Confrontation with the Minister in Bali

Canada's Minister of Environment John Baird arrived in Bali today. Just in
time to reach an all time low by being the recipient of all three of today's
"Fossil Awards" from environmentalists from around the world. There are
over a thousand environmentalists here for the climate talks and at the end
of every day hundreds meet and vote on which countries did the most to hurt
the potential for progress in fighting climate change. Today Canada had the
dubious honor of being first, second and third.

It turns out that there is one thing to admire about Baird. His chutzpa.
With full recognition of how disgusted some of the most committed and
informed people from around the world are at him he waltzed into the
non-governmental groups reception and had a beer. Obviously I couldn't pass
up the moment. After debating the issues with him for half an hour I can
safely say that the chutzpa is all I found to admire and unfortunately that
alone is not enough to make a great leader. We live in a time that calls
for courageous and thoughtful leadership. Talking to Minister Baird tonight
was a little like debating Bill O'Reilly. You have to be quick and he is
clever but he doesn't listen for a second and he is more interested in
scoring points than actually leading.

The Minister spent a lot of time trying to convince me that the Liberals had
done a worse job and when I finally got him off his partisan rant and tried
to steer him to a conversation about what really was the art of the possible
in Canada for addressing climate change he moved onto blaming ineffective
environmentalists for Canada's rise in emissions. I reminded him that he
was indeed the Minister and that his government might perhaps have a teeny
bit of responsibility for whether Canada actually steps up to the plate and
sets strong absolute emissions reductions targets and protects Canada's
heritage. He responded by arguing that 20% reductions by 2050 is a strong
target. Maybe just maybe he would be right if he meant a 20% reduction from
1990 levels but he confirmed that no he is talking about 20% from 2006. Its
like handing someone with who has just had open heart surgery a band aid.
He argues that its all we could do. I think he's underestimating the
knowledge, the commitment and the courage of Canadians. Or perhaps he's
just protecting those big donations likely flowing to the Tar Sands Tories
from the oil patch.

Perhaps just as shocking as Baird's posturing and weak environmental agenda
in the face of catastrophic climate change was the response by hordes of
environmentalists who were whispering that he had arrived and cursing him
and the Canadian government but unwilling to talk to him or the rest of his
contingent. While I was running around grabbing knowledgeable people to
engage with him (thank you Steve Kretzmann from OilChange and Dale Marshall
from Suzuki Foundation) I was actually chastised by some who thought we
should save the debating and lobbying for the day time and not bother him
with the issues. Amazing. In my mind there is no question that we have to
take every opportunity to engage decision makers, to encourage debate, to
hold those who have the power to make change accountable. The man is an
Environment Minister at a climate change conference and hell, I was
respectful...I even refrained from throwing him in the pool. If there is
one thing we cannot forget as we face down catastrophic climate change it is
that we are responsible today not only for what we do but for what we don't
do. If the United Nations predictions come true and in ten years we are
scrambling globally to deal with food shortages, drought, massive species
loss, fires and up to a 100 million environmental refugees I want to know
then that I didn't miss an opportunity because I was too polite.

Will discussions tonight change Baird's mind? Perhaps not but he'll know
that wherever he goes he is accountable right now for his posturing,
inaction and outright obstruction of meaningful international agreements on
climate.

On a happier note at the Boreal Forests and Global Warming Panel today we
had a great turn out and a stimulating discussion about the important role
that Canadian forests play as massive carbon storehouses and biodiversity
warehouses. There is no doubt that post-Bali new international forests
rules will be on the agenda and it is critical that these account for all
forest emissions and support large scale conservation. But in the end
without strong fossil fuel emissions reductions even healthy protected
forests remain under threat. You can find my full speech from the panel on
the ForestEthics website.

People are loving William Marsden's new book on the tar sand Stupid to the
Last Drop that I am giving out. If you haven't read it pick up a copy. Its
worth a read. Perhaps the folks from the Alberta government that watched me
giving them out are not loving it quite so much....

Hot and tired in Bali,

Tzeporah