Project Survival Media is alive and working globally to bring the survival tactics and sustainable practices of real people to the UN conference in Copenhagen. Right now all over the world, teams are filming different groups of people for their own documentaries.

Luke Estrella at the UN Plaza Farmers Market

Here in the Bay Area, California, after wwoofing for two months in Willits, I have been given the opportunity to lead the Northwestern project.

Today I went to the U.N. Plaza Farmers Market on my way around the city to see the prevalence of organic farm choices for the mainstream San Franciscan public. This market is not known for its sustainability, but for it’s prices and accessability.

There were a few organic farm choices, but I did have the opportunity to talk to one young organic farmer, Luke Estrella from Bounty of the Valley, Salinas Valley. Bounty of the Valley is a 50 acre human powered farm, full of young farmers who are learning how to grow their own food.

I asked him what he thought about the next generation of farmers, since in this area there seems to be a growing trend of young farmers. Farmers used to be an average of 60 years old, but people in their 20’s have, for the first time in years, started to pick up the old pitchfork.

“[young farmers] have a lot of new ideas to bring to the table, young farmers will bring about the change we need for sustainable action.”

He also warned against green washing on the organic front, and how current policy may encourage this.

“There are 500 acre certified organic plots that have organic soil and seeds, but they have a machine that does everything. These are also the farms that have the money to pay for being certified [organic]. These farms are unsustainable by design.”

He elaborated on a machine that many large scale farmers contract out to plant, till, and harvest. Many of these farmers do not touch soil and are not acquainted with their own land, although their products are touted as sustainable.

But, what may be organic isn’t necessarily sustainable. It is important that we not only push for policies that help organic farmers, but that we pay close attention to new policies, and make sure that they are also helping local and sustainable farmers, which organic is only one factor in.

We also need to make this clear to the UN delegation. We are young, ready for change, and unwilling to adapt to old standards.

COP15 in Copenhagen this December – the meeting where governments are set to decide whether they will come together to lead on solving climate change peacefully, or whether they force us to take things into our own hands – is not the only UN meeting on climate change this year. There are three important ‘intersessional’ meetings of the UNFCCC bodies and working groups – ‘Bonn 1′, in Germany for the first two weeks of April, ‘Bonn 2′, for the first two weeks in June, and ‘Bangkok’ in September. In addition, there is a meeting of heads of state in New York in September as well. This blog series covers updates on the negotiations as ‘Bonn 1′ and the youth activities there. There are between 20 and 30 youth in attendance, from Europe, Australia, Africa and North America.

The program of events at Bonn 1 is found here.

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Friday 27 March, 2009

Welcome to Bonn! Would you like some acronym soup? It’s our signature dish, served fresh at the UNFCCC pre-sessionals today, before next week’s AWG-KP & AWG-LCA inter-sessionals where nations of the world will meet to discuss LULUCF, REDD and REDD+, and MRV-able commitments from Annex 1 nations, among various other things.  I hope that the G77, AOSIS, the LDCs and JUSCANZ will be able to reach agreement.

I am in a big room at the ‘Maritim’ hotel in Bonn, Germany, for the ‘Pre-Sessional events’ – before the proper negotiations start on Sunday. There is a long desk on a stage at the front of the room, where the Chair of the session sits, alongside a rapporteur and the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer – who looks positively bored. I sort of feel sorry for him. There are rows of desks for the 196 countries of the world, with two seats of each. Then maybe another 300 seats for NGO representatives at the back of the room, which quickly filled up. For people who arrived late (like myself and about 50 others) we can sit on the floor in the corridors. There are also far too many lights on – a large star-shaped arrangement of decorative lightbulbs, crystals and mirrors adorns the ceiling.

Today, the Chairs of each of the UN negotiating bodies are giving presentations, giving their summary of the state of negotiations and their recommendations for focusing discussion over the next few weeks. They are taking clarifying question-and-answers from the plenary floor. It is a lot like in any consensus-based meeting of activists where we agree on the process before going on to discuss the content – except their all wearing suits and being very ‘polite’ – to me, the room seems bereft of the passion which should be evident when dealing with such important issues as the very future of the planet and humanity. And there are certainly no twinkling fingers in the air when someone says something that we support.

