26/07/2019

'Time To Rebel': Greta Thunberg Adds Voice To New Song By The 1975

The Guardian - 

On band’s latest single, 16-year-old activist urges young people to act on climate emergency
 ‘The rules have to be changed’ ... Greta Thunberg, left, with Matt Healy of the 1975 
Greta Thunberg’s Speech

We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis.
And we need to call it what it is. An emergency.
We must acknowledge that we do not have the situation under control and that we don’t have all the solutions yet. Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing certain things.
We admit that we are losing this battle.
We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed.
But homo sapiens have not yet failed.
Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.
But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.
We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.
Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.
And either we do that, or we don’t.
You say that nothing in life is black or white.
But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie.
Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming, or we don’t.
Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, or we don’t.
Either we choose to go on as a civilisation or we don’t.
That is as black or white as it gets.
Because there are no grey areas when it comes to survival.
Now we all have a choice.
We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations.
Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.
That is up to you and me.
And yes, we need a system change rather than individual change. But you cannot have one without the other.
If you look through history, all the big changes in society have been started by people at the grassroots level. People like you and me.
So, I ask you to please wake up and make the changes required possible. To do your best is no longer good enough. We must all do the seemingly impossible.
Today, we use about 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground.
So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be changed.
Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.
So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.
Greta Thunberg has made her musical debut on a single by the 1975.
 On a track called The 1975, a version of which traditionally opens each of the British band’s albums, the 16-year-old environmental activist restates her position on the need to act on the climate emergency.
Over minimal orchestral backing, Thunberg says: “We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed.
"All political movements in their present form have failed. But homo sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around.”
She continues: “We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.”
Thunberg concludes: “So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.” (Full text opposite.)
The proceeds from the track will go to Extinction Rebellion at Thunberg’s request. Thunberg is the first outside party to feature on a recording by the band.
The track was recorded in Stockholm in late June and is the first song to be released from the 1975’s forthcoming album, Notes on a Conditional Form.
The band manager and founder of the label Dirty Hit, Jamie Oborne, said the group and the label were making efforts to minimise their environmental impact.
Dirty Hit’s office has phased out all single-use plastic, will no longer produce plastic products including CD jewel cases and is working to minimise the impact of vinyl production.
“Rather than ignoring that it’s a pollutant, we’re minimising it by only doing lightweight vinyl from now on,” Oborne said.
“That isn’t very trendy, but one heavyweight LP is the equivalent of making two or three [standard thickness LPs].”
Dirty Hit’s CDs and vinyl are contained in paper packaging and not wrapped in non-degradable shrink wrap.
Oborne said they had sourced a biodegradable shrink wrap which they would integrate fully once their production plants had full access to it. The 1975’s next merchandise line will also be environmentally friendly, repurposing unsold merchandise into new garments.
Oborne dismissed peers’ suggestions that the organisation could be labelled hypocritical for taking a stance on the climate crisis before becoming 100% carbon efficient.
“That’s why we’re in this situation where everyone’s standing around and it takes a child to point out that we can make these changes,” he said, referring to Thunberg.
“We’re not going to have touring worked out in six weeks because everything’s working against you, but we are going to have it sorted out in a period of time, and 50% is better than nothing. If everyone pushes responsibility onto other people because they can’t completely solve [the issue], we’re already fucked.”
The track release follows Thunberg’s address to French politicians on 23 July, in which she urged them to “unite behind the science” of climate change.
After rightwing legislators said they would not attend her appearance at the National Assembly, she said youth climate activists have become “the bad guys” for stating “uncomfortable things”.
“Just for quoting or acting on these numbers, these scientific facts, we receive unimaginable amounts of hate and threats,” she said.
“We are being mocked and lied about by members of parliament and journalists.”
 On 20 September, Thunberg and other young environmental activists will lead a climate strike around the world.
The 1975’s new album is the second in their Music for Cars series, which began in November 2018 with A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships.
The group will headline this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals in August.

