7.1 D Responses to Climate Change

D- The responses to climate change

• from a local scale

i. ‘Livesimply’ campaign

· UK schools, initiated by Catholic Church

· Ran throughout 2007

· Encourage students to evaluate how they make choices in life

· Students were encouraged to think about their impacts on the world and sustainability

· Energy efficient water and central heating systems run by renewable sources

· Notices to turn off lights

ii. School 10% group (aims to reduce 10% of electricity used)

· Used idea of reducing 10% of electricity

· Air conditioning units were changed so they could be set to temperatures

· Electricity is shut down by the school daily

· ‘No resources day’ encouraged students and teachers to use less resources

· Moved on to encourage reduced usage of paper – paper quota

· Notices on light switches

· Changed lights to fluorescent lights (energy saving light bulbs)

· Money saved was used to further increases sustainability of the school environment

iii. ‘Manchester is my planet’ local group in UK

· ‘pledge campaign’ to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint

· ‘Green Badge Parking Permit’ – parking discount of 25%

Only people who were recognised as low carbon emissions could apply for this... (hehe VIPs)

• Global scale

i. Kyoto protocol

ii. UNCC meetings (United Nations Climate Change meetings)

iii. NGOs (B-I-NGO, B-I-NGO, B-I-NGO and bingo was his name-o!) Non-Governmental Organisations eg. GREENPEACE

· Trying to make governments change their policies

· Creating energy in a more sustainable way

· Inefficient power stations waste energy in cooling towers àuse combined heat and power stations

· High carbon emissions from cars -> low carbon cars are needed, public transport efficient

· High carbon emissions from planes ->higher flight taxes, no more new airports = less carbon emissions

• World superpower meetings (Bali in 2007)

i. Earth Summit – 1992 led to treaties and eventually....

ii. Kyoto conference 1997, obviously about the Kyoto protocol

· Countries signed the Kyoto protocol and promised to reduce their carbon emissions (eg. EU – by 8%, US – by 7%)

· However, some countries have signed but not ratified it (eg. US and Kazakhstan)

iii. Climate Change conference in Bali, Indonesia - Dec 2007

Representatives of 180+ countries

Resulted in the ‘Bali Roadmap’ Bali Action Plan (BAP)

· Long term global goal for emission reduction

· Consensus - a need for “deep cuts for global emissions”

· Policy approaches in REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) in developing countries (LICs / MICs)

· Nations will consider how to facilitate the development & transfer of renewable energy technologies in LICs / MICs

iv. Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark – Dec 2009

· Copenhagen accord by China, US, India, Brazil and South America judged ‘meaningful agreement’ by US (isn’t that sort of dumb, you help write it and then praise yourself again.....)

· Failed in the end, no consensus was met

· Wikileaks said China and US joined forces and hindered every attempt to reach an agreement