Tuvalu shuts it down

BANKSIDE, LONDON, UK -- Well, I am back! Sadly and kind of depressingly, really. But I can sure say I made the most of an unbelievable experience. More on this later, but for now, here is the latest article I have posted on G-1 Billion, "Tuvalu shuts it down."

http://g-1billion.org/?p=2325〈=en

Tuvalu shuts it down

11 DECEMBER 2009 BRANDON PERLOW 4 VIEWS NO COMMENT SHARETHIS

Brandon Perlow

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – Wednesday morning during the second official Plenary of the COP 15, a serious rift emerged within the developing bloc.

Tuvalu, a small island state in the South Pacific, ultimately asked for a halt to negotiations and COP 15 President Connie Hedegaard granted it. Tuvalu, the third-smallest country by population and fourth-smallest by land area, has a maximum elevation of only 15 feet above sea level. As a result, any sea level rise of more than 4-5 feet would be catastrophic for the country, covering parts of every atoll and island in Tuvalu.

Six months ago Tuvalu submitted a proposed “Copenhagen Protocol,” representing the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). AOSIS consists of 37 United Nations member states stretching across all populated Oceans – the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific – and represents 20% of the UN’s total membership. Individually they may not have much power, but on Wednesday they spoke with a collective voice. Furthermore, they received support from many states in Africa who are also most vulnerable to climate change; Sierra Leone, Senegal, Rwanda, Togo, Kenya, Gambia, Niger, and Mali all spoke in support of the Tuvalu proposal. The proposal is the strongest on the table for those in favor of “going far, fast.” It sets a legal maximum of 350 parts per million of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the highest sustainable total according to the IPCC. It drastically enhances the Clean Development Mechanism and REDD and includes articles protecting indigenous people, financing for adaptation to climate change, regional technology centers for technology transfer, and a global mitigation insurance fund.

By contrast, China, India, and a small number of Middle East states proposed only amending the Kyoto Protocol, and opposed the idea of creating a new Copenhagen Protocol. They want Kyoto to be made significantly stronger, with large commitments from Annex I countries and the United States, but appear to not want any actual targets for themselves.

Tuvalu and AOSIS requested a working group be established to consider the Tuvalu proposal. However, a consensus is required to establish a working group, and because of the China-India protests, President Hedegaard denied it.

In response, Tuvalu demanded a halt to negotiations, and they received it. “We are here to seal the deal,” the Tuvalu diplomat said. “The time for procrastination is over… Now is the time to deliver!”

Negotiations re-open on Saturday morning.