Negotiation and debate about the content has not yet started – this begins at the odd time of 3pm on Sunday – but we are already seeing many nations laying their cards on the table.

The Chair of the AWG-LCA (Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action) outlined his summary of the ‘Shared Vision’ that had been discussed in Poznan. His three central points were heartening: integrating climate change action with the eradication of poverty, a global transition to a low-emission future, and a science-based goal for reduction of GHGs. He then recommended that further discussions focus on long-term global emission reductions pathways, before opening the floor to questions. Most comments came from the most-affected nations.

Costa Rica and China both accused this focus for discussions as being too narrow, not the comprehensive ‘Shared Vision’ that they and the G77 supported. (The G77 is a group of at developing nations who negotiate together as a block.)

‘A shared vision is not just about emission reduction – it’s also about the level of financing for mitigation and adaptation.’

Brasil and Tuvalu piped up also:

‘A shared vision should include statements on minimising the impact on the most vulnerable nations’

Bangladesh stated that adaptation must also be included in a shared vision.

Barbados chimed in that at a technical session describing exactly what ’science based targets’ means (Monday, 1:15pm), they would like the opportunity ‘to present the scientific analysis behind the targets that they and AOSIS (the Alliance of Small Island States) propose’. The targets that AOSIS proposed are, of course, the most ambitious targets proposed by any party in the negotiations – as they are the nations most at risk. The science that they wish to present takes the most recent IPCC report and then goes further, with even more recent science. As the youth, we will support and work with the AOSIS nations to ensure that their messages are heard.

The most exciting statement of the morning came from the Marshall Islands. They themselves admitted jumping the gun a little and wanting to get straight into content of negotiations and debate, rather than these ‘process’ sessions, saying that is was because of the urgency and passion that they feel with the climate issue. We expect their statements to be repeated during negotiating sessions next week.

They said that the LCA ‘Shared Vision’ document ignores the concept of urgency, which is becoming ever-more apparent to anyone who is paying attention to the science. Then came a series of strong statements which sounded very familiar to any of the youth who had been in Poznan:

‘Science must not take a back seat to short-term economic concerns… if it does, this will ultimately lead to an unsignable agreement… We are in the uncomfortable position of negotiating for our sovereignty… our fundamental human rights… our survival. And our survival is not negotiable.

In Poznan, the Chair’s summary of the ministerial sessions stated that any agreement must ’safeguard the survival of all nations and people.’ End quote.”

Their impassioned words were received with an acknowledgment of the urgency that they feel, but a deferral of their issues to scheduled discussions next week. Boo.

Youth at Bonn 1 will be working together to promote the survival principle, to apply moral pressure to delegates through a new ‘How Old Will You Be in 2050?’ campaign, and we will be making ourselves visible as youth through various actions and media stunts. We will meet with delegations from the countries who promote policies similar to our own, and we will support their voices, as well as meeting with those countries whose policies are backwards, and applying pressure. We will be share our plans for the lead-up to COP15 – from youth movements and social movements more broadly – and discover how our negotiating allies would like to be involved. Our allies primarily include AOSIS, the LDCs, and Bolivia and Venezuela. Many of these nations are understandably frustrated with the UN negotiating process, especially as the science becomes more urgent, and we hope to help them channel this frustration into positive action.

Youth will also be meeting and organising within ourselves, on our plans for the rest of the year and into 2010. We will address the questions of how we will build the youth movement, how we will continue to work within the social movement space and the NGO space how we will relate to the UNFCCC process and to the public, and what activities we will undertake together to achieve our goals.

This evening’s session – ‘A workshop on issues relating to the scale of emission reductions to be achieved by Annex 1 countries’ (Read as ‘Will rich countries bother?’) should be fun – it could also be the first time that we hear from the negotiators of the Obama administration.

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Keep an eye on Its Getting Hot in Here for more updates.

So I am very excited that the Fired Up: Youth Report segment on the International Youth Delegation at the Poznan climate talks, is live!

This was our test case to see if we could tackle TV to cover the incredible work that young people are doing all over the world to respond to global warming and to build a just and sustainable world. Guess what? It is airing March 2nd, the day the largest lobby on climate in US history will go down, along with the Capitol Climate Action.