Greta Thunberg addresses the French National Assembly in Paris on 23 July 2019.
Photograph: JP Pariente/SIPA/Rex/Shutterstock

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Foreign Minister Marise Payne Defends Australia's Climate Change Policies

ABC News - Melissa Clarke

Foreign Minister Marise Payne defends Australia's climate change policies. (ABC News)

Key points:
  • Ms Payne defended the Coalition's credentials on reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • The Pacific region is emerging as a battleground for influence in global politics
  • She said the changing power dynamic in the Asia-Pacific isn't cause for concern
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has rejected demands from Pacific countries for Australia to do more to combat climate change, as she heads to Fiji for a regional meeting of foreign ministers.Pacific nations have identified climate change as the single greatest threat to their security, with leaders such as Tuvalu's Prime Minister Enele Sopoage warning Australia needs a "more progressive response".But Senator Payne has brushed off suggestions Australia isn't doing enough on climate change, stating Pacific leaders "should be pleased" with Australia's commitments under the UN's Paris Agreement.
"I think that they should be pleased that Australia is meeting our Paris commitments, that is something we are absolutely locked in to doing," Senator Payne said.
Climate change and the ADF
Speaking to the ABC ahead of her departure, she defended the Coalition's credentials on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are very serious and meeting our Paris commitments is the best symbol of that, in my view."
The Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva comes at a time of renewed focus on the Pacific.
The region is emerging as a battleground for influence in global politics, with Australia trying to maintain its pre-eminence as an economic and strategic partner against China's growing assertiveness.
"Well I think one of the things I think we can say, is that we live here, this is our region," Senator Payne told the ABC.
"These countries are our Pacific family and that is a very important starting point."
Fuel drums are being used as sea walls to provide protection against coastal erosion in Tuvalu. (Oxfam: Rodney Dekker)
China has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in the region, providing more development assistance, economic loans and private sector investment.
An island's race against time
Beijing is presenting a challenge to the United States' long-running dominance as the super-power of the Asia-Pacific region.
But Senator Payne said the changing power dynamic isn't cause for concern.
"Our relationship with Indonesia has changed significantly in the last 10, 20 years, so I don't think relationships such as this are immutable," she said.
"The important thing for governments is to work with the changes, work with those developments.
"I think it's a busy space and I don't think that's a bad thing. The growth in partnerships in the region is a good thing.
"We welcome all-comers, if you like, as long as they're contributing to the things that are important to the region — to security, to stability and to prosperity."
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia is "very serious" about meeting the UN's climate change agreement. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson)


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Climate Change: 12 Years To Save The Planet? Make That 18 Months

BBC - Matt McGrath

CLINT SPENCER
Do you remember the good old days when we had "12 years to save the planet"?
Now it seems, there's a growing consensus that the next 18 months will be critical in dealing with the global heating crisis, among other environmental challenges.
Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45% by 2030.
But today, observers recognise that the decisive, political steps to enable the cuts in carbon to take place will have to happen before the end of next year.
The idea that 2020 is a firm deadline was eloquently addressed by one of the world's top climate scientists, speaking back in 2017.


The jet stream drags tropical continental air from Africa over to Europe

"The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can't be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020," said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and now director emeritus of the Potsdam Climate Institute.
The sense that the end of next year is the last chance saloon for climate change is becoming clearer all the time.
"I am firmly of the view that the next 18 months will decide our ability to keep climate change to survivable levels and to restore nature to the equilibrium we need for our survival," said Prince Charles, speaking at a reception for Commonwealth foreign ministers recently.

So why are the next 18 months so important?
The Prince was looking ahead to a series of critical UN meetings that are due to take place between now and the end of 2020.
Ever since a global climate agreement was signed in Paris in December 2015, negotiators have been consumed with arguing about the rulebook for the pact.
But under the terms of the deal, countries have also promised to improve their carbon-cutting plans by the end of next year.
Prince Charles has stressed how important the next 12 months are in tackling climate change. Getty Images
One of the understated headlines in last year's IPCC report was that global emissions of carbon dioxide must peak by 2020 to keep the planet below 1.5C.
Current plans are nowhere near strong enough to keep temperatures below the so-called safe limit. Right now, we are heading towards 3C of heating by 2100 not 1.5.
As countries usually scope out their plans over five and 10 year timeframes, if the 45% carbon cut target by 2030 is to be met then the plans really need to be on the table by the end of 2020.

What are the steps?
The first major hurdle will be the special climate summit called by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which will be held in New York on 23 September.
Mr Guterres has been clear that he only wants countries to come to the UN if they can make significant offers to improve their national carbon cutting plans.
This will be followed by COP25 in Santiago, Chile, where the most important achievement will likely be keeping the process moving forward.
But the really big moment will most likely be in the UK at COP26, which takes place at the end of 2020.
The UK government believes it can use the opportunity of COP26, in a post-Brexit world, to show that Britain can build the political will for progress, in the same way the French used their diplomatic muscle to make the Paris deal happen.
"If we succeed in our bid (to host COP26) then we will ensure we build on the Paris agreement and reflect the scientific evidence accumulating now that we need to go further and faster," said Environment Secretary Michael Gove, in what may have been his last major speech in the job.
"And we need at COP26 to ensure other countries are serious about their obligations and that means leading by example. Together we must take all the steps necessary to restrict global warming to at least 1.5C."

