I have been struggling with the idea of COP15: What is the best that could happen? What is the worst? How does it impact Atlantic Canada in the best or worst case? Instead of having this conversation in my head, here are some thoughts from me in hopes of sparking dialogue with you.
“It is one thing to run a campaign against climate change. It is quite another to paint a picture of a low carbon future that is so engaging and compelling that it enthuses others to embark on a journey toward it.”
I am borrowing this quote from the Transition Handbook, a guide to building community-based movements that create more resilient, less-oil-dependent futures and ultimately a higher quality of life.
The Transition Town movement is led by “average joes and janes” across the globe. People are gathering, assessing their local skills and resources then taking action in their own lives. Actions range from tackling food security (planting community fruit and nut trees or setting up local markets) to creating just, local economic systems (trade/barter forums or local currencies). The movement is rooted in the view that solutions can be found in our own backyards and in the way we each live our lives.
I’m not suggesting that joining the Transition Town movement is THE GOLDEN EGG solution to global problems. I do suggest it is an interesting, action-oriented approach.
So…
If rapid climate change is a symptom of a post-industrial revolution, ultra-consumptive, individualistic lifestyle… doesn’t it make sense that if we each shift the ways we feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, engage in conversations with one another then we will tackle the root of the problem?
I feel the adages hold true: there is a better life with less stuff. You must live the change you desire to see. Collectively we can achieve much more than any one person.
For me, an Atlantic Canadian, I care more about building community here than I do about national or international accords and policies.
Okay, back to the headline: COP15. I guess the headline is more of a question to you than a perspective from me.
How can COP15 improve Atlantic Canadian resiliency and quality of life?
photo cred: meglet127
4 comments
I don’t think that any agreement is going to come out of Copenhagen, and if it does it likely won’t be adhered to (look at our own nation, we’re the worst offenders under the Kyoto treaty, if WE can fail in such a colassal way, why can’t anyone else?). Like it or not, Canada has had a huge role in destroying the meaning of these international agreements. Shame on us.
I think you’re right, thinking about own own habits and our own communities is where it will start. The greater change will happen after people change their own lives and realise that they’re better off for it.
I have no doubt that our “gross domestic happiness” will improve in a low carbon society, as long as we’re driving the change rather than it being forced upon us. Unfortunately the people who are seriously committed to changing their own lives are still a minority. The good news, I think, is that more and more people are coming around, as are some of our major institutions. We need to create a critical mass of low-carbon counterculture, and we need to make it beautiful. We need to show people that the alternatives are actually better than what we have now.
And you’re totally right, this starts with strong communities.
Having participated in COP 12 in Nairobi in 2006, I totally agree with you that these international negotiations can be quite removed from reality. However, I do strongly believe that these negotiations (and deals) have to happen. We have to do both: work on our own backyards and create sustainable communities, but also help clean up the mess we created in so many developing nations.
One good thing about Atlantic Canada, is that we ARE small and we already DO have a sense of community. Many communities across Atlantic Canada are tight-knit and once the ball gets rolling, it will not take too long for others to imitate the wonderful and positive changes that have occured in a particular model community. We therefore have to create it, in a small way, in order to show that, like Peter mentioned, it can work.
I love this :”It is one thing to run a campaign against climate change. It is quite another to paint a picture of a low carbon future that is so engaging and compelling that it enthuses others to embark on a journey toward it.”
I think people lack inspiration. We want to get inspired. We are constantly told that the world is coming to an end and there is basically nothing we can do about it. But wouldn’t that make anyone want to shrivle up into a corner somewhere and wait for the storm to pass? We have to bring a positive light to all that is being done and can be done.
I will have to find out more about Transition Town, as it seems to have potential. Other organized institutions include the New University Cooperative in Tatamagouche and the Falls Brook Centre in NB that are looking to create a healthier, more conscious,and ulitmately happy society.
Focus on what IS being done and what we CAN do, I guess that’s the only way any of this will get resolved.
For the COP 15 question, it is obvious that Atlantic Canada will be hard hit by Climate Change in the years to come. We are already seeing rising sea levels, changes in fisheries and drier seasons for agricultre. One thing that we DO have in Atlantic is wonderful renewable energies. We have one of the largest and best wind resources in the world. We must capitalize on this. A colleague of mine has often said that if wind were oil, Albertans would be flocking to Northern Cape Breton for work and not the other way around. We just need the proper policy put in place in order to support these types of renewable energy initiatives, such as feed-in tariffs and support for research and development.
I’m not putting too much hope in COP15, but I would encourage Canadians to put as much pressure on our government as possible so that we at least have a reasonable target and the policies in place to support it.
«If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.»
(African Proverb)
What happens if the end result of COP15 and future international initiatives is the development of new technologies that allow ultra-consumptive, individualistic lifestyles to persist?
Without an appreciation for COP 15 and what may be a perception of uncertain outcomes, I nonetheless have a growing appreciation that, at minimum, endorsing forward transitioners is more and more popular. A kernel of optimism comes from this and a sense that there have been those working all along to keep the window for new growth open despite being restrained by complexity, and, the interests that would have it otherwise.
I also care more about the work in our own communities, where a carbon credit saved is a carbon credit earned. My view is tempered by a short time in local government in New Brunswick.
It does seem to me there is a need, and I feel it in my efforts, to be counterculture, and terms like sustainable development don’t confront the challenges organizations and individuals face even just to tread water let alone develop capacity or resiliency for what might be a pared down future version of the fossil fuel economy. The need may be for a willingness more than the motivation to listen and act on the messages of decline, redefinition, degrowth, or regrowth in an honest fashion.
It’s a challenge to be both an agitator and in a role of an official because of the expectation of stability. Allot of my call for a shaking up is because of a lack of accountability. The agitation it causes me makes me more of an activist. I’m no tree hugger, instead, I see just cause for aiding in succession and maturing.
Great topic