First Poznan, next we are going to be covering Power Shift, which starts TODAY! Expect to see youth reporters filming all over the DC Convention Center, as this story is too hot for just words or to leave to the traditional media. Come say hello and tell us your Power Shift story!

However, check out our segment on the incredible alliance between threatened island nations and the international youth delegations that emerged at the Poznan climate talks. Power Shift is happening in the US of A, but it is becoming the global story with Power Shifts happening in Australia, the UK, and who knows where next! Take a look!

The Maldives/Youth Segment starts at 12:39.

For a little more information about where this will be shown and who helped put this together, below the fold is some information about LinkTV’s EarthFocus.

The Team:
As to whom, Shadia Wood (one of the awesome editors of this blog) pulled together the team that flew to and filmed in Poznan, Poland, Christine Irvine (another one of our rocking editors) did the lion’s share of the filming, along with the Indian Youth Climate Network and Jon Warnow (I did a little, too!), and Raisa Scriabine put the whole episode together. We really all owe her so much, as she is the force behind EarthFocus and a strong supporter of youth produced environmental journalism. Sean McCall edited our cobbled together clips into a TV segment and Alexander K. Smith gave his voice to the piece.

So here it goes, the unveiling of the Global Youth Climate Movement’s work in Poznan, Poland, for COP 14 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:

To Download this video click here. It’s the video labeled COP14 (Say What You Want).

And the other video:

To download this video click here. (teardrop) It is labeled COP 14

Youth action frames the conversation at the UNFCCC in Poznan, Poland

Young people from around the world made their voice heard today at the UN Framework Convention on Climate change in Poznan, Poland. After an inspiring speech from Al Gore, over 200 young people from India to the U.S. to the Congo held a spontaneous action inside, with banners that read “SURVIVAL IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.”

The demonstration was the next step in our “project survival” – inspired by a speech earlier this week by a representative from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), stating that current emissions targets set by powerful countries condemn their nations to extinction. In the last two days youth have mobilized to get over 80 country delegations to sign a pledge to “safeguard the survival of all peoples and nations.” Youth organized actions, tracked down delegates in the halls, lined the entrance to the plenaries, and knocked on meeting room doors to push their countries to sign the Survival Pledge. This morning our text has been adopted in the official UN Ministerial declaration document emerging from COP14, the COP President’s text on long-term vision. Heads of state referenced our call in major speeches. “It’s been an amazing success,” said Amanda McKenzie, of the Australian Youth Climate Network. “Hearing Australia’s Climate Minister Penny Wong commit to ’survival’ yesterday had me cheering in the halls. Now, it’s time to make sure she delivers.”

Actions like the one that happened 15 minutes ago aim to create the pressure to do just that. At the end of our action (after engaging with some angry UN people) several delegates and dignitaries came to thank the Youth for their action. A woman said “I am in a very high position in my government in Norway. Youth doing actions like this makes my work easier. Thank you.”

We’ve had an exciting victory, but we know we must continue to organize to make the implications of that statement meaningful – we know that any targets less than 350ppm will not insure the survival of all peoples and nations, and we know that any solution that is not equitable and just, is no solution at all.

Click below for many more photos and reflections.

While our demonstration today was not permitted by the United Nations, young people felt compelled to step outside the boundaries of rules and etiquette to ensure that the main message emerging from COP14 is one of SURVIVAL. We will continue to work year round, taking on this generational challenge.

the media reacting to us:

Photos by Shadia Fayne Wood, Ben Powless, Robert VanWaarden, and Joshua Kahn Russell.

for more photos see: http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000SIp4.f3wK2U

The New York Times ran a landmark article today, “Money and Lobbyists Hurt European Efforts to Curb Gases,” about the failure of cap and trade in Europe. It’s required reading for anyone concerned about climate change policy in the United States and abroad. It opens with this:

The European Union started with a high-minded ecological goal: encouraging companies to cut their greenhouse gases by making them pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emitted into the atmosphere.

