Some Twitter reports from Durban
Twitter / @john_vidal: how many countries will he …
how many countries will head home so they dont have to be seen rejecting #cop17 Durban deaL?
Twitter / @JonathanWootlif: I just saw EU #cop17 #clim …
I just saw EU #cop17 #climatechange negotiator, Connie Hedegaard, have temper tantrum on reviewing the latest draft text here in #durban
Twitter / @YolandiG: Standing at the entrance o …
Standing at the entrance of the minister’s meeting. Not much happiness here #COP17 #grimfaces
Twitter / @BBCRBlack: Overheard #cop17 outside c …
Overheard #cop17 outside closed room; “that is the ‘what the heck do we do now?’ meeting”
Twitter / @LangBanks: #COP17 #climate update: no …
#COP17 #climate update: no new developments other than to say there are far fewer people here now + they all keep checking their watches!
Twitter / @ClimateGroup: #COP17 question marks over …
#COP17 question marks over whether enough ministers left to provide a quorum. Things need to move faster to agree any outcome.
Thanks to Tom Nelson for collecting these
Another disappointed attendee:
What a pity they failed as ” A new UN study released at the time of the conference, warns that up to a third of all animal and plant species are at risk of extinction due to climate change.”
http://www.euronews.net/2011/12/10/cop17-too-late-to-save-kyoto/
So, not good for the plants and animals and not good for mankind either, “There have been discussions taking place in closed doors by those in power, who have colleagues in the corporate world and the decisions are not in the interests of mankind.”
http://www.wdm.org.uk/climate-change/cop17-whos-interests
I guess they should have just stayed home and saved the planet by not flying 48000 people to SA.
Hey Ho.
15,000 delegates not to mention the hangers-on, must have spent about $/€10,000 each, totalling a staggering $/€150 million for achieving nothing at all. How many dying children would otherwise have been saved by these 150 million dollars/euros?
Criminal.
Look up Connie Hedegaard’s wiki entry if you want a laugh. It was obviously written by her or an underling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Hedegaard
She is described as a “public intellectual” in the lead and also as being, “behind Denmark’s energy successes.”
Her “energy successes” include:
Reducing energy use
Increasing taxes
Increasing subsidies
Greenpeace already seems to be blaming the failure on coal and oil interests.
“……Err… yes it is. It’s only 12 days to midwinter. *Mid*winter.”
Umm, no. Winter starts on the shortest day of the year. In the northern hemisphere that is december 21st. It last for 3 months. This is grade school atronomy.
Her scientific qualifications are astounding. She has evry right to make pronouncements on all scientific matters on which she is intimate, as a rearcher and author. Meaning NOT A DAMN thing!
In summary a total ZERO, unqualified to check coats at the door.
But she is probably fully capable of growing into the position of checking hats, in perhaps a decade more of seasoning.
“Brandon Caswell says:
December 10, 2011 at 9:46 am
Umm, no. Winter starts on the shortest day of the year.”
Only in the US. In Sweden it starts on December the 14th. In the UK the accepted start of winter is the 1st of december, taking the three traditionally coldest months of the year as the season. Traditionally the solstice, being the shortest day of the year, was held as the middle of the season, hence the common name name “midwinter”.
Correction, October the 14th in sweden, not december.
Good to see that Western governments are getting it right. They are backing sloooowly away from climate change activism. It may be true that a conference such as Durban costs some money, but that’s fine. It serves the purpose of providing cover to decision makers. As such they are far cheaper than the alternative, which would be to carry out real climate-change policies, such as taxation, cap-and-trade, and foreign aid by the spadeful to the Tuvalus of the world.
Western politicians know that the issue of the day is the economy. Period.
Consider the actions of our own fine President: how much cheerleading have you heard from him for the Durban conference? Any? How about deputies in the appropriate departments? Anything from them? No? Funny, isn’t it?
Climate change activism in the West is dying exactly slowly enough to allow most politicians to save face.
An excerpt from the joint statement from the U.S and the EU before Durban:
“On climate change, we affirm our intent to work closely together to ensure a positive, balanced outcome in Durban, including mitigation, transparency and financing. We stand fully behind the commitments we made last year in Cancun.”
We “stand fully behind the commitments we made last year in Cancun.” And what commitments were those? Non-binding commitments to CO2 emission levels.
Yep, no question. We sure stand behind those.
Ruth_Kruger RT @tallthall: #EU sound nervous, Venezuela empowered and angry #EUStandFor5 #COP17
ShonaghLindsay @CHedegaardEU: Support Africa and keep standing up to the US at #COP17! We need EU leadership now more than ever @Avaaz
laurinliu COPpr during plenary: the process is fragile& will not survive another round. There will be opportunities in future to raise ambition #COP17
pritiriyer I’m sorry developing countries, but your views are not relevant here at the #UNFCCC #COP17 – paraphrasing the chair of the AWG-KP
calitzwillemien Bolivia does not support EU proposal. #cop17
So this is all just really an exercise in punishing the US and EU? I think “the process” is going to get a lot more fragile, too.
