Hopenhagen

Except for heads of state, access to the negotiation site is now restricted to a regional train and then a 3/4 mile walk. It's snowing. I'm walking with two ministerial staff from Niger who are on their country’s negotiating team. For residents of a sub-Saharan country the cold is alarming. They ask me why the US is not a leader on climate change, when we are the leader and so powerful on so many issues. They are very pleased that Obama is President but wonder if even he can move the US.

I ask them to tell me a little about Niger's perspective. One is with the ministry for wildlife (animal resources). He expresses that loss of habitat, desertification, and other pressures are impacting Niger's wildlife. He is clear that climate change is one culprit. The other tells me that for Niger there is no confusion, the world's governments must reverse climate change to protect people and their livelihood. It's these exchanges that make the trip worth it and bring me and other attendees out of our parochial bubbles.

Afternoon I join the Director of Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality and Director of Illinois' Department of Environmental Quality, all of us representing states pursuing state based climate action plans. Tom Peterson, president of the Center for Climate Strategies, has organized this panel to relate the magnitude of state action. He presents data on 23 sector-based climate policy actions that have either been adopted or are actively under development by 32 states. Fully implemented these actions would reduce US emissions by between 16% (low estimate) to 25% (aggressive implementation) below 1990 levels, an amount that surpasses the targets proposed in the current bills being debated by Congress. A representative from the State of Maine describes new legislation that is mandating retrofits for all residential buildings by 2030. Nearby the Mayors are continuing their meetings, and activists from all over the world are holding demonstrations to let the world leaders know they want progress, not a stalemate. Things are lively and hope is in the air.