But that plan unleashed a lobbying free-for-all that led politicians to dole out favors to various industries, undermining the environmental goals. Four years later, it is becoming clear that system has so far produced little noticeable benefit to the climate — but generated a multibillion-dollar windfall for some of the Continent’s biggest polluters.

As President-elect Barack Obama considers how to curb the gases that contribute to global warming, Europe’s struggle with the problem illustrates the momentous task ahead for the United States.

The piece comes after the GAO just released a highly critical study of the use of offsets in Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme and amidst the chaotic climate negotiations at Poznan, where several European nations are balking at strict emissions caps. It also comes only a few weeks after President-elect Barack Obama pledged his support for cap and trade at a major climate conference in California.

The article illustrates many of the problems with cap and trade the Breakthrough Institute and others have highlighted for years (see “Fast, Clean, & Cheap” and “Scrap Kyoto“). In particular, it demonstrates the enormous challenges policymakers face in attempting to raise energy prices for industry and consumers, as well as the corruption and unintended consequences that could plague a similar policy system here in the United States:

The initial idea of charging for many of the permits never got off the ground. Many politicians feared that burdening European industries with extra costs would undercut their ability to compete in a global marketplace. In the end, the decision was made to hand out virtually all the permits free.

With European Union oversight, individual countries were charged with setting emissions levels and distributing the permits within their borders, often to companies with strong political connections.

Jurgen Trittin, a former Green Party leader who was the German minister of environment from 1998 to 2005, recalled being lobbied by executives from power companies, and by politicians from the former East Germany seeking special treatment for lignite, a highly polluting soft brown coal common around central Europe.

The framework of the European system put governments in the position of behaving like “a grandfather with a large family deciding what to give his favorite grandchildren for Christmas,” Mr. Trittin said in an interview.

According to the article, German industries ended up profiting from the system instead of paying for their pollution. But instead of passing their profits on to consumers by lowering energy prices, the industries raised prices:

The benefits won by German industry were substantial. Under the plan that the European Union originally approved for Germany, electricity companies were supposed to receive 3 percent fewer permits than they needed to cover their total emissions between 2005 and 2007, which would have forced them to cut emissions.

Instead, the companies got 3 percent more than needed, according to the German Emissions Trading Authority, the regulatory agency, a windfall worth about $374 billion at the peak of the market. German lawmakers also approved exemptions and bonuses that could be combined in dozens of ways and allowed companies to gain additional permits…

After the system kicked off, in 2005, power consumers in Germany started to see their electrical bills increase by 5 percent a year. RWE, the power company, received 30 percent ofall the permits given out, more than any other company in Germany.

The company said its price increases from 2005 to 2007 predominantly reflected higher costs of coal and natural gas. But the company acknowledged charging its customers for the emission permits, saying that while it may have received them free from the government, they still had value in the marketplace.

The German antitrust authority later investigated. In a confidential document sent to RWE lawyers in December 2006, that agency accused RWE of “abusive pricing,” piling on costs for industrial clients that were “completely out of proportion” to the company’s economic burden, according to the document, which was obtained by The New York Times.

Whether U.S. cap and trade legislation is dead remains to be seen. What is certain is that it will be delayed indefinitely, as one of Obama’s closest allies in the Senate said this Tuesday.  But action on energy and climate cannot be delayed any longer. It is imperative that Obama and the new Congress embrace an alternative strategy — investing at least $50 billion per year in the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technology to transform our energy systems and make clean energy cheap.  It’s possible this funding could come from cap and auction at some point in the future, but we can’t wait by holding these investments hostage to cap and trade.  If the funds need to come from deficit spending, so be it — as I wrote last week in the San Francisco Chronicle, now is a historic opportunity to borrow and spend on favorable conditions.

Obama is on the right track.  In October, he told Time Magazine that an “Apollo project” in clean energy would be his top priority as president.  Since then, he has repeatedly announced that major investments in clean energy technology will be part of his historically large economic stimulus package.  We have to ensure that this is the case and that a “green stimulus” isn’t limited to energy efficiency, as I wrote yesterday.  It’s easy to get excited  about all these developments (or frustrated, especially when it comes to the international negotiations), but let’s not miss this historic opportunity to get the investments we need.

