Greenpeace

I know, it sounds it like convention of police officers selling cleaning equipment, but the COP/MOP meeting beginning today in Montreal is the first meeting of the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty on global warming. It’s exciting to be here working with our international team of Greenpeace Climate Policy experts. This meeting is the most important meeting of the international community on the issue of global warming since the meeting in Kyoto that created the first binding limits on global warming pollution. The reason this meeting is so important, is that the future direction of the Kyoto Protocol hangs in the balance. The Protocol requires that the delegates at this meeting negotiate a timeline for the Protocols second commitment period. The current binding limits on countries global warming pollution are set expire in 2012, and it is imperative that the world community move forward with even stronger reductions in global warming pollution. If we do not begin to lay the groundwork for the post 2012 period in Montreal, it quickly becomes to late to tackle the growing threat from global warming. Today, the first day of the conference, is really an opportunity to get our bearings. The conference center is massive, with plenary and breakout rooms scattered over a four square block building. Our Greenpeace team is coordinating closely with colleagues and allies from all over the world, but our bottom line is clear. We want to a strong mandate for the continuation of the binding global warming pollution reductions that will currently expire in 2012. The United States is intent on scuttling any further action here in Montreal. We will be working hard to make sure that the rest of the world moves forward with or without the U.S. I encourage you to follow our progress here in Montreal through both my blog that will be updated regularly as well as the Greenpeace website developed specifically for the conference at http://climate2005.greenpeace.ca/