Australian Blogosphere Canvasses Cancún · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Australian bloggers have been reflecting on the first days of the United Nations Climate Change summit at Cancún.
Giles Parkinson at Climate Spectator has a detailed report on proceedings, updated on 3 December. He reflects on what many have being questioning – the cost of this summit:
One of the hot topics among official parties on the endless bus trips to and from the COP16 venues has been the cost of this business. Anyone who thought that a country that offers a basic wage of $5 a day to its own population, and $40-a-day-all-you-can-drink holidays to US college students, might be less costly than the notoriously expensive Copenhagen, has been mistaken.
Cancún Calling: One small step
John Passant brings his socialist perspective to bear at En Passant. He concludes a lengthy piece with a call for bottom-up action:
We can’t wait in vain for President Obama or other politicians to do it for us. Ordinary people must step onto the stage of history to organize to force the change that we want to see and that is so urgently needed.
Cancún: Climate inaction conference
The title of the post by North Coast Voices’ Waterdragon is a dead giveaway. But this is also a call for political action:
…individual responsibility does not stop with reducing our personal carbon footprints, it extends to voting out of office every politician who blocks legitimate legislative response to global warming or seeks to water down bills addressing climate change so that carbon-reliant energy companies and industry can continue ‘business as usual’.
Cancún Climate Change Conference: yada, yada, yada
Australia’s negotiator tracker in Cancún, Philip Ireland, looks at discussions around the Kyoto Protocol with a little optimism:
Cancún must include a mandate to continue negotiations towards a comprehensive and legally-binding outcome including in the Kyoto Protocol. Developing countries are anxious to see progress on a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol after the first period ends in 2012. Many development countries, whose people are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, will not accept a final agreement unless it includes the Kyoto Protocol as it includes important provisions such as adaptation assistance.
Kicking Kyoto around in Cancún
Larvatus Prodeo’s group blogsite has regular updates on COP16. The latest roundup looks at both good and bad news:
Is baseload power necessary?
Now here’s some good news. Baseload power may not be necessary .
David Mills, solar energy technology developer, has developed a new model for an energy system that does away with the conventional design of massive baseload infrastructure.
Republicans axe US climate change committee
US president Barack Obama’s Republican foes in the House of Representatives say they are disbanding the chamber’s committee on battling global warming, calling it a waste of money.
That’s definitely not good news.
Climate clippings 5
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) has 13 people at Cancún. They have called on the Australian government:
…to implement a carbon price that is in line with the science and fulfills our international responsibility – this means a carbon price that achieves an emissions reduction target that is substantially higher than 5%.
… to reaffirm its commitment to take on binding targets in a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.
… [to remove] loopholes in the system set up to account for emissions reductions in the forest and land sectors.
AYCC’s policy platform at the UN
A final word comes from RightJab “Proud Aussie Infidel’ on behalf of the climate skeptics:
The publicity surrounding Copenhagen was massive and its ultimate failure was a wonderful result to behold.
Cancun, the latest attempt by the UN to impose a world government on us all, has been a fizzler from the start.
Except for the attendees, perhaps, who look to be having a carbon blowout, wow of a time.
Time to give up on Climate Change, Biodiversity here we come.