Dear all,
Last week's conference in Cochabamba, Bolivia, could mark a turning
point in the determination of the world to tackle climate change.
President Evo Morales has demanded a 1 degree limit to global warming.
The argument is simple and reasonable: there is a great danger in
allowing a higher limit, and people are suffering already, with at least
1.02 billion suffering from hunger today. This argument is clearly
stated in the "Peoples Agreement", from the conference in Cochabamba,
last week. However the means to achieve such a limit is not clear. So I
have added a comment to the agreement which you will find here:
http://pwccc.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/peoples-agreement/#comments
It is becoming obvious that geoengineering is urgently needed, both of
the SRM (solar radiation management) kind to avoid tipping points and
the CDR (carbon dioxide removal) kind to quickly bring down the level of
CO2, and reduce its global warming and ocean acidification effects.
At Cochabamba, myself and colleagues, including Julie Major from the
International Biochar Initiative, presented the case for a "Plan B" to
replace the "Plan A" as promoted by the signatories to the Copenhagen
Accord, which Bolivia and some other countries have rejected. At our
event, on 22nd April (suitably designated Mother Earth Day), we made the
case for a carbon tax in which fossil fuel taken out of the ground pays
for double the carbon equivalent to be put back in the ground. This
event was very well received, and Julie Major made an excellent case
for the biochar process, both as soil improver and as a remover of CO2
from the atmosphere.
We also made strong arguments as regards the urgency of the situation,
for saving the Amazon rainforest and for saving the Arctic sea ice. We
were expecting the "Peoples Agreement" to come out with a strong
statement of urgency. Only two or three of drought in the Amazon basin,
and much of the rainforest could dry out and then burn - which would be
an absolute catastrophe, not only because of CO2 and black carbon
injected into the atmosphere, but because the Amazon is a major
controlling factor in world weather systems. Similarly, only two or
three unusually warm summers in the Arctic, as we had in 2007, could
lead to sudden near-total disappearance of sea ice, with the attendant
danger of catastrophes from methane release and Greenland ice sheet
disintegration.
I therefore seek your support for the President's initiative in setting
challenging targets, for which all nations will have to work together,
if we are to save the planet for all humanity to enjoy.
Best wishes,
John
[1] Self-organised event 127 "Some necessary steps to save the planet...
geoengineering"
The brochure for our event, in English and Spanish, has been posted on
the Cloudworld web site: www.cloudworld.co.uk
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