Let’s start with the gut feeling. To be honest its a little hard to write an update when you feel like nothing productive has happened over the last two weeks. Watching the plenary / negotiation sessions for the last three days has amounted to watching countries’ repeat their positions (and the intractable differences between them) on repeat. Sort of like that bad dream that you keep having over and over. You just want to scream “I get it – you all disagree. Now pull yourselves together and protect the future.” It’s a perfect example of a time when the politics of the possible fail worse than miserably to do what is necessary.
(Photo: Scanpix/AFP via UNFCCC)
I’m not exactly sure what I was hoping for coming into the conference. As a “dedicated realist” I had given up hope of a real deal months ago yet somehow somewhere in my heart I thought that maybe the grown-ups had something up their collective sleeves to protect our future. Seems like they didn’t. The mood during Obama’s long-awaited speech summed it up. Obama came on, said more or less exactly what he has been saying for months, and then left. I can’t tell you what I wish he had said but I can tell you I wish it had been something different. I love and trust the guy but but I couldn’t help but feel let down.
The hope all along for me has been that despite the mindless bullshit in the public negotiations, negotiators might be paving a real way forward in private. That the US and China might announce a new agreement today (Friday). That countries might announce a breakthrough on MRV. That some country somewhere might step up to the plate. So far … just silence. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow to news that makes this post seem silly. Hope so.
This week has been sort of a crisis of ideals for me. On one hand I always do my best to be reasonable – I’m the guy in touch with the politics who firmly understands why Obama’s hands are tied by the Senate. The guy who appreciates that he is trying but understands why he can’t offer anything remotely in line with the international community (let alone the science). On the other hand I can’t help but wonder why the science doesn’t even seem to matter. Why the fact that our failure to act is (literally) going to destroy entire countries (see AOSIS) doesn’t even seem to matter. Why the fact that Yemen’s best option may simply be to relocate its entire capitol due to lack of water doesn’t even seem to matter. I can’t help but feel sick to my stomach in spite of the fact that I “understand the political realities.”
I’ll put something more coherent together once I have some time to think, but for now I can’t help but just feel cold, tired, and demoralized.
One thought on the bright side: A huge shout out to Rep. Jay Inslee, Rep. Tim Ryan, and Rep. Steny Hoyer for being true champions. They took time away from the Bella Center to have dinner with a group of US youth, and I have to admit that I left feeling much better. Not only did they take the time to talk to us – Inslee actually reached out to invite us to meet and talk strategy. A Congressman inviting a group of youth to dinner? And they say we can’t change the world. Inslee is the kind of guy who makes me feel okay about our Congress. To quote my friend Ben, “The real question for our organizing in 2010 is how we make 100 more Jay Inslees.”
- reposted from Students for a Sustainable Stanford
by Eli Pollack, student
Stanford University
