Or, as my grandmother used to say: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.” So, with that in mind, here are two stories representing the bad and the good.
First, the bad news: 2009 carbon emissions fall smaller than expected is the headline from the BBC. In a letter to “Nature Geoscience,” leading researchers working under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project, report that developed economies’ emissions fell but China’s and India’s continued to rise. Japan had an 11.8% drop in 2009 over 2008, the UK 8.6% and Germany 7%. However, China, number 1 on the global hit parade of CO2 emitters, had an 8% increase, and India 6.2%.
We appear to be continuing on the business as usual track that nearly every scientist in the world, most Fortune 500 top executives, the majority of financial and insurance industry leaders, and policy makers from every major political party in the entire world – except the American Republican party – agree is the road to climate catastrophe. I’m not, by the way, making a partisan statement. It’s a statement of fact. Just like climate science. Sorry, but I am, after all, a member of the reality-based community.
The good news: World mayors sign climate change pact. “Participants from some 135 cities and urban areas — including Buenos Aires, Bogota, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Paris and Vancouver — signed the pact which states their intention to adopt a slate of measures to stem climate change,” reported the AFP. The World Mayors Summit on Climate (WMSC) yesterday sent “…a clear message to the international community on the strategic importance of cities in the struggle against climate change.” These mayors are not waiting to act to realize the benefits of creating vibrant mass transit systems, open space and urban agriculture, distributed generation of power and energy efficiency retrofits. One of the organizing bodies for the summit was ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, a group that has been doing pathbreaking work for years. One of the important initiatives launched at the summit was the The carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR)
Another important venue for these sorts of urban breakthroughs has been the C40 Cities – Climate Leadership Group. There is a lot of work to be done and a whole lot of it is being done in our cities by leadership that is interested in pursuing good public policy.
The question, at the end of the day, is will we have done enough good to offset the massive harm that’s being inflicted on old Gaia?
