Kerry's Speech on Wednesday @ COP15

photo: Senator Kerry speaking @ COP15

I stumbled upon this article in the Politico today. The opening paragraph makes me smile each time I read it:

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is tired of the world telling the Senate what to do — so he spent his brief stopover Wednesday at the U.N. climate conference telling the world what it can do for the Senate.

In a speech that was part climate-change pep rally, part lecture on America’s legislative political dynamics, Kerry argued that he needs a strong political settlement at COP-15 to jolt the Senate into action on its moribund cap-and-trade bill.

Most of Senator Kerry's speech was captured in the video below. Full recording should be posted on Senator Kerry's website soon.

Senator John Kerry at the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009 from Northseasailor on Vimeo.

Some highlights from the speech (full transcript available here):

If Dick Cheney can argue that even a 1% chance of a terrorist attack is 100% justification for preemptive action—then surely, when scientists tell us that climate change is nearly a 100% certainty, we ought to be able to stand together, all of us, and join in an all out effort to combat a mortal threat to the life of this planet.

After stating that the US Senate could pass climate legislation by June, a month or two after the deadline Al Gore set during his COP15 appearance, Senator Kerry went on to say --

And vitally, we must agree on a process to come back together next year to transform the Copenhagen political agreement into a binding international treaty. That process should not delay and I believe an early summer date of June or July 2010 is realistic and necessary.

International Youth "Sit-In" @ Bella Center - COP15

photo: Flickr SustainUS

At 5pm today approximately 30 international youth (including 10 Americans) staged a "sit-in" in the main hallway of the Bella Center, outside of the main hall, during the opening of the high level segment of the COP15 negotiations. They were not blocking the flow of traffic, but rather lining the hallway.

The youth read the names of the 11 million+ people who have signed a petition demanding a fair, ambitious, and legally binding agreement.



An hour and a half into the "sit-in", with a huge group of international media present with their cameras, the Bella Center security began forcibly removing the non-violent protesters. Reporters and young people surrounded the Bella Center security staff, chanting ''The whole world is watching.''

After detaining several youth, the remaining protesters were left on the side of the hallway, where they currently remain as of 8:30pm.

One hour after the police incident, Senator John Kerry arrived and shook hands with all the protesters, raising spirits among the group.


photo: Flickr SustainUS

Lots more great coverage here on the It's Getting Hot In Here blog!

A Letter from John Kerry to Young Climate Activists

John Kerry

U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Posted: November 9, 2009 01:22 PM

A New Green Youth Movement

I know the difference a generation of young Americans in motion can make.

I was in college a time of great political ferment and fundamental changes to our social fabric: the Civil Rights Act, the beginning of the counterculture and the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that set us on a disastrous path of deepening involvement in Vietnam.

When I came home from war disillusioned, I joined with millions of young people who marched against Richard Nixon's Vietnam policy, against racial bigotry, against gender bias, and we changed our country for the better. We read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and our generation formed the bedrock of the activism that gave America its first Earth Day and the modern environmental movement.

Now, it's time for a new generation of Americans to get in motion - because the very survival of our planet depends on them.

Now is the time for young people who learned to flex their political muscle last November to shift into high-gear and get Washington to take on our historic legislation to combat global climate change.

Starting today I am challenging young Americans throughout the country to make their voices heard on this urgent matter. I am doing this through Organize to be Heard Challenge.

Please visit this website for more information on the campaign.

I need you to help America seize control of our energy, economic and security future, and the future of generations to come.

Don't think you can't make a difference. You already have. In the last election, more than 24 million 18-to-29 year-olds went to the polls because it was time for a change. This critical mass of young people -- the Millennial generation -- changed the direction of our country in a profound way on education, the economy, foreign policy and, of course, global warming.

But you can't stop now. We face a threat to the very existence of our planet. Rising sea levels, drought and famine will not stop without action - action now.

We can put America back in charge of its energy future. We can invest in our economy and create clean energy jobs. We can strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And we can secure our future by eliminating harmful pollution that threatens us all.

We can do all of this. We can do it together. And that, I can assure you, is what we've always done in America and what we can do again.

Conference call for youth climate activists with Senator John Kerry -- Tuesday October 27th.

photo: Senator John Kerry & Senator Barbara Boxer

Senator John Kerry and Senator Barbara Boxer have written a climate bill together - the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This original version of the bill as it was introduced, can be read, here.

Senator Boxer chairs the US Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, one of the 6 committees that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has charged with the responsibility of drafting climate legislation.

Senator Boxer's committee will hold the first of a series of 3 hearings on the bill that she and Senator Kerry introduced, this Wednesday, October 27. As the legislative process moves along, the content of the climate bill will change.


If you'd like to stay current on this by reading an e-newsletter that comes out once every six weeks, then sign up to receive the Sustainability & Conservation e-newsletter that I write as a volunteer for the nonpartisan nonprofit HeadCount.

To sign up for the e-newsletter go to this website, check off "Sustainability & Conservation" as your issue of concern, and then enter your contact information into the required fields.

You can read my first two editions, here and here.




If you are a younger climate activist and you'd like to hear from Senator John Kerry directly - and ask him some questions about the climate bill - then sign up for this conference call. It has been organized by the Consequence Campaign, which provides younger climate activists with a forum to share ideas and be heard on this issue.


photo: Senator John Kerry


October 22, 2009

Friends,

This Tuesday, Senator Kerry will engage young people across the country to talk about this historic moment in the fight for clean energy. Senator Kerry, the author of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, understands the importance of youth action on the climate issue and wants to hear from us.

Please join our call to discuss the bill and the roll we can play in getting it passed. When you sign up, remember to take a moment to add your question for the Senator. On Monday, you can vote for the best question and the top vote getters will ask their question on the call.

RSVP today and submit a question for Senator Kerry here.

What: Conference call for youth climate activists
Date: Tuesday, October 27
Time: 9pm EST


Thank You,

Maura Cowley
Consequence Campaign