News
Update on Grassroots Protests Against Contempt of Parliament
Blog | Tuesday, 05 Jan 2010Since I posted my last blog on New Year's Eve, urging Canadians to demand respect for democracy and accountability from their government, I have been heartened to see so many actions launched. ...
Cynicism and Calculation
Blog | Thursday, 31 Dec 2009The Prime Minister's latest move, to pick up the phone and ask the Governor General to shut down parliament until early March, proves once again his extreme cynicism and mastery in political...
What did it all mean?
Blog | Saturday, 19 Dec 2009The negotiations in Copenhagen did not produce what the planet and, more particularly, what humanity needs. What did it accomplish? The Kyoto Protocol remains operational through to 2012. That is...
Good COP, Bad COP
Blog | Saturday, 19 Dec 2009I have been to quite a few Conferences of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COPs). Some have been brilliant, like COP11 in Montreal. Some were dismal, like COP14 in Poznan...
No Details Yet, But...
Blog | Friday, 18 Dec 2009...it appears that Bolivia and Venezuela just walked out of the COP.Rumours flying but appear confirmed that the Danish organized a meeting of the "most important" leaders and forgot to invite China...
Translating Positions into Degrees...
Blog | Friday, 18 Dec 2009The UK Guardian has published an excellent summary of why no deal is better than a bad deal (in the words of Desmond Tutu). It is all about the science. On current carbon reduction commitments, the...
Some hope -- maybe
Blog | Thursday, 17 Dec 2009Sarkozy and Lula are not giving up. Working the phones. Sarkozy to Obama. Is it possible? Yes.
Hope Fading
Blog | Thursday, 17 Dec 2009There were some brave speeches, claiming there is still a chance of a legally binding and transparent agreement in Copenhagen. But it is increasingly hard to believe them. Gordon Brown has tried to...
More Speeches: Nauru and Kenya
Blog | Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009Nauru, Marcus Stephen.We want a fair, legally binding agreement. Negotiations very contentious and we have failed to reach a good outcome. It is clear that not all countries understand the severity...
A Plea from the Maldives
Blog | Wednesday, 16 Dec 2009There was a break in the leaders' speeches.I went to a side-event from ICLEI, now chaired by an old friend from BC, David Cadman. In a discussion of local cities initiative, Sir Nicholas Stern...