Some facts about coffee:
FairTrade Carbon Neutral Coffee ProjectTo address the impending coffee shortages, the FairClimateFund, ICCO, Max Hevelaar Foundation, and Ethiopian FairTrade Coffee OCFCU organization are teaming up to ensure the entire coffee supply chain (from producer to consumer) contributes to solutions. Through this partnership, this project aims to increase the resilience of coffee farmers, protect coffee forests, introduce fair trade carbon neutral coffee in Europe, and use revenues generated through carbon credits to ensure project sustainability. To do this these partner organizations will support 30,000 coffee farmers and their families in addressing deforestation while implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies to decrease the effects of climate change. The FairCliamteFund is first investing in the implementation of low-emission, low-energy cook stoves in Ethiopian homes. This will not only work to improve the health of women and children who have lung and irritation issues from wood-stove smoke, but also significantly reduce carbon emissions from traditional inefficient wood-fire stoves. Furthermore, it will allow women more free time to increase their productivity regarding the farming and production of coffee beans which are the source of their livelihood. Next, the project will quantify (measure) CO2 reductions and certify them through the Gold Standard Foundation, earning the farmers carbon credits in the European Union Emission Trading System (EU EST). These credits will be sold to Northern countries who are buying the FairTrade carbon neutral coffee, and the revenues from these streams will be used to pay back loans and re-invest in the sustainability of the program. For example, funds will be used for reforestation efforts that further reduce carbon emission, and help to shade the coffee forests, leading to increased stability and sustainability of these farms. The table below outlines the cycle of investment proposed by the FairTrade Carbon Partnership in Coffee. This new model for investment not only ensures emission reduction at the level of production, but also requires buyers (such a supermarkets, restaurants, businesses, and retailers) to reduce their own emissions. Buyers can do this through new coffee brewing processes, waste removal improvements, and efficient transportation methods, which are responsible for much of the emissions of CO2 that occur throughout the supply chain.
The FairTrade Carbon Partnership in Coffee is a pilot project that ensures producers are not the only ones carrying the burden of climate change, and provides an investment venture with increased security and predictability, providing a safety net for investment. These types of projects facilitate changes in the behavior of private finance in favor of positive mitigation and adaptation efforts regarding climate change. Collaboration to ensure carbon emission reduction as well as stable and sustainable development create lower-risk investment structures that lead to successful FairTrade carbon neutral ventures. That, and happy, caffeinated, non-homicidal consumers.
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There has been a huge range of talks in the past few days. I’ve attended talks on topics ranging from the implementation of mitigation policies in Chile to a talk on satellite technology for monitoring forest growth. There is so much going on that it’s almost overwhelming having to choose between all the different events; I keep worrying I’ll have to choose between two I really want to see and make the wrong decision! Through all of this, I made it to a few great talks that really taught me a lot.
Today I attended an event in the US Pavilian where the “Acid Queen,” Carol Turley, presented about ocean acidification with others scientists and David Osbourne, who works with the UN. A few facts about ocean acidification: · The ocean absorbs about ¼ of CO2 emissions · The ocean acidity has gone up by 30% since the industrial revolution · The oceans acidity is showing a strong trend of increasing with increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. The mechanism behind acidification isn’t complicated; CO2 is absorbed into the ocean and reacts with the water to create hydrogen ions (which is what determines acidity). This increases the acidity and has a lot of damaging and far reaching effects. One of the major problems is that the H+ ions react with and dissolve calcium carbonate which shellfish like oysters use to build their shells. This leaves these animals with weaker shells and higher mortality rates. There are places all over the world (in Peru and Thailand to name a few) that have an economy based on these animals. These people are being affected directly right now. The effects of climate change are real and tangible. We all need to work together to solve this problem, ocean acidification is not only going to affect people live on the coast, it will have overarching effect that will impact us all. The 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Peru can be best described with one word: HOT! In Lima, Peru it has been about 25 degrees Celsius, sunny, and very humid. Then, when you add in the fact that the air conditioning doesn’t seem to work in most of the venues within the convention, you definitely feel the heat. Seriously though, delegates from around the world have literally been sweating and waving paper in front of their faces to try to keep cool because it is so hot in the venues. But, more importantly, there are other reasons that many people from around the world are feeling the heat here at COP20 in Lima… “Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems.” – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950’s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea levels have risen.” – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently released its Fifth Assessment Report. It has over 800 authors, and is based on over 9,200 peer-reviewed studies on climate change. Today, members of the IPCC held a plenary session where they highlighted the key findings of their Fifth Assessment Report. Delegates from all over the world, as well as representatives from numerous Non-Governmental Organizations, were in attendance. So far, we have not made much progress on cutting our total greenhouse gas emissions at all. In fact, from 2000-2010, our total emissions were higher than in any previous decade. And, according to the report, by the year 2050, we will have an ice-free arctic during the month of September when the arctic sea ice is at a minimum. The impacts of climate change on natural and human systems have been felt across the globe.
“Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Limiting climate change would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which, together with adaptation, can limit climate change risks.” – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report “Surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century under all assessed emission scenarios. It is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and last longer, and that extreme precipitation events will become more intense and frequent in many regions. The ocean will continue to warm and acidify, and cause global mean sea level to rise.” – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report The plenary session that the IPCC held today is the most serious, yet inspiring message on climate change that I have ever heard. This report definitely signifies that we MUST act. More importantly, we must act VERY SOON. It is critically important that we act now, before it’s too late…because that moment when it will be too late is coming sooner than you think. By the way, here is the link for the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. I strongly recommend reading the “Summary for Policymakers.” It is a lot less technical and significantly shorter than the full report. http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ Wow, both Lima and the COP 20 have already been incredible opportunities, and it is all just getting started! Lima is absolutely gorgeous with its luscious green gardens filled with people out for their morning jogs, its steep cliffs that lead straight to the beaches, and its rolling mountains off in the distance. Before the conference started, we got to visit the historic Plaza de Armas, which had the Government Palace and a beautiful colonial cathedral. We’ve also been able to experience my favorite part about any culture—the food. Kowan and I were brave enough to try one of their infamous guinea pig dishes, which was absolutely delicious! The scenery, the history, and the culture here in Lima have been just awesome to get to experience first-hand. I digress; we did not come to Lima for the culture. We came here for the 20th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC—my gosh, that is a mouthful of a name). Thus far, my time at the COP has been incredibly enlightening. It’s absolutely insane to walk into a plenary session and see those name plates with the names of every country on the planet with their respective delegates. It’s quite surreal. Something else that is surreal is the data. At the opening session, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gave a quick talk about some of the major points of this year’s report. One of the major goals of the UNFCCC has been to keep the global average temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. This 2 degree goal is from a previous IPCC report and basically states that a temperature increase greater than 2 degrees C would cause seriously dangerous climate change. The IPCC reported that in order to meet this target, we have a set amount of CO2 that we can emit globally from pre-industrial times to…forever… We have used 65% of this amount. To quantify this amount, that is 1000 gigatons of CO2 that we can emit for the rest of human existence. Currently, we emit roughly 40 gigatons of CO2 annually. If we maintain this current rate, we have 25 years before we royally screw up the planet. Actually, it is even less since our rate of emitting CO2 has been increasing faster than ever—yes, even after the actions of the Kyoto Protocol. Action must be taken. We have one planet. There are no second chances to get this right. Although, I guess that’s good case for increasing NASA’s funding... -Barry Hartweg Today, the UNFCCC COP 20 has begun! And it was a lot. After a long bus ride to the center, we arrived and it was crazy to see everything and everyone in action. People from all over the world, speaking all kinds of languages buzzed around through the setup of more than 7 gigantic tents. Before things got started, we explored a bit to get the lay of the land and then headed over to the opening ceremony; the first event, where the new COP president spoke.
I headed out from the opening session a bit early because there were other things I wanted to see. Also due to an almost nonexistent air conditioning system, which left a lot of people pretty cranky. Hopefully they do something about that for tomorrow! One of the most amazing about the COP was the country Pavilions. So far only the US, Peru, Indonesia and the European Union had anything, but it was pretty impressive. Peru had an amazing setup where they displayed products grown and produced in the country, and had some amazing coffee too. Indonesia had an opening ceremony with traditional dancers and the Indonesian ambassador kick things off. The US center had a “hyperwall,” which had great displays and presentations. My favorite talk to day was a NASA talk about global climate observations with the use of satellites and other technologies to track changes and their efforts to combine data from different organizations to get the best data they can get. The talk was a bit technical, and I won’t go into all the gritty details, but one idea I took away was really interesting. During the question and answer session the speakers were talking about how it would be helpful to combine and integrate seemingly unrelated data to show overarching trends. For example, it could be telling to compare trends in diseases to trends in CO2 in the atmosphere. That’s one thing I took away today. All these things tie together and should be looked at as a whole. Now to figure out what to see tomorrow.. The first day of the UN Climate Conference in Lima!It was absolutely crazy today as everyone arrived for the first day of the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20) in the San Borja district of Lima. As we walked into the venue, we were stunned by the sheer size of the conference, whose meeting rooms, plenary sessions, national pavilions, restaurants and delegation centers were all created over a period of only 6 weeks to house the thousands of people and events at the conference. The day's events included an opening session in which Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and Manuel Pugar-Vidal, President Designate of COP20, addressed negotiators, press, observers and NGO members alike to kick off the next two weeks of advocacy, activism and negotiation. One of my favorite moments of the day was visiting all of the national pavilions located in a huge tent at the back of the conference center. Anyone passing by the Peru Pavilion was able to take a photo with a model wearing a Peruvian dress, designed by one of Peru's most famous fashion designers with only recycled paper (picture above). Also at the Peru Pavilion were multiple agricultural products grown in the country (such as cocoa beans and "Brazilian" nuts), displayed to showcase Peru's commitment to agricultural sustainability. This commitment to agricultural sustainability inspired me to attend a talk titled "Adaptation & Agroecology: Women's Strategies for Climate Change." The talk focused on how women in agricultural or pastoralist communities are adapting to the negative effects of climate change in this line of work. Many of these women address these unique challenges using permaculture techniques, a branch of ecological design which works to develop sustainable architecture designs and agricultural systems modeled after natural ecosystems. For example, women and men in San Burua, Kenya have begun to implement rain harvesting techniques to deal with long periods of drought. To do this they collect rain water in a large tank, thereby creating water reserves to use during long periods of little to no rain. Another example can be found in Peru, where half a million people in the central Andes region depend on a glacier for water. This glacier is projected to disappear completely in 15-20 years due to global warming. The citizens of this area have begun to prepare for the dwindling of this water supply by planting a variety of pine trees that help to retain water in the soil. They have also begun to grow papas natives (traditional potatoes) that require less water and which can be sold at a higher price. I cannot believe I learned all of this sitting in on just one meeting! There is so much knowledge, expertise and passion to soak up here at COP20.
Stay tuned for Day 2! |
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