Apparently it is being live-blogged here:
http://www.symnews.org/
Breaking news Tuvalus new airport to be converted to a sea plane operation, because of the failure of Cope17.
“SYM Team:
What will you take home from COP17?
Sarah Rifaat, 27, 350.org – Egypt
‘A deeper understanding of what still needs to be done. There will definitely be better cooperation and collaboration between me, my co-workers and other organisations. We are solidifying the global movement. I hope to bring good news to Egypt and build on that back home. There has been lots of talk around the impacts of climate change on Egypt at COP17.”
Now just who is 350.org? Apparently it’s job is to extract cash from businesses and is a spinoff or merger of 1sky:
http://forestindustries.eu/content/rockefellers-1sky-unveils-new-350org-more-more-delusion
And … apparently … a Fenton Communications “client”!
What should scare people in the UK to death is that whatever comes out of the UNFCCC in Durban will be immediately implemented by DEFRA as that is their policy. They have “internationalized” their regulations and as soon as any formal document comes out, they will be on the telephone to Tyndall Centre at UEA with their checkbook at the ready to sign a consulting contract for implementation methods.
The UK will begin to pay immediately.
If the EU was really serious about helping developing countries it would get rid of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Customs Union opening up free trade from those developing countries into the EU. Same for the US. Until they do this all their BS is just hot air and the money pledged intended to facilitate the gravy train, graft and corruption.
donfabioni Kein Ende in Sicht…
(no end in sight)
katrienbarrat #COP17 quote of Belgian negotiator : a sinking titanic on which the band is playing bis songs and expecting applause..
RT @ur momisuglyamarapossian: Just asked @ur momisuglyCYD_DJC policy team for an update. “It’s a cluster fccc” #shitmydelsays #cop17 #climate
EU commiss Hedegaard holding firm on legal instrument binding for all parties at COP17, closing ambition gap by 2020. #COP17
dbiello BOEMRE’s Daniel Riefsnyder of USA only American to get applause @ur momisugly #COP17.
tallthall Saudi Arabia: “This current report is much less than we hoped for and expected,” more pressure on developing countries, less on rich #COP17
OH, NO!!!
kate_sheppard Ah, LCA chair is Daniel Reifsnyder, from US State Dept. #COP17
My ‘Secret Santa ‘ gift to an employee at our work christmas party, will be a donation on their behalf to the website of one of ‘the few’. Those who devoted their time, effort, health and as well as their time with those they love to open honest science and the advancement of learning.
May I suggest the ‘donate’ buttons have an option for a gift voucher. The voucher could be in the form of a reparation or apology and can be handed to those from whom we have had to defend the efforts of McIntyre, Watts, Nova, Daly, Id, Plimer, Monkton, Montford, McKitrick, Carter, Lindzen, Bolt, Delingpole, the bloggers like Willis, and the supporters like Anthony’s Pete (an incomplete list of selfless dedication to a simple principle) from accusations of denier, shill of big oil, anti-science (another but vile list).
Seasons greetings to the ‘Deniers’ and I have found what I believe to be appropriate latin to place on the COP17 burial site at Durban;
Scientia vincere tenebras
“Conquering darkness by science”
Good news. Now lets hope we are right.
In less than an hour it will be Sunday morning in Durban. And still they drone on, 24 hours after the conference should have closed. No telling what mischief will come out of this. Reminds me of the old Texas saying “A man’s family and property aren’t safe when the legislature is in session.” (Which is why the Texas legislature only meets for 140 days every 2 years.)
What is truly dismaying about all this is that there are several thousand UN and NGO and Governemnt bureaucrats who receive salaries to continue “The Process” for another year.
The Process is dead; long live The Process.
These bureaucrats must be put out of their misery: fired!
TheGoodLocust says:
December 10, 2011 at 9:22 am
Look up Connie Hedegaard’s wiki entry if you want a laugh. It was obviously written by her or an underling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Hedegaard
She’s got degrees in literature and history and was a journalist for 14 years. What the h*ll are her qualifications to be climate change expert?
Oh, I guess contrary to the arrogant and condescending attitude of Gavin, Mann, et al., you really don’t need any.
TheGoodLocust says:
Look up Connie Hedegaard’s wiki entry if you want a laugh. She is described as a “public intellectual”
I frequently hire public intellectuals 🙂
To all COP17 attendees. Don’t forget to turn out the lights. You don’t want to be responsible for destroying the climate.