Reasons to be cheerful?
Whether it's the evidence of heatwaves, or the influence of Swedish school striker Greta Thunberg, or the rise of Extinction Rebellion, there has been a marked change in public interest in stories about climate change and a hunger for solutions that people can put in place in their own lives.
People are demanding significant action, and politicians in many countries have woken up to these changes.
The rise of school strikers like Greta Thunberg has reflected growing interest in the climate question. Getty Images
Ideas like the green new deal in the US, which might have seemed unfeasible a few years ago have gained real traction.
Some countries like the UK have gone even further and legislated for net zero emissions by 2050, the long-term goal that will keep temperatures down.
Prince Charles' sense that the next 18 months are critical is shared by some climate negotiators.
"Our group of small island developing states share Prince Charles's sense of the profound urgency for ambitious climate action," said ambassador Janine Felson from Belize who is the chief strategist for the Alliance of Small Island States group in the UN.
"All at once we are witness to a collective convergence of public mobilisation, worsening climatic impacts and dire scientific warnings that compel decisive climate leadership."
"Without question, 2020 is a hard deadline for that leadership to finally manifest itself."

Reasons to be fearful?
With exquisite timing, the likely UK COP in 2020 could also be the moment the US finally pulls out of the Paris agreement.
But if Donald Trump doesn't prevail in the presidential election that position could change, with a democrat victor likely to reverse the decision.
Either step could have huge consequences for the climate fight.
Right now a number of countries seem keen to slow down progress. Last December the US, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia blocked the IPCC special report on 1.5C from UN talks.
Just a few weeks ago in Bonn, further objections from Saudi Arabia meant it was again dropped from the UN negotiations, much to annoyance of small island states and developing nations.
The US and Saudi Arabia have joined forces to restrict the use of IPCC science reports in climate talks. ANADOLU AGENCY
There will be significant pressure on the host country to ensure substantial progress. But if there's ongoing political turmoil around Brexit then the government may not have the bandwidth to unpick the multiple global challenges that climate change presents.
"If we cannot use that moment to accelerate ambition we will have no chance of getting to a 1.5 or 2C limit," said Prof Michael Jacobs, from the University of Sheffield, a former climate adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"Right now there's nothing like enough understanding of, or commitment to, this among leading countries. That's why the UN Secretary General is holding a summit in September.
"It's great that the COP might be in UK because we have a big civil society ecosystem and much higher climate awareness than in most other countries. But the movement here has barely started to think about how to apply sufficient pressure."
There's also been a strong warning shot from the UK's Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
At the launch of their review of progress made by the UK government on tackling climate change, the country was found not to be on track despite legislating for net zero emissions by 2050.
"The government must show it is serious about its legal obligations…[its] credibility really is at stake here," said CCC chief executive Chris Stark.
"There is a window over the next 12-18 months to do something about this. If we don't see that, I fear the government will be embarrassed at COP26."

And it's not all about climate change
While the decisions taken on climate change in the next year or so will be critical, there are a number of other key gatherings on the environment that will shape the nature on preserving species and protecting our oceans in the coming decades.
Earlier this year a major study on the losses being felt across the natural world as result of broader human impacts caused a huge stir among governments.
The IPBES report showed that up to one million species could be lost in coming decades.


To address this, governments will meet in China next year to try to agree a deal that will protect creatures of all types.
The Convention on Biological Diversity is the UN body tasked with putting together a plan to protect nature up to 2030.
Next year's meeting could be a "Paris agreement" moment for the natural world. If agreement is found it's likely there will be an emphasis on sustainable farming and fishing. It will urge greater protection for species and a limit on deforestation.
Next year, the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea will also meet to negotiate a new global oceans treaty.
This has the potential to make a real difference, according to UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
"We have been convinced by the evidence of environmental degradation which occurs without adequate protection," he said in a speech last week.
"And that is why the United Kingdom has taken the lead in ensuring at least 30% of the ocean we are responsible for is protected by 2030 - a trebling of the present target. We will be asking all nations to sign up to that goal."
If all this comes to pass, the world might have a fighting chance of preserving our natural environment.
But the challenges are huge, the political involvement patchy.
So don't hold your breath!

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