Bollywood star to do speaking tour on climate change

I should preface this blog post with the warning that I do not watch Bollywood movies, and I have no idea who this guy is.

Nevertheless, I was interested to learn in an article published at CanadianImmigrant.ca that "popular Bollywood Star Rahul Bose" is embarking on a speaking tour to focus on the negative affects of climate change. 

Bose is an official Oxfam Ambassador and is representing efforts being made by Climate Action Network Canada and others to help inform and educate Vancouver's South Asian communities about climate change.

“South Asian Canadians are a very politically active community and crucial to applying the necessary pressure on Canadian politicians to take meaningful action on climate change. Mr. Bose is the perfect ambassador to share this message,” says Graham Saul, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada.

To learn more about how you can attend one of Bose's speaking engagements, click here for more information.

The bold and brave Norway

There has been a significant development today in Bangkok at the United Nation's summit on climate change, a preliminary conference before the massive UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Denmark: Norway announced that it is committing a 40% reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, based on 1990 levels.

For those not familiar to the UN negotiations: this is significant. This is huge. Norway is the first developed country to make such a large commitment, as so far Canada, the US, the UK have been unwilling to put anything on the table.

According to Kevin Grandia in a blog on the Huffington Post, Norway's announcement puts tremendous pressure on Canada, as they have avoided making any commitments due to the excuse that its a northern country.

Dale Marshall from the David Suzuki Foundation explains the significant of Norway's commitment for Canada:

What the negotiators are really talking about

Ever wonder what 4,000 delegates talked about at the UN negotiations recently in Bangkok in the leadup to the Copenhagen, but don't want to read 300 pages for formal text?

Well, neither do I really, and the Guardian has understood this well.

On their website they have developed a beginner's guide to the Copenhagen climate conference negotiating text. 

For example, here's an official text up for discussion:

"[Comparability of mitigation efforts by [developed country Parties] [shall] [should] be ensured through: (a) [Their [magnitude] [using tonnes of CO₂ equivalents as a unit of comparability] [level of mitigation ambition]]… (d) [Time frames [commitment periods] and the application of the same base year established by the Kyoto protocol]."

Here is what it really means, according to the interactive guide:

"Because the US did not ratify the Kyoto protocol, it lies on a different legal track to the countries that did. The notion of comparability is one way to bridge the gap. US targets may look weaker, it says, but they are starting from a different position and that needs to be accounted for."

Click here to read their handy guide.