Erin's blog

Nearly two months after the end of the conