I’ll never forget what it was like being in Copenhagen during the global day of action. After hitch-hiking all the way from Manchester, I marched alongside 100,000 other people from around the world. It was freezing cold but no one noticed. Everyone was shouting, chanting, singing, dancing, and waving placards. This was the culmination of the efforts of so many people – not just in the past year, this was a movement that has been growing and growing for decades. Everyone was sceptical, but with the energy and passion in the air, you couldn’t help but think that we could make a difference.
The day after the march I attended a briefing, where an Oxfam delegate gave us the scoop on what was happening inside the conference centre. Negotiators arguing through the night. Small countries threatening to walk out. Big countries blocking progress and pushing their own interests up the agenda.
I was back in Manchester by the time the Copenhagen Accord was signed, and of course I was disappointed. What our delegate had told us wasn’t half depressing, but I can’t say I was that surprised. Looking back now, I must admit that it was naïve of us to think that we could get that momentous deal in just two weeks.
Behind the scenes campaigners and NGO policy buffs have been spending years priming politicians for a good deal. But Copenhagen became the focal point of these efforts, and as more and more people started to recognise the urgency of the issue it was looking like the best place to hammer out a deal As for the general public, they might be against climate change but they don’t think about it every week, and it’s the big one-off events that are going to get their attention. Almost everyone who gave us a lift along the way to Copenhagen knew at least something about it. So it’s no surprise that we all pinned so much on those two weeks in December.
Ultimately, I think we have to see it as a longer process, and recognise that we’re getting there. A nice fellow called Craig, who drove us a good way down the M1 during our hitchhike, had a fine insight that is worth mentioning. A little speedboat can go pretty fast and turn around easily and quickly. But for a huge ocean liner, turning around takes a long time and a lot of effort. Countries, especially the richest nations, are like these liners. They’ve been going the wrong way for so long that they’ve built a lot of momentum, and just realising this doesn’t mean they can turn around straight away. Slowing down is hard enough.
I’m not making excuses, especially not for the Accord – it’s not good enough, and some politicians clearly don’t get just how serious climate change is. Oxfam is already seeing the effects climate change is having on its work in developing countries. Drought exacerbates the already desperate poverty in East Africa. Hurricanes tear apart the poorest countries in the Caribbean. I also don’t mean to say that we can take our time with the issue, as time is running out to avoid runaway climate change. Whatever sceptics might say about it, it is happening and the poorest communities are experiencing it right now.
What I am trying to say is that we shouldn’t just pin all our hopes on this year’s talks in Mexico this time. Maybe we need to change our approach, and make sure everything is in place for a global deal that will save the world from climate change. This means putting the pressure on now. This means supporting the Robin Hood Tax, because it could generate money to enable the poorest countries to cope with the effects of climate change. We need to make sure the captains of these liners are pressing as hard as they can on the brakes, and that they’re hanging on to the steering-wheel until their ship has gone right the way around.