The three authors of “Grasping the Climate Crisis – A Provocation from the Tällberg Foundation”, Bo Ekman, Johan Rockström and Anders Wijkman presented the book at an evening event at the UNFCCC COP 14 meeting in Poznan, Poland, on December 9th.
“
Grasping the Climate Crisis – A Provocation from the Tällberg Foundation” was first presented to members of parliament at a breakfast meeting at the Swedish Parliament, and then launched to the press in Stockholm on December 1st and in Brussels a couple of days later. The three authors, Bo Ekman, Founder and Chairman of the Tällberg Foundation, Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and Anders Wijkman, Member of the European Parliament, then presented the book at an evening event at the UNFCCC COP 14 meeting in Poznan, Poland, on December 9th.
In a crowded and lively buffet dinner, they explained what had led them to take the decision to set their combined perspectives down in writing. A lively conversation ensued among those present, which included, among the 150 present, many members of the EU Parliament delegations, representatives from several UN Institutions, senior climate and environment advisors such as Sunita Narain from the Center for Science and Environmental in India, Luis Gomez-Echeverri from Colombia and Svante Axelsson, from Sweden.
The climate conference in Poznan has been a status-check ahead of next year’s expected extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent catastrophic changes in the climate. According to the authors of “Grasping the Climate Crisis”, the original targets expressed in Kyoto, in Bali, and by regional agreements such those set by the EU, are not sufficient to prevent crisis. Research not yet considered by the PICK shows that climate change is taking place at a much faster rate and with far more serious consequences than first predicted. Rockström, Ekman and Wijkman warn about catastrophic tipping points destabilisation of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem, a tipping point that might be compared to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy ahead of the global financial crisis. The difference, the authors say, is that we usually manage to find a way out of a financial crisis. As for ecosystems collapse, there is usually no way back.
We cannot negotiate with nature. We need changes that go beyond political compromises and national self-interest. Current negotiations are simply not ambitious enough, the authors say.
In the warm and friendly atmosphere of the beer cellars of the beautiful Brovaria Hotel in Poznan, the Provocation was well received. It created a buzz of discussions and a sense that its clear message was sorely needed by delegations from both North and South. As Anders Wijkman said, noting that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change had omitted ethics and equality from the global climate change response for four years. "There is no way we can tackle climate change unless we integrate the whole dimension of development and poverty reduction."
Analyses of the COP 14 meeting in Poznan will assess whether important progress was made, but by launching the Provocation, the authors, all three who are members of the Tällberg Foundation board, aim to help those engaging in the negotiating process to grasp the serious scientific reality and develop a courageous approach to governance of this truly enormous challenge.
Download "Grasping the climate crisis - A Provocation from the Tällberg Foundation"