Climate Change March in Doha

Climate Negotiations are over for another year with little progress in Doha by any one's measure as the scientific statements on climate change and the impacts we are already feeling as evidenced in record Arctic melting, and extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines, and Cyclone Evan in the South Pacific are growing much stronger.

Some of the latest scientific research shows:

• Sea Level rising 60% faster than IPCC projections
• Methane and CO2 in thawing Arctic permafrost a climate tipping point
• Collapse of Siberia's Coastline is Releasing Huge Amounts of CO2
• Greenland Ice sheet suffers unprecedented surface melt
• Indian Monsoon more likely to fail as global warming accelerates
• Southern Ocean warming impact on Antarctic Ice Sheet Stability and sea level rise

Photos: Photos by World Resources Institute | Photos by Oxfam | The Verb: Climate March in Doha | The Verb: COP18 Actions
Related: Deep emissions cuts urged at climate summit | Towards a Grand Compromise in the Climate Negotiations | COP18, another 'Conference of Polluters' | An open letter to governments and their negotiators | Climate compensation row at Doha | Forest Groups Protest False Solutions | IPCC's Planned Obsolescence: Fifth Assessment Report Will Ignore Crucial Permafrost Carbon Feedback! | Methane and CO2 in thawing Arctic permafrost a climate tipping point

We are hurtling along, actually accelerating our emissions, heading for a climate cliff towards a chaotic and dangerous future (See Guy McPherson on the end of the world) and negotiators think we can put on the brakes at the last minute. Unfortunately what action the global community takes using an agreement negotiated by 2015 to come into effect by 2020 will be far too little too late. Climate physics will trump all the hot air in climate policy negotiations.

It is the failure of leadership and ambition of industrialised countries like the United States, Canada and Australia in making the deep cuts to emissions necessary which is hampering and sometimes actively obstructing progress. The Bali roadmap in 2007 adopted the scientific projections of 25 to 40 percent emission cuts by industrialised countries on 1990 levels by 2020 for a 50 percent chance of not exceeding 2 degrees of warming.

"It is vitally important to remember that the dangerous experiment we are performing on the climate system through our emissions of greenhouse gases continues unabated, with global emissions still growing at an alarming pace. The climate system will not wait decades for the governments of the world to inch towards an agreement. This trend needs to be reversed quickly. The outcome of the Doha talks is therefore extremely disappointing, if not unexpected." commented Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London.

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, said "We leave this conference wondering when ambition will come back to the table. There will be no jobs in a dead planet, nor a Just Transition with this outcome" said Ms Burrow. "The more we wait for having ambitious emission reduction objectives, the more the transition will be unfair. We need time to build a Just Transition, to put in place the social policies to help working people fully participate in a sustainable economy. Delays will make our task difficult, almost impossible. In order to be Just, the transition must start now, " said Ms Burrow.

Civil society NGOs condemn lack of progress at climate talks

Leaders of Civil Society groups gathered just after the conclusion of the final plenary at Doha and made clear that it is still business as usual with little progress in negotiating emission reductions. Although nominally the Kyoto Protocol will continue until 2020, it is a shadow of itself and the first commitment period with Russia, Japan, Canada and New Zealand all withdrawing.

Read more at Climate IMC article

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