UN Climate Summit Round Up

Who or what will save the climate? Will it fall on the shoulders of politicians? Business leaders? Cities? Money? Forests? Protestors? Celebrities? A poet? I think the answer is all of the above.

Last week’s UN Climate Summit was heavy on talk but light on action. That said, no one was expecting action, since the summit was designed as a rally, a pre-game warm-up to next year’s climate talks in Paris, where action had better be imminent.

There were promises made, and responsibilities divvied up. Here are a few quotes, courtesy of Scientific American and NPR:

"Our response will define the future… By end of this century, we must be carbon neutral. We  must not emit more carbon than our planet can absorb." —UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

"We recognize our role in creating this problem; we embrace our responsibility to combat it. We will do our part." —President Barack Obama

"We’re told limiting climate change will be expensive. It will not. Wait until you get the bill from inaction." —IPCC head R.K. Pachauri

And the promises? According to Nature News:

       China said it will cut by 45% the carbon intensity—the amount of emissions
       per unit of economic output—of its rapidly growing economy.

       Rich countries also promised to help mobilize public and private money
       to finance clean energy in the developing world and help poor countries
       adapt to climate change.

Pressure on first-world nations to help developing countries also made National Georgraphic’s list of three key takeaways from the summit, along with people power from last weekend’s climate march in New York, and pressure on businesses to stop deforestation. Saving forests also made Mashable’s five takeaways, thanks to the New York Declaration on Forests, which was one of the few agreements of the meeting. Two more from Mashable: extreme weather creates action and “private companies and cities are in the lead now.”

An article in Forbes last week echoed the private companies statement, and others see businesses taking a larger leadership role in combating climate change as well. Meanwhile, an article in Scientific American also put climate change solutions in the hands of cities.

And the UN’s summary of the event took a little from all of the above—cutting emissions, money from wealthy countries to help other nations adapt to and mitigate effects of climate change (read more about the Green Climate Fund, and the U.S. reluctance to support it, at Huffington Post), and setting a carbon tax to name a few.

Finally, even though Leonardo DiCaprio was the biggest celebrity at the event, he was outshone by poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner from the Marshall Islands, who stands at the front lines of climate change impacts. Many reported that she left few dry eyes in the UN after her amazing performance. You can view it here.

So talk, takeaways, promises, and an agreement or two. Let’s act in Paris next year! We’re warmed up, ready to fight climate change.

Image: DR04/Wikipedia