The world is halfway through the process to create a global climate treaty to respond to Global Warming. In the halls around me, government, NGO, and UN negotiators are painstakingly working through the process to create a draft text for this treaty. The last decade has been a period where climate campaigners and negotiators knew where they stood, with the Bush Administration blocking progress, the European Union leading on the UN process, and environmental organizations facing off against the Oil, Gas, and Coal industries. Suddenly everything has changed, with Obama’s election, the EU Climate Package failing, and the Canadians having a parliamentary crisis – a financial crisis dragging down the automobile companies – and newly emergent actors like the youth movement, trade unions, and justice advocates showing up onto the global scene.

Nevertheless, with a financial crisis diverting attention from the climate crisis and backsliding among traditional advocates for strong international climate action – there is a lot of frustration and fear on the behalf of many Non-Governmental Organizations. One of the bright spots of the Poznan climate talks has been the arrival of large and energized youth delegations, including representatives of countries such as India, that have inspired many people here. Yet, despite the ever-growing level of international cooperation there remains two paths that this movement could take – that will have major consequences on the outcome of the global negotiations. 

Youth have strengths that they bring to these negotiations, but nothing is stronger than the moral voice and clarity they bring to the often intentionally complicated policy discussions that occur at the UN. Youth also have the potential to move, organize, and act on a speed that is matched only by the sophisticated online organizing outfits, like Avaaz.org, that have arisen recently. Young people represent more than the NGO sector and have government delegates, media representatives, youth union reps, and more. They also are willing to call for bold action, develop innovative strategies for advocacy, and have a passion that is palpable to anyone that has spent any time in their presence.

Yvo de Boer, the president of the UNFCCC,  in an Inter-generational Inquiry on the role of youth at these negotiations, was asked as to what role young people should play in these talks. He said that too many NGOs have bureaucratized and dropped their banners to put on suits. He said young people must raise the profile of this issue in their home countries, until their governments are forced to listen, if they hope to influence the outcome. For a UN diplomat, it was quite a statement – acknowledged that governments need to be pressured publicly and NGOs were failing to act and remained myopically focused on research, policy expertise, and lobbying meetings.

Yet, it is not entirely clear which path the youth climate movement will take. Many of the delegations represented here have enormous policy teams, drawing students from research universities, that write policy submissions, follow discussions, and lobby delegates. One major proposal, has been for youth to serve as adjunct staff to delegations from Small Island and Developing States that are calling for strong action. Actions often remain rooted in efforts to influence particular policies being debated or discussed. Young people in suits are in abundance everywhere. Will these youth climate activists follow down the path of many NGOs and serve as a next generation of policy analysts, diplomats, and advocates? Will the main focus be on side-events, submissions, interventions, tracking the many ad-hoc working groups, and developing experience with the policy process?

Or will youth climate advocates take another path? Will they develop campaigns that are fearless in their demands, huge in scale, and undertake actions even if it costs them access to delegates or representatives? There are campaigners here, from groups like the Rainforest Action Network (slogan: Environmentalism with Teeth”) that are willing to pick targets and hold people accountable. Avaaz.org and youth delegates last year served as the voice of conscience and fought a bruising battle with delegates from Japan, Canada, and USA last year. Will an international youth climate network serve as a secretariat and liaison group with the UN, or will it coordinate a global campaign that targets fossil fuel companies, politicians, and their lobbyists? Can these young people shake the pillars of power and authority with fearless tactics, digital strategy, mass mobilization, and boots on-on-the ground organizing?

Now, before someone accuses me of promoting a false dichotomy or pigeonholing a movement that embraces a diversity of tactics – I understand that any movement needs a diversity of actors, but the question remains of how the effort, energy, genius, and resources of the youth climate movement will be directed.

To read more about the emerging international youth climate movement, goto youthclimate.org or itsgettinghotinhere.org.

Ok, so I have some exciting news for everybody. A wild horde of wonderful youth delegates have descended on the UN Climate Negotiations in Poznan, Poland to pressure governments to act, build an international network, raise some hell, and be lulled to sleep in side-events by policy lectures by established NGO leaders. So, with 500 youth delegates running around and reporting on the developments in Poznan there is a lot of online content flowing from a fleet of new and established youth climate blogs, websites, and youtube channels.

