The Daily Tck

Race to the Future: www.tcktcktck.org

4 April 2011
Summary of the Current status/situation
Developed countries presented their emissions pledges yesterday, as well as how they plan to reach their targets. Today
developing countries present, outlining the mitigation actions they pledged to take and the support they need to deliver
those actions. In parallel, negotiators will also be speaking about how to design the technology mechanism that was
agreed in Cancun, and what its governance structure could look like. We didn’t really expect any surprises from
yesterday’s presentations, but you never know, and so some of us had hopes. But developed countries did not come up
with new or more ambitious pledges – pledges that would be more consistent with their fair share of the emissions
reduction effort the world needs. Countries reiterated the need to increase the level of ambition, and acknowledged that
there is a gap between what they are currently pledging and the cuts that are necessary to keep global warming below 2
degrees C. However, they kept referring to 'conditions' that must be met before they increase their targets.

The workshop also created space for discussion, questions to presenters and scrutiny about the targets and approaches
that were presented. Almost all countries agreed that their emission reduction plans should be comparable under
common accounting standards to ensure environmental integrity – except the US, for which they were criticized. The
US criticized other developed countries for not being ready to properly account for their forest and land-use loopholes.
It got juicy when the Philippines asked the EU why their 20% by 2020 target should be considered a sign of leadership
when implementing their domestic policies alone will result in domestic cuts of 25% by 2020. How can you say you are
leading and ambitious when you aim at something that’s weaker rather than stronger than what you will achieve
anyway?

Presentations by a few developed countries indicated that they seem to be moving in the right direction, showing a clear
intent to race ahead towards a zero or low carbon economy. The best was Norway with its 40% by 2020 target, the UK
with an 80% by 2050 target in their national law, and Germany with its decadal targets that would also add up to an
80% cut by 2050. So we saw only a few leaders from whom the many laggards will have to learn a lot. However, let’s
not despair! Even if these workshops will not produce stronger targets or increased support for developing country
actions, they can definitely be an important and useful milestone towards a solution, as long as negotiators in Bangkok
agree on how they will follow up with concrete steps, a plan and a timetable to close the massive gap they all had to
acknowledge yesterday.

What is happening?
What’s happening? According to our South East Asian colleagues climate change is happening, and it’s no fun but
rather a disturbing chaos. Of course weather is different from climate, but still they feel that the amount of unusual
weather phenomena and weather extremes amount to a worrying experience of climate change. Apart from the current
floods in South Thailand, people here also report more frequent and more intense heatwaves, and right before UNFCCC
delegates arrived in Bangkok the city saw temperatures drop below 20 degrees C – a highly unusual low for this time of
year. So the choice for a theme for this morning’s action was easy: as the climate had gone crazy, they called for a fab
deal, because getting one now feels more important than ever.

Local A-FAB (Coalition on ASEAN for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Global Climate Deal) activists wore winter
jackets, rain gear and beach wear to portray the on-going climate chaos. Above their heads they held signs symbolizing
climate extremes from “record heat” to “extreme rain”, swopping these quickly to show how the climate is changing
rapidly and makes it hard to adapt. A young man in beach wear suddenly found himself facing “extreme cold”, while a
woman with a coat and gloves was sweating due to a sudden “record heat”. The activists were met by UNFCCC
Executive Secretary Christina Figueres, who received A-FAB's demands for an ambitious global climate deal from
world governments on behalf of the region's most vulnerable and least prepared populations. Around 25 journalists
covered the event, and you can help A-FAB spread the word by covering the action on your online channels. Photos and
video are here http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/multimedia/photo/ASEAN-must-demonstrate-leadership-in-UN-
climate-negotiations/ and more here http://202.44.55.51/newmedia_green/unfccc-afab/pic.zip

The bicycle protest unfolding outside the UNESCAP building yesterday as the Daily Tck went out was actually not just
one but a series of bicycle events that helped set the first day of the talks in motion. In the morning, the Thai Cycling
Club rallied around a hundred cyclists of all ages in front of the negotiating venue. In the afternoon, the Thai Cycling
for Health Association kept the show moving with a bicycle ride across the city, complete with rickshaws and cycles
from Bangkok's new bike share program. The ride culminated in another rally at the UN building to help kick off a new
350.org initiative called "Moving Planet" (official launch later this week). Complete set of photos is now at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/

Message for the day

As they start to better understand the economic and social benefits of climate action, more and more progressive EU
countries are calling for higher ambition levels and want to increase the bloc’s 2020 target for emission reductions from
20% to 30% compared to 1990 levels. A small group of EU member states is holding back progress, fighting the
inevitable increase in ambition levels that is currently gaining popular and political support across the region.

As a result of negotiations in Bangkok, the rest of the world is now also starting to wake up to the EU’s confusing target
debate. Developing countries like the Philippines are wondering why the EU is still talking about its allegedly ambitious
20% target in the international negotiations, when it’s already clear that the bloc will easily reach 25% cuts only by
implementing existing domestic policies. Europe is simply selling a walk-over as an uphill battle, so if they really want
to be leaders they should adopt a much stronger target.

What you can do today?

As progressive players outside Europe are joining progressive players inside Europe in pointing out how obvious it
would be for the EU to increase the bloc’s targets, we have an opportunity to influence the dynamics in the EU debate
positively by amplifying the news from Bangkok. Especially NGO partners in Europe might want to try and spread the
word via European media, ideally without having NGO fingerprints all over it. At the same time groups in Bangkok and
elsewhere should encourage other countries to follow the Philippines’ example and point out the lack of ambition in
Europe’s current 20% target. Hopefully the messaging above helps with spreading the word…

Apart from pushing for positive EU dynamics, we hope that the action photos along with a copy of the Daily Tck and
our Bangkok Talking Points that we shared yesterday will help you report on the talks on your blogs and websites to
keep supporters informed and engaged. The Adopt-A-Negotiator trackers had a busy first day yesterday and have
uploaded some blogs and videos that you may find useful for your social media work. Read Leela Raina’s blog to find
out what climate negotiators can learn from cricket champions: http://adoptanegotiator.org/

Other materials:
REUTERS: Japan crisis to impact UN climate talks - EU
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7F304920110403
AP: Activists call for renewable energy at UN meeting
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gA36EtO2y0Cuvw3w1X8O2TMPRYtw?
docId=695dc2e92bf04303a5322dbcd94e36a9
XINHUA: Countries urged at Bangkok meet to carry out pledges on climate change
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2011-04/03/c_13811991.htm