COP15 - our conclusions

Conclusions

BioRegional’s verdict on the Copenhagen Climate Conference

We went to Copenhagen to do our bit by telling delegates that from our practical experience we know we can create low carbon, sustainable communities and production systems and that it can be done cost effectively. We knew it was unlikely that a legally binding document would be signed but like everyone else we were dismayed at the petty arguments and lack of progress we observed in the UN plenaries and the lack of detailed commitments in the Copenhagen Accord.

BioRegional applied back in the summer for observer status as an NGO and so we were able to attend the main event, the UN COP15 at the Bella Centre. We also had a stand at two public conferences, the Climate Exchange and Klimaforum. We worked with the Danish Society for Nature Conservation to develop a call for action to the world leaders from the public attending the Climate Exchange which we presented to Connie Hedegaard, the President of the COP15.  You can read more about what it was like to be there in our Copenhagen report and blog.

Everyone asks us “What do you think about what happened at Copenhagen?”  Obviously it wasn’t a great result, but the fact that 120 world leaders including Barack Obama and Wen Jiabao attended and are taking this issue seriously is fantastic. Only the Prime Minister of Japan attended Kyoto. Our impression was that the overwhelming majority of negotiators and world leaders understand the science and to varying degrees, the urgency. They want to get an agreement which will keep global temperature rise below 2C. They just disagreed about what that complete agreement looks like.  They were all coming from totally different perspectives and national situations. But at Copenhagen they had to think about it from each others point of view. Unfortunately the procedural delays meant that they left the serious discussion until too late to get a deal in Copenhagen. As long we all keep the momentum up then this year they could still make the sort of deal which the world needs to stave off dangerous climate change. See what happens next when they come to lodge their commitments in the Appendix of the Copenhagen Accord on 31st January.

For BioRegional, Copenhagen has just reinforced the need for what we are doing and the importance of our work with partners in China and the USA – the two biggest GHG emitters. Our work was met with great enthusiasm and we have made some extremely useful contacts which we will follow up on in the coming months.

Your carbon footprint

We want everyone to find out what their individual eco-impact is and then make a plan to manage it at a sustainable level. Listed below are a range of ecological and carbon footprint calculators that will allow you to do just that.

It’s best to look at your total impact, that being the impact from carbon, waste, food, water and all the other things you buy and use (this is your ecological footprint). Your carbon footprint just looks at carbon.

Unfortunately there aren’t calculators for every country in the world yet, but we have done some research to find the best ones out there and have listed them below. The calculators in the list below all use the Global Footprint Network methodology – which is internationally recognised.

Ecological footprint calculators

Africa (in French) http://www.agir21.org/flash/empreinteecoweb/loadcheckplugin.html

Australia http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

Canada
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
http://toronto.zerofootprint.net/calculators/toronto
for children http://www.zerofootprint.net/products/kids-calculator

China (in French) http://www.agir21.org/flash/empreinteecoweb/loadcheckplugin.html

Egypt
for children http://www.zerofootprint.net/products/kids-calculator

Europe (in French) http://www.agir21.org/flash/empreinteecoweb/loadcheckplugin.html

Italy
for children http://www.zerofootprint.net/products/kids-calculator

Japan
http://www.ecofoot.jp

Switzerland
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

UK
http://calculator.bioregional.com

USA
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
for children http://www.zerofootprint.net/products/kids-calculator

Carbon calculators

Denmark http://www.1tonmindre.dk/beregner_start.asp?m=1&mID=84

National ecological footprints and carbon impacts
You may be interested to find out about the national ecological footprint and carbon impact of your country and others.
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint

Our solutions

We made a case study booklet for COP15 showing how our real-life projects are making massive carbon cuts while offering a high standard of living - Download PDF.

You can also look at ‘what we do’ to find out more about the sustainable solutions for a low carbon future that we are developing with partners.

Find more ways to get involved with our work in 'what you can do'.

Pledges

In Copenhagen we helped members of the public to work out their eco-impact and to then make pledges based on their biggest impact areas. We gathered 650 pledges from 52 countries which we presented to Connie Hedegaard along with a Call To Action for the world leaders.

We have sent the pledges to world leaders along with the Call to Action to help inspire them as they filled out their carbon targets for the appendix of The Copenhagen Accord.

Thanks to everyone who made a pledge - we hope that you are managing to keep them up!
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Call To Action

To support the actions of individuals and communities we ask that you introduce ‘carbon pricing’ for transport. Public transport services must be more affordable and convenient and the cost of flying should reflect the high carbon impacts of this mode of travel.

To support the actions of business and organisations we ask that you impose a cap on the extraction of fossil fuels and set targets for energy companies to increase renewable energy supply from direct investment in renewable energy projects and energy efficiency. 
 
To support the actions of cities and regions we ask that nations introduce legislation thatrequires regions to map their local resources and plan for greater resource efficiency. To support this we suggest provide a methodology, education and funding mechanisms. In particular, support local, seasonal and low impact food production. Fair trade can meet residual needs, always taking into account minimisation of overall environmental impacts.
 
To support the actions of nations/states we ask that you include nature as part of the solution because it provides carbon sequestration and strengthens nature’s ability to protect against the effects of climate change. Please ensure an end to the destruction of the natural environment, in particular virgin forest and only allow sustainable forestry which is planned with the local population and includes replanting of native and bio-diverse species.

We ask that you require all nations/states to develop an action plan within one year detailing how they will meet the targets that they have signed up to at Copenhagen. There must be rigorous and regular monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure targets are met.