Well, all that creative energy needed an established outlet, which you can now find at YouthClimate.org – Voices from the International Youth Climate Movement. It might not look like too much yet, but it is aggregating content from 17 youth climate blogs writing on Poznan, 3 embedded photoshelter galleries by professional photographers affiliated with Fired Up Media, a press room with releases and advisories, reports on actions and events, a Twitter Feed of #poznan, and a Mogulus Video Stream aggregating youtube videos.(h/t to Jon Warnow of 350.org for putting it together in days)

That means…go there now! Check it out.

If you are curious about the various blogs and outlets aggregating to YouthClimate.org – They are listed here:
350.org, BUNDjugend Klimaretter, Climate Crisis, COOLA NER, CoolClimate – спасем климат вместе, Countdown to Poz ’n’ Hagen, Dealing with theGlobal Crisis, EcoLeague International Team/ NEAYEN, FairClimate Blog, FeedBulletin for: generationclimat, It’s Getting Hot In Here, Izzykb’s Weblog, Maayke Aimée Damen, Planet in Limbo, SustainUS, The DailyUN, TIGblogs – Group – Canadian Youth Delegation to Poznan, UK Youth Delegation » Blogs, Eco Singapore – United Nations Climate Change Conference 2008, IYCN – What’s With The Climate?

There are also photos from Robert VanWaarden (read his blog, too), and videos put together by Adam MacIsaac

The economic crisis is an opportunity to transform our economy
Cross Posted from Grist

It’s day four of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Poznan Poland, but it feels like I’ve been here for months. I’m up before the sun rises and in bed after midnight – and the action is nonstop. I with 500 youth delegates here from over 54 countries across the globe, from India to Peru, to Australia. Young people have been meeting with governments, participating in negotiations, harassing corporations, training each other in everything from climate justice to organizing skills, and speaking clearly and loudly: young people are collaborating across borders and have a shared vision. We want binding, equitable, science-based targets, and we’re going to fight for them.

One of the ways that we’ve been telling our story is through actions – we’ve been coordinating two per day! This afternoon, we hosted a “Who Wants To Be a Trillionaire?” game show. One contestant was the “big banks,” who have recently won 4.1 trillion dollars in government bailouts from the E.U. and the U.S. The other was a “climate rescue plan” which got over 40 times less – a measly 13.1 billion (if that doesn’t sound like a big disparity, check out the graph on this report here: http://www.ips-dc.org/getfile.php?id=314). The United States Congress has committed zero dollars (http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/913). Despite getting all the questions wrong, the “big banks” got all the money anyway. A rambunctious game show audience held a banner that said: “EU Bailout: $2.8 Trillion. US Bailout: $1.3 Trillion. Climate Rescue: Priceless”

Our point was simple: the same people who have spent decades telling us they can’t afford to save our planet, can clearly move trillions of dollars within weeks (when their own pocketbooks are directly affected). The issue is not lack of resources, its lack of political will. Youth are demanding our governments invest in a strong green economy, our planet, and our future.

Lucky for us, this economic crisis presents us with a wonderful opportunity. The opening day here in Poland, the UNFCCC said that the economic crisis is no excuse for inaction. We are saying that in fact, it’s the best reason in the world to invest in clean energy now, creating green jobs and sparking opportunity worldwide.

If we are bailing out failing industries (from financial systems to auto industries) with public funds, then the public should be able to make demands upon them. Journalist Naomi Klein once called the idea “people’s structural adjustment.” This is a powerful moment for governments who are suddenly having more control – if they choose to – over massive sectors of industry, by exercising leverage for climate demands. We need to renew these sectors. Its not just about money its about innovation and curbing their emissions. We can tie government lending to demands that industry become more innovative and more climate conscious.

We know that any solution to the climate crisis that is not equitable and just, is no solution at all. International youth are at the United Nations tasking the leaders of the world with no less than fundamentally changing the way our economies work. This crisis gives us an opportunity to take a massive step forward with instituting a Green New Deal and investing in a new truly just, sustainable economy.

Cross-posted from Fired Up Media.

