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For the past few days, we’ve been feeling the HOTTEST days and nights ever. In Kuching, the rainy season hasn’t ended since the Chinese New Year. Even my mother-in-law knows that the world is changing.

Today, one of THE most important meetings in the world kicks off in Bangkok, Thailand - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) meeting of 163 member countries to discuss how they will ALL agree to work together to reduce global warming. This agreement needs to be signed by the end of 2009.

Now, having 163 (Total membership = 192) countries agree on something is NOT easy but amazingly, they agreed last December in Bali that everyone REALLY has no choice but to agree that everyone has to do something. And do it fast.

Why? Well, the first time they actually agreed to monitor and report Co2 (carbon dioxide) emissions (the gas mainly responsible for global warming) in their countries was in 1997 (Kyoto Protocol) but they’d only actually start to do this on Feb 15, 2005 after 141 countries (thanks to Russia, no thanks to Australia and US) ratified it i.e. sign AND agree to do what is required in the agreement. More joined in later bringing the total to 178 countries.

In 1992, about 172 countries (I think) signed an agreement (actually called “protocol”) during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro but that’s just like a list of important signatures. Nobody is required (or “legally bound”) to do anything in their country.

This Bangkok meeting is VERY IMPORTANT because 192 countries are signing to TAKE ACTION:
a) industrialized countries have to agree to reduce CO2 emissions by 15% from 2008-2012 and
b) then only will developing countries (esp China and India) agree to control their CO2 emissions after that…

Remember that they only agreed to “monitor and report emissions” in the Kyoto Protocol of 2005? Can you imagine that it took them 50 years to agree to such passive participation?

The first warning came in 1955 by US scientist, Charles Keeling who reported increased CO2 in the atmosphere.

In 1988, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), i.e. the group of scientists who works on the reports for the UNFCCC released their findings but to much debate, disagreement and denial. These scientists shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Price with Al Gore (Have you watched “An Inconvenient Truth“?).

In 2004, the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” gave a dramatic picture of the effects of climate change.

In recent years, the melting glaciers in the Andes, Alaska, the Rockies, the Swiss Alps and Mount Kilimanjaro; tsunami in Asia; Hurricane Katrina; drought in Australia; floods in Bangladesh; snowstorms in Beijing and heat spells/endless rains in Malaysia alerted everyone to the real effects of climate change.

Although it feels like we’re finally moving forward to actually doing something, we’re not doing it fast enough. Many ordinary people, like you and I, either do not know the causes & effects of climate OR think that these changes won’t affect them because:

a) they’ve got money to buy air-conditioners or heaters

b) they can move to another country if their current one turns bad

b) they’ve got no children to care about what happens to the Earth in future

Guess what? Everyone in every country will be affected. NO amount of money, weapons or technology is going to protect you from these effects —

it’s amazing to hear that some people believe that they can build higher walls and hire security guards to protect them from the poor, homeless people who rush to their country to escape theirs…

Be informed that first, Asia contains 30% of the world’s poorest people and second, Africa, who is already suffering from decades-old problems of hunger, poverty and now HIV/AIDS, will also suffer the worst effects from climate change.

That’s why the United Nations came up with the Millennium Development Goal of reducing Africa’s poor by half by 2010. That’s why Bono of U2, Bill Gates, the RED campaign and other celebrities are doing (or trying) their best to help Africa.

Back in Bangkok, 163 countries (including government representatives, participants from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions) will discuss (or debate, haggle, demand, trade for their own countries or group i.e. industrialized vs developing) in 5 days on the concrete actions for the new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012.

Three more meetings will take place this year to speed up the contents of this agreement ready for signing by the end of 2009. 

What about the rest of us?

We can also do a lot by examining how we use energy (electricity & water) in our daily lives, how we generate waste and how we use our transport.

In Europe, the European Commission launced the “Carbon Campaign” to encourage folks to Turn Down (heat). Switch Off (electricity). Recycle (reduce waste). Walk (drive less). 

In Australia, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour in 2007. Last Saturday, major global cities joined Earth Hour 2008 to do the same from 8-9 pm.

While there’s a reported dramatic reduction of energy use, it’s just one hour, one year.

What’s needed are small, important changes in our lives everyday. Here’s what Malaysians can do (taken from the EC’s Carbon Calculator):

Turn down
1. Turn down air-conditioning - many offices, public places & homes are too cold!
2. Let hot food cool down first before putting it in the fridge.
3. Use an auto-defrost fridge

Switch off
1. Switch off lights when you’re not using them
2. Switch off your air-conditioner when you’re not using it
3. Run your washing machine only on a full load
4. Dry clothes naturally instead of using a tumble-dryer - I’m not replacing our dryer when it gives up!
5. Boil just enough hot water for your hot drink - no more ThermoPots!
6. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
7. Fix dripping taps
8. Switch off your PCs in the evening…don’t leave it on standby. It needs a break today when you go home.

Recycle
1. Buy bigger bottles instead of cute, trendy little ones
2. Recycle your waste - paper, glass and plastic
3. Use a reusable bag each time you go shopping - our supermarkets need to allow this!
4. Cut down on printing documents

Walk
1. Consider fuel economy when you change to a new car
2. Change to low-viscosity motor oil
3. Apply smart driving - constant speed, less braking and turn off the engine even at short stops
4. Take the train instead of the car - KTM has new, frequent & improved services!
5. Skip one short haul & one long haul flight - less travel!
6. Walk or cycle instead of driving - exercise is good for us!

LET’S DO IT TOGETHER, MALAYSIA!

Anyone joining in?

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