Getting away from official Press Releases

Stephen Leahy and independent journalists from other countries will be reporting on COP 19, which will be held this month in at Warsaw.  They will relate COP 19 issues to the consequences of climate change in their own countries.

The COP 19 “negotiations” will continue from November 11^th to November 22. You can follow reports (in English) by going to The Climate News Mosaic.

During last year’s COP at Doha, typhoon Bopha hit the Philippines.  The delegates were moved by an emotional speech by a delegate from the Philippines referring to the death, damage and destruction caused by that typhoon. His message was simple: no more delays, no more excuses.

Apart from sympathizing with the plight of ordinary citizens, the other delegates could do nothing as their mandate had been closely scripted by their home governments.

The curtain raiser to COP 19 again involves the Philippines.   The country has been hit again by a second Force 5 Typhoon, yet even more powerful and destructive than last years. Go to Stephen’s page for commentary on this fateful co-incidence, and a Manchester Guardian article about last year’s address:  Will tears change our course of action?
(Reuters Photo)

Peter Kent, then the Canadian Minister of the Environment, was at Doha.   His contribution, in which he took great pride, was entirely negative: Canada withdrew from Kyoto.  The only good result is that Canada will be non-existent at Warsaw.  This is one way of dodging unfavourable comment from the rest of the world.

If you want a good overview of what happened (and didn’t happen) at Doha, follow these links:

Black Joke at Doha

Doha: the Week in Review

Globe and Mail:  Normal Disasters displaced 42 million people last year.