Analysis of Latest UN Climate Conference

PARIS AGREEMENT: Miracle or Disaster?

The year 2015 is history, and so is the U.N. Climate Conference, held in Paris in early December. Before the conference convened, the Texas Drought Project announced the results of its resolution on climate, which called for immediate action on climate change and for an agreement with real “teeth” in its final form. A record 228 very diverse organizations from across the state signed on, making it by far the largest and most successful sign-on in Texas environmental history.

Unfortunately, our hopes for the success of the climate agreement in Paris were not fulfilled. The two primary points of negotiation in the conference were, as always, 1) the percentage of emissions cuts and how they would be achieved and 2) how developed countries, whose emissions have already enriched themselves at the expense of poorer countries—where climate devastation is well underway—will help repay the tremendous climate debt thus far incurred.

Dr. James Hansen was the director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA for over thirty years and is considered the de-factor leader of the world’s climate science community. His research led to the founding of 350.org. Here is his take: Paris Agreement is “B.S.” and a fraud
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud

From Friends of the Earth International: Paris climate deal is a sham http://www.foei.org/press/archive-by-subject/climate-justice-energy-press/paris-climate- deal-sham

Institute for Policy Studies: Seven wrinkles with Paris climate agreement
http://www.ips-dc.org/seven-wrinkles-paris-climate-deal/

Maude Barlow: U.N. climate agreement must address corporate right to sue countries http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/maude-barlow/corporations-un-climate-change_b_8179118.html

Not addressed by the UN Climate Conference—investor-state agreements and trade impacts that will further harm efforts to stem climate change (the Citizens Trade Campaign includes the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, union groups, family farming groups and religious organizations): http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TransPacificEnvironment.pdf

Leading up to the U.N. Climate Conference, the Texas Drought Project undertook a project which brought together 228 very diverse organizations to endorse a resolution which called for the conference attendees to heed the advice of climate scientists and to move towards keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Here is a viewable link which shows the cover letter which was sent to the conference itself: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BymItdi3JMBAUFRUZkt2cFQxVGpRYmxhQk1lX0JBZFhqWTM4/view?usp=sharing