CYDaily Paris - The Paris Agreement - Updates from Saturday December 12th
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- Published on Sunday, 13 December 2015 21:00
- Written by editor
Highlights of Day 13 at COP21
• The Paris Agreement: “Not bad but not bad is not what we were rooting for” - Yeb Saño
• We abandoned COP21 on the last morning of negotiations to join 15,000 people in the streets for the D12 mobilizations
• What’s next?We have a new climate change agreement
After two long weeks, and the customary extra day that these negotiations inevitably bleed into, we have a Paris Agreement. We have felt every emotion over these past weeks, and now they are wrapped up in this 31 page document that is supposed to aid us in turning the course of catastrophic climate change.
How did it all turn out?
Well, it is the most all-encompassing climate deal
in our planet’s history. Through the hard work of frontline
communities and global movements, there are encouraging elements in
this new agreement. Most notably, the agreement includes a ‘hat-tip’
to 1.5C as a goal for maximum warming, along with a promise to keep
warming “well below” 2C. There is also a new mechanism in place to
increase currently inadequate ambition to achieve those temperature
goals. This comes in the form of a first ‘stocktake’ in 2018, then
5-year review cycles with increasing ambition after that. Common
But Differentiated Responsibility, a central
component of Mitigation and Adaptation, is a win for developing
countries. Support for developing countries has been made clearer
through a work plan - The Paris Committee on Capacity
Building.
We fought for a text that would include language
around human rights, rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the rights of
people living under occupation tobe included in the legally binding
portion of the agreement. Unfortunately, these are now only in the
preamble (the least binding part of the text) and “people living under
occupation” has been completely removed from the text. We fought for
Loss and Damage to be recognized as a standalone article distinct from
Adaptation, and it is, but now with a clause stating countries won’t
be liable or ordered to provide compensation. We fought for a
commitment to decarbonization by 2050, but instead we have a vague and
diluted commitment to reach emissions neutrality by the “second half
of this century.” If you are still trying to wrap your head around
what this all means, there is a great infographic
by Climate Trackers here.
After a long and frankly exhausting two weeks of negotiations, we sat in the overflow room next to the main Plenary Hall, watching world leaders and civil society erupt into applause as the agreement passed. It felt historic, and it was, but what rang most true were the words from the delegates of South Africa, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. This agreement fails those bearing the brunt of climate change; the “countless catalogs of grief” for countries like the Philippines.
This agreement brings the international community together around our shared fight against climate change, but our movement will have to push for every victory along the way.
D12
We know that the Paris agreement isn’t based on equity or justice. There are positive things that come out of this, but at the end of the day we can’t hedge our bets on international conferences. The power to make transformative change comes from the original caretakers of the land, those on the frontlines, and those standing with them. On the last day of COP21 we stood with 15,000 people in the streets of Paris as an act of mass civil disobedience.
The Red Lines action was planned for the last day of COP21 to demonstrate where the real power lies, who has the solutions to climate change and whowill be resisting, fighting and creating change around the world. These actions were particularly empowering and beautiful because protests are currently banned in France due to the State of Emergency. The actions were as much about climate justice as they were about people reclaiming their right to protest.
At the sound of a first foghorn, thousands occupied a street, flanked by the the Arc de Triomphe and the city’s financial district. Red banners, the lengths of city blocks, were unfurled. Another foghorn sounded and people began to lay flowers; then, a moment of silence was observed to pay tribute to the victims of climate change.
The brass bands echoed the heartbeat of the movement and we chanted about climate justice, anti-capitalism, and democracy. After weeks in the conference centre, it was indescribably beautiful to take to the streets and feel the power of the people around us.
We then took our Red Lines to the Eiffel Tower and had an
impromptu sit-in. This is where we learned how hollow and
disappointing the outcome of the negotiating process was.
Where do we go
from here?
At the Closing Plenary of the Paris agreement, the South African representative read out a Nelson Mandela quote:
“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
After a 21-year-long negotiating process, we now have the broadest climate agreement in history but it still falls so far short of what our planet and its people need.
On our part, we plan to spend the next couple days sleeping, reconnecting with our loved ones back home, and taking some much needed time to recover. Then, we’ll bring a deepened resolve to the work we are doing in our communities across Canada - from fossil fuel divestment campaigning, to stopping tar sands expansion, to building a just transition to a clean energy future.
We’ll also be reaching out, planning, and getting
ready to take bolder action next year. Now, we get to define what the
Paris Agreement really means. We hope that you will join the fight for
climate justice in the local struggles and campaigns near
you.
See you in the streets...
- The Canadian Youth Delegation to COP21
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