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Bill McKibben keynote speech ved Paris Divestment Conference 01.09.2015.

(under udarbejdelse) European Greens og 350.org afholdt 1. september i fællesskab en konference om divestment, hvor Bill McKibben, grundlæggeren af 350.org, gav den indledende tale. Her kommer mere introduktion en af dagene, men i første omgang er der mulighed for at se hans 40 min. indlæg. nederst er der links til konferencens øvrige indslag og paneldiskussioner.

Teksten herunder stammer fra konferencefolderens introduktion:

The case of the carbon bubble and divesting from fossil fuels

The world is agreed: the temperature of the atmosphere must not rise by more than 2°C. At the 2010 UN Climate Conference in Cancún, Mexico, representatives of 194 states committed themselves to this target. Even the USA and China, who never signed the Kyoto Protocol, supported the decision, as do all other major greenhouse gas emitters. The 2°C target refers to the rise in temperature relative to pre-industrial levels. How this can best be achieved is the subject of much controversy. However, there is a large measure of consensus that it must be achieved in order to limit the impact of climate change to a level which humanity can bear.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), where hundreds of international scientists analyse climate change and propose countermeasures, have on a number of occasions stressed the urgency of consistent measures if we are to keep the Earth on track towards the 2°C target.

How much CO₂ emissions have to be cut and what does it mean for current fossil fuel reserves?
But what does the 2°C target mean in concrete terms? How much CO₂ can humanity emit into the atmosphere without jeopardising getting there? A joint study by the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the London School of Economics has produced a detailed answer: Between now and 2050, only 900 gigatons of CO₂ can be emitted if the 2°C target is to be attained with a probability of 80%. In the second half of the century, only a further 75 gigatons can be emitted. If more CO₂ is emitted, the probability of remaining within the 2°C limit falls rapidly. With 1,075 gigatons by 2050, the probability is only 50%.

Naturally, these values are only estimates. As far as their order of magnitude is concerned, they are largely uncontentious among climate researchers. Their explosiveness only becomes apparent when one compares them with the quantities of CO₂ contained in the oil, gas and coal reserves which states and big business giants have secured for themselves – this means all sources which are already being exploited or have been earmarked for exploitation.

If we calculate how much CO₂ they contain altogether, we arrive at a figure of 2,890 gigatons. This is around three times the maximum which our climate could bear. There is therefore an alarming disparity between the 2°C target adopted by the international community and the action which is being taken by states and businesses.

Essentially what this means is that if all fossil reserves were to be burned, our climate would warm by far more than 2°C – with disastrous consequences for humanity and our planet.

The alternative is for states to ensure compliance with the 2°C target, as agreed at the World Climate Conference in Cancún. That in turn would mean that the bulk of oil, gas and coal reserves cannot be burned, and therefore worthless to their owners.

When investors realise that a large part of fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned, energy undertakings could lose 40-60% of their value on stock exchanges.

Se hele konferenceprogrammet her.
Se tidligere blog-indlæg tagged Bill McKibben.

Alle konferencens dele er tilgængelige på video:

Welcome – Bütikofer, Boeve, Cosse, 13:27 min. video.
Keynote – Bill McKibben, 40:15 min. video.
Video Message – Achim Steiner, 5:31 min video.
Keynote – Marjan Minnesma, 35:55 min video.
Panel 1 – Divestment Stories, 75:13 min. video.
Video Intervention – Desmond Tutu, 4:03 min, video.
Divestment Dialogue – with Olivier Rousseau (FRR) & Dagmar Dehmer, 19:19 min. video.
Panel 2 – Promoting a Sustainable Financial System, 61:40 min. video.
Concluding Remarks – Nicolas Hulot, 5:26 min. video.
Closing – Yannick Jadot, 7:22 min. video.

Alle videoer på samlet playliste.