Hey everybody, so I wanted to update you on all the incredible progress we have been making on developing the communications capacity of the youth climate movement – with Fired Up: Youth Action TV. It has been a huge learning curve, starting with blogging and YouTube video and moving into the world of TV production. However, Fired Up Media is starting to produce our first TV content. We partnered with LinkTV’s Earthfocus, with the support of Focus the Nation and Clif Bar, to introduce the youth climate movement. Watch EarthFocus 9 now!

We gathered archive footage, learned how to edit, compose, and identify TV quality film…but this was only the beginning. The big success was producing the content at all! With our next segment, we are getting more ambitious and are sending a team to UN climate negotiations, to tell the story of young people trying to build a global movement to build a sustainable world. (With three editors of It’s Getting Hot in Here, Shadia Wood, Christine Irvine, and me!)

As to whom will be seeing it…Link TV is the first nationwide television channel dedicated to providing Americans with global perspectives on news, events and culture. Currently, the channel is available as a basic service in more than 31 million U.S. homes that receive direct broadcast satellite television (DBS). Pretty exciting, as the channel is available in 1 out of all 4 US households.

Also, this isn’t the only project we have been working on! Check out the Fired Up Online Organizing Wiki.

Fired Up: Youth Action TV is a funded project of Project Slingshot, awarded by Focus the Nation and funded by the awesome folks at Clif Bar.

Cross-posted from WattHead – Energy News and Commentary

In a prepared video address delivered today at the Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, CA, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to turn over “a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change.”

In the short address, viewed by an audience that includes leaders from around the nation and the world, Obama emphasized the importance of the upcoming international climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland, and said he was “looking forward to working with all nations to meet [the climate] challenge in the coming years.”

Obama reconfirmed his campaign commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 through a national cap and trade program and again pledged to “invest $15 billion each year to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future.”

Convened by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other US governors on the forefront of global warming solutions, the Bi-partisan Governors Global Climate Summit convenes in Los Angeles today and begins two days of dialog designed to spur global cooperation on climate change in advance of the UN-sponsored talks in Poland next month. To this crowd of climate leaders, Obama said:

“Few challenges facing America — and the world — are more urgent than combating climate change. Many of you are working to confront this challenge….but too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office.”

Watch the short video address below (full transcript below the fold):

Remarks as Delivered:

Let me begin by thanking the bipartisan group of U.S. governors who convened this meeting.

Few challenges facing America – and the world – are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We’ve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.

Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security.

I know many of you are working to confront this challenge. In particular, I want to commend Governor Sebelius, Governor Doyle, Governor Crist, Governor Blagojevich and your host, Governor Schwarzenegger –all of you have shown true leadership in the fight to combat global warming. And we’ve also seen a number of businesses doing their part by investing in clean energy technologies.

But too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office. My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process.

That will start with a federal cap and trade system. We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them an additional 80% by 2050.

Further, we will invest $15 billion each year to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future. We will invest in solar power, wind power, and next generation biofuels. We will tap nuclear power, while making sure it’s safe. And we will develop clean coal technologies.

This investment will not only help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, making the United States more secure. And it will not only help us bring about a clean energy future, saving our planet. It will also help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis by generating five million new green jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced.

But the truth is, the United States cannot meet this challenge alone. Solving this problem will require all of us working together. I understand that your meeting is being attended by government officials from over a dozen countries, including the UK, Canada and Mexico, Brazil and Chile, Poland and Australia, India and Indonesia. And I look forward to working with all nations to meet this challenge in the coming years.

Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: your work is vital to the planet. While I won’t be President at the time of your meeting and while the United States has only one President at a time, I’ve asked Members of Congress who are attending the conference as observers to report back to me on what they learn there.

And once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change.

Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious.

Stopping climate change won’t be easy. It won’t happen overnight. But I promise you this: When I am President, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America. Thank you.

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Calling All Climate Activists!

As COP 14 in Poznan draws ever closer, the Communications Working Group has been discussing how the global youth climate movement can most effectively communicate our ideas and priorities at the negotiations. We must speak with a strong, unified voice, with a consistent message coming directly from our movement.  Uniting youth under a message and talking points that represent our global diversity across borders, creeds, and race; we are vastly effective.

