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COP15 has started and despite the optimistic mood conveyed by some media outlets, there are still a lot of pessimistic players and hidden cards. There are still countries waiting for others to play, to present their strategy and to give their official opinions and perspectives before they show their hand. But saving the Earth is not a game. It’s time we all get rid of our poker faces. It’s time we all play to perform our best. Only the sum of our individual best efforts will lead us to a reasonable agreement (and at this point, no one is expecting miracles). It’s time we push ourselves to our limits. Each country knows what its “limit” is and what it’s based on: power of influence, growth potential, natural resources, carbon footprint. But why not push the envelope? Why not agree on more aggressive targets and strive harder to reach them? Too much is at stake to settle on lowest common denominators. The time is now to match our power with responsibility. This is true not only for big countries like the U.S. but also for the emerging powers. The developing countries who attended Kyoto are not the same countries at Copenhagen (some experts even question the “developing country” concept when it comes to climate change). Should the responsibilities of some countries be greater? Probably. Should the burden of financing green development be re-evaluated and re-distributed? Definitely. Technology transfer increased? Absolutely. Meanwhile, the conference has started and a lot of these premises are still under discussion. But it's time to move on to the work of actually reaching agreement. We're long overdue. (Sometimes I can’t believe it’s been ten years since Kyoto. Ten years!) We need action. On the official COP15 blog, Senator Christine Milne, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens, writes that during global crisis, the crisis rhetoric from world leaders must be matched by effective, immediate and cooperative crisis action – and climate change rhetoric must be no different; we now need to back it up with real change. So what are world leaders waiting for? Real lack of water? A global sauna? While most of us are still comfortable in our homes, some countries, like Maldivas, have already had to consider buying land from neighbors or negotiating emigration rights to ensure a safe haven when sea levels rise high enough to displace citizens. There’s really no time for political games. All our best cards should be laid on the table. When that happens, we'll see who wins: all of us.The planet. Humankind. Let’s take advantage of the next ten days to ensure that Hope trumps Cope. Only then will a better future be in the cards.
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