement, all these side events, workshops and negotiations and so on is like a smokescreen or a diversion from really engaging in real concrete action and just going directly to the point!!  

Yeah yeah I know.. it's "very complicated" but aren't all these people attending this conference just too busy keeping busy on so little? 

People! We have a deadline to try to save the planet! Scientist's have said repeatedly that if we,  (meaning we as all of us no matter from which country or region) do not stop emitting so much Co2 and other green house gases by  

RIGHT NOW!! we will reach the point of no return very soon. 

I don't want to apply scare tactics on you or anybody, I just would like to hear a country delegate say.. "ok my country will stop emitting hazardous gases to the atmosphere NOW! We will do it by changing our consumption patterns, our transportation habits and by the way, this will not be a problem for the people, will not increase hunger, unemployment...etc., etc..." 

Ok ok ok.... I'm being a little pessimistic. Yesterday some countries actually proposed some serious and provocative statements, like Gabon and Brazil. That was great! But these are just little baby steps compared to what needs to be done! And it has to be done now!

I sound repetitive, but yes, its all about the money and the power, and some people are ready to compromise the climate and the planet just to get them.

Not all hope is lost though. The amazing thing about these international conferences is the amount of amazing people from all over the world with a legitimate interest to stop climate change and start working together. This  

generates huge networks where information, projects, points of view and experiences are shared. This is where my hopes are. On the people. All Friends of the Earth's friends that are here are just giving it all to keep up. They are working with so much passion and are managing to spread the message that we need to speed up! We together as people can make a difference! Keep up the good work.

Cheers.

Carlos

Hello all!

Right now there is a climate conference going on in Poznan, Poland. Actually it's the 14th conference of its kind and it is properly known as Conference of the Parties or COP 14. A bunch of FoEI members from all over the planet will try to post as much as possible so you all get the feel of what is going on down here in this amazing city.

OK Lets start! The weekend is over and already so much has been going on and we are already exhausted! The youth international group had their conference this weekend it's filled us up with so much energy! These guys are so well organized.

We were also inspired by the launch of a new coalition called Climate Justice Now. This could be the beginning of an international civil society climate movement and could be an amazing voice at the climate talks.

Something that made us laugh was the Climate Action Network's Fossil of the day Award given to countries who seem to be doing the least to combat climate change. Today Poland was the fossil!!

Friends of the Earth folks for the next couple of weeks will be focusing on emission reduction commitments by developed countries (or Annex I countries), conservation of forests (REDD) and finance technology and adaptation. But this blog will be also talking about other activities in and outside of the COP, including the highly active social movements.

COPs are just talk talk talk but the range of NGOs and civil society groups (particularly youth) who are here pushing for equitable and sustainable action on climate change gives inspiration and hope. The welcoming ceremony this morning gave us all plenty of warm fuzzies with statements such as "we are all children of mother earth" (Polish Environment Minister and President of COP14) and plenty of calls for real commitments despite the global financial crisis - which many countries are currently using as an excuse for evading climate action. Whether this talk actually translates into action is another matter entirely.

AHH, I almost forgot, at the welcoming ceremony governments, markets and business were mentioned as crucial to combat climate change but... what about people? People were the big absent actor as a factor of change.

Today's action: the car advertisement covering half of the front entrance to the COP venue disappeared last night, replaced by a 'let's create a climate for change' COP banner, a smart move by the organizers!!

See you!

Carlos and Hannah