For participants traveling to Poznan as part of national youth delegations or as representatives of NGOs, don’t worry! This isn’t an attempt to dictate what your delegation says or does at the conference. The international message is what we plan to talk about when we’ve stepped out of national delegation or NGO mode, and are speaking as international youth.

Together let us create a list of talking points and key issues that we can emphasize at this international conference.

Given the international nature of the climate crisis, what is it that makes the international youth message unique?

It is absolutely imperative to focus on the issues that affect young people all over the world, and particularly those that will disproportionately impact disenfranchised people like the global south, indigenous peoples, and low income people.

But the actual content of this message isn’t just for the Comms group to decide – that’s up to you!

Post your ideas as comments in the thread below, Today!  Spread the word to make sure that as many young people as possible can participate in this process.

Please post your comments no later than November 21st, 2008

Looking forward to your ideas,

Malachai Chadwick and Shadia Fayne Wood

International Communications Working Group

Join Us

Cross-posted from WattHead – Energy News and Commentary

Props to 350.org, Greenpeace’s Project Hot Seat and all the others that worked to get this commitment:

UPDATE: Jamie Henn, an organizer at 350.org had this to say:

We’re still trying to confirm Obama’s commitment to attend these important meetings. But one thing is clear: the invitations are working.

Over 43,000 people from around the world have invited the Prez-elect to Poland for the UN Climate Meetings. We need to keep that pressure building and celebrate this election by getting our country back on the right track.

You can make your voice heard and invite President-elect Obama to the climate party in Poland by heading here: http://www.350.org/invite

Cross posted from Pushback.org.

Talk about a consensus: 90 percent of young people around the world think global leaders should do “whatever it takes” to tackle climate change, according to a new United Nations Environment Program survey.

The survey questioned 12-to-18 year-old’s in five countries (Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, and the United States), all key players in upcoming international climate negotiations. Concern about global warming is highest in Brazil (96 percent) and South Africa (91 percent), followed by India (85 percent) and the U.S. (82 percent). Fewer youth in frigid Russia (70 percent) seem to be concerned, but they still constitute a clear majority.

Youth are also clearly connecting the dots between climate change and failed political leadership.

In South Africa, the U.S., and Brazil, the vast majority of youth say global leaders aren’t doing enough to take on the crisis (South Africa, 82 percent; the U.S., 79 percent; Brazil, 73 percent). Curiously, in India young people are more likely to say world leaders are doing “too much” or “enough;” just 19 percent say they are not doing enough–but those 19 percent are increasingly organized.

So where do we go from here?

The next 14 months are crucial when it comes to stopping global warming. Not only do scientists say we’re running out of time, but the United Nations is tasked with passing a new global climate treaty by December 2009 at the UN Climate Meetings in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It’s a herculean task, made all the more complicated by the current economic crisis. Global warming is the most interconnected of issues, spanning development, poverty, food, human rights, national sovereignty, trade, the environment, and more. Currently, the United Nations negotiations are stumbling forward toward Copenhagen, bogged down in bureaucracy and argument. The meetings desperately need a breath of fresh air.

Youth are well equipped to breathe new life into the negotiations. While they don’t have an official seat at the table, young people have had an active presence at the UN Climate Meetings in the past few years.

In 2005, hundreds of North American youth descended on Montreal, Canada for the December meetings. I attended with two busloads of students from Middlebury College (the offer of a free weekend in party-capital Montreal was an added bonus for students stuck in Vermont for the winter). We held workshops, marched around the meetings in togas to attract attention, and heckled the U.S. delegation when it was blocking progress.

The Montreal meetings sparked a new youth interest in the meetings. Last year, for the Bali Climate Meetings, nearly a hundred youth from around the world came to the Pacific island to organize creative actions to push the meetings along. This year, around 500 youth are scheduled to attend the meetings in Poznan, Poland. Plans for large-scale actions, creative lobbying, digital communications, and more are underway.

According to today’s UNEP report, more and more youth feel that they have the power to change their government’s policies on global warming. Here in the United States, Power Vote is hard at work registering hundreds of thousands of youth clean energy voters. And around the world, new youth coalitions are springing up to fight global warming.

Good to know the United Nations is beginning to get the message.