Dr Seuss' Loraxremains one of the most powerful works re the implications of placing "environment vs economy" rather than understanding how they are intrinsically combined along with a powerful indictment of placing economy over environment in terms of the devastating implications for health, quality of life, and other issues.
Here is the clearest summary of what resulted in Copenhagen seen to date:
No-one was satisfied, nobody won
Except the morons convinced it was really the sun
Simple, concise truth about a time of many 'fails' ...
With this powerful tradition in mind, "Marcus Brigstocke sees Copenhagen through the eyes of Dr Seuss" at the BBC's Now Show.
Brigstocke concludes as one might best describe COP15 as having concluded: kicking the can down the road yet
And decided decisively right there and then
That the best way to solve it's to meet up again
And decide on a future that's greener and greater
Not with action right now but with something else later
The road is running out, however, for the island nations and all of us to avoid the implications of catastrophic climate chaos.
Copenhagen had 'achievements' leading into it, with increasingly meaningful commitments for reductions (at least reductions in growth of emissions) from countries like China, India, and Brazil.
Utter failure, it seems, was rescued by President Obama's direct actions ... which came amid world leaders directly engaging in negotiations rather than showing up for a photo op to sign a deal put in place by others.
But, those achievements leave us far from anything that should give assurance of stabilizing the atmosphere at 450 parts per million of CO2 (a 2 degree centigrade temperature increase above pre-industrial conditions), let alone the 350 ppm (some 10 percent below current levels) and 1.5 degree rise seen as the maximum allowable (long term) to avoid catastrophic climate chaos.
The delegates came and the delegates sat
And they talked and they talked till their bums all went flat
Then a delegate said of the country he knew
"We must do something quick but just what should we do
So they sat again thinking and there they stayed seated
Sitting and thinking "the planet's been heated"
Writ large, the world community acknowledges the reality of human factors in climate change, despite the Exxon-Mobil/et al disinformation effort and the Jim Inhofes of the world.
But, the movement between 'its real' and 'we should do something about it' to a 'fair, aggressive, and binding' (FAB) international agreement is not a minor step.
"I think" said a delegate there from Peru
"That we all must agree on some things we could do
Like reducing emissions at least CO2"
So they nodded and noted then vetoed and voted
And one of them stood up and suddenly quoted
"It's the science you see, that's the thing that must guide us
When the leaders all get here they're certain to chide us"
So they sat again thinking about what to think
Then decided to ponder what colour of ink
To use on the paper when they’d all agreed
To be selfless not greedy McGreedy McGreed
"But how do we choose just what colour to use"
Said a delegate there who'd been having a snooze
Seems like Powerpoint rangering striking negotiations. 'The column needs to be a deeper shade of mauve' almost certain was heard in some side session.
"We need clear binding targets definitive action
We must all agree clearly without more distraction"
So they sat again thinking of targets for ink
But the ink in their thinking had started to stink
And they started to think that the ink was a kink
In the thinking about real things they should think
"If ze climate needs mending then zis is our chance"
Said the nuclear delegate sent there by France
Everyone, let us say, 'agreed on the need to act', but all nations showed up with their own agenda, their own efforts to work the process to their (perceived) advantage.
"We need to agree on one thing to agree on
Something we all want a fixed guarantee on"
"Yes" said another who thought this made sense
Some value for carbon in dollars or pence
But the mention of money and thoughts of expense
Had stifled the progress and things became tense
The fella from China with a smile on his face
Said "Who put the carbon there in the first place"
This is a very serious issue that doesn't merit dismissal.
To what extent does 'historical responsibility' merit being defined and included in the discussion?
To what extent is this a 'per capita' accounting?
To what extent is 'carbon intensity' (how much carbon per $ of GDP output)?
To what extent is this to be done by nation?
To what extent does future BAU (business as usual) predictions merit attention as opposed to where one is today?
Each of these (and other CO2 accounting paths) drives one to a different perspective.
For most in the US (especially US Senate), the most convenient focus is "national", because this allows pointing the finger at the PRC, which recently passed the US as the largest emitter. And, the PRC looks worse in carbon intensity and in the BAU scenarios.
Very convenient, on the other hand, for Americans to ignore historical carbon loads and per capita carbon loads, where the US is far higher than the PRC.
"Wasn't us" said the U.S then Europe did too
Yes.
Much easier to point fingers elsewhere than to step to the plate to take leading action.
Then a silence descended and no words were spoken
Till a delegate stood up, voice nervous and broken
"Is there nothing upon which we all can decide
Because on Wednesday my chicken laid eggs that were fried"
Think the island nations and their (legitimate) fears that inaction dooms their nations to slow, inexorable drowning.
"We all like a sing song" said the bloke from Down Under
But then the great hall was all shouting and thunder
Policemen had entered and were wearing protesters
Who they'd beaten and flattened like bloodied sou'westers
The police had decided to downplay this crime
With prevention detention and beatings in rhyme
The Greenies who'd shouted and asked for a decision
Were now being battered with lethal precision
Danish police beat many during the Copenhagen summit.
All sick of inaction and fed up of waiting
All tired of the endless debated placating
They'd risen up grating berating and hating
So the police had commenced the related abating
Ban Ki-moon put his head in another man's lap
And was last heard muttering something like "crap"
But the chap next to him said "It's more like it's poo"
So the great hall debated not what they should do
But how to decide between crap cack and poo
"It is poo" "It is cack" "It is crap" "We agree"
Which was written and labelled as document three
"I think if we all find one thing we agree on
Then maybe Brazil might be left with a tree on"
So they sat again thinking of trees and Brazil
And of glaciers which had retreated uphill
And they thought of the poor folks whose homes were in flood
But less of the protesters covered in blood
They pondered the species so nearly extinct
It's as if they all thought that these things might be linked
"We need a solution we need action please"
Said a lady who'd come from the sinking Maldives
The others all nodded and said it was fact
That the time must be now not to talk but to act
Then Obama arrived and said most rhetorical
"Action is action and not metaphorical"
"Wow" they all thought "he must mean arregorical [sic]"
"I love it when Barack goes all oratorical"
"But the problem I have is that Congress won’t pass it
"Bugger" said Ban Ki then "sorry" then "arse it"
Then Brown said "I've got it now how does this strike you?
It's simpler when voters already dislike you"
He suggested the EU should lead from the front
So The Mail and The Telegraph called him something very unpleasant indeed
So the delegates stared at the text with red marks on
Ignoring the gales of laughter from Clarkson
No-one was satisfied nobody won
Except the morons convinced it was really the sun
And they blew it and wasted the greatest of chances
Instead they all frolicked in diplomat dances
And decided decisively right there and then
That the best way to solve it's to meet up again
And decide on a future that's greener and greater
Not with action right now but with something else later
Hat tip The English Blog.
And, ps ... The Lorax