By Pastor Dean Simpson, for the Chippewa Valley Post
Editor’s Note: Rev. Dean Simpson is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church and chairs a newly formed Eco-spirituality Working Group whose membership includes several other clergy, UW-Eau Claire science faculty members, JONAH members working on “environmental justice” issues and other community members. The group is working to convene community conversations focused on the intersection of faith/spiritual values and community action on global climate challenges.
Pastor Simpson is providing summaries of the most important developments at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, which began on Nov. 30 and will run until Dec. 11 with a goal of reaching a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change. Additional summaries will appear regularly in this space. To see previous reports, click here.
Highlights from the Paris Climate Summit (COP21): Days 5 & 6 (Dec. 4- 5)
Republicans in the U.S. Congress have said they will not ratify any treaty on climate change. French President Francois Hollande said, “If the agreement is not legally binding, there won’t be an agreement, because that would mean it would be impossible to verify or control the undertakings that are made.”
President Obama may have found a way around this impasse. On Tuesday he said, “Although the agreements themselves may not have the legal force of treaties, the procedures that ensure transparency and periodic reviews…need to be legally binding. That’s going to be critical for us having high ambitions and holding each other accountable.”
“Let me be clear: this is still not enough.”: On Friday, Dec. 4, the President of COP21, Laurent Fabius, reported on the progress of the negotiations. He spoke of the “slight progress made since Wednesday evening”, before emphasizing the urgent need to make headway. “Let me be clear: this is still not enough. The text remains too long and complex. Not enough compromises have been reached on unresolved issues.”
Saturday, Dec. 5: “We have a new universally accepted basis for negotiations,” declared French negotiator Laurence Taubiana. ” The text, adopted following a week of wrangling between negotiators from around the world, is 48 pages long and has a great number of options that the ministers will need to decide from Monday onwards, to achieve the adoption of a universal pact by next Friday. “The work is not complete, and major political issues need to be decided on,” Taubiana said. ”We will need all our energy, intelligence, capacity for compromise, and ability to think long-term if we are to achieve our result.”
Also on Saturday: Talks were given a boost with a special message of support from astronauts in space. Astronauts’ testimonies were played to delegates imploring them to work together to reach a deal to limit global temperature rises and protect the ecosystem. The Association of Space Explorers reached out to their fellow astronauts on the “Spaceship Earth” to pass on a simple message of solidarity, hope and collaboration to combat climate change and reach our political leaders during this crucial time. Very moving! (See it on Youtube at “Call to Earth” – https://youtu.be/NN1eSMXI_6Y)
Other quotes:
German chancellor Angela Merkel: “Through our presence here today we show we are stronger than the terrorists…Paris is about creating the basis, the foundation of a possible life for future generations. We are more than aware of the need to act today.”
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull, prime minister of Australia: “From Australia we come with confidence and optimism. We are not daunted by our challenge … we do not doubt the implications of the science.”
Irakli Garibashvili, prime minister of Georgia: “I cannot underscore more the importance of reaching an agreement. And failing to agree, in a sense, would be agreeing to fail.”
Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden: “Sweden is ready to enter into an ambitious, durable and fair agreement. Our main concern is to keep global warming under the two degree Celsius limit. Let’s not see Paris as an end but as a beginning.”
David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: “What would we tell our grandchildren if we fail to agree on a deal?”