Re-cap Paris Climate Talks Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of the Council of Parties (COP) 21 UN climate talks in Paris. It was the ‘Heads of State’ session, so it was a lot of speeches from a lot of politicians and designed to give a strong mandate for the talks through December 11th.

350.org delivered a petition calling for 100% renewable energy by 2050 and keeping at least 80% of fossil fuels under ground, alongside Avaaz, to Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak. The Marshall Islands is one of the countries with the most to lose from rising seas, and who then went to the floor of the talks where he said this:

He wasn’t alone yesterday either. One of the most impressive parts of day 1 was when a group of 20 ‘climate vulnerable’ countries dealing with rising oceans, disappearing glaciers, expanding drought and strengthening storms got together to release a clear call for 100% renewable energy by 2050, and limiting overall warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.

They captured a big slice of media attention, and global climate movement leaders aligned to stand with them.

There are a lot of details left to be worked out, but yesterday wasn’t about details, it was about setting the stage for the best deal possible. Below are some of the best articles about the talks and the impact of 350’s organizing below – and a great video from the actions that have happened so far.

Links and more reading:

List of Climate Vulnerable Forum participating countries: www.thecvf.org/web/climate-vulnerable-forum/cvf-participating-countries/

Here’s a good analysis of the technical issues at stake at the talks: www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34960051

This is an encouraging headline, and describes the massive coming economic shift that will wreck the finances of Big Oil, gas and coal: www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/12021394/COP-21-climate-deal-in-Paris-spells-end-of-the-fossil-era.html

This is my favorite video showing just how amazing the 10,000 person ‘Human Chain’ through the streets of Paris was this Sunday: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXZwR8H6I0M

And here’s our friend Naomi Klein on Democracy Now! discussing the stakes of the talks and the police response to protests here: www.democracynow.org/2015/11/30/naomi_klein_on_paris_summit_leaders

**content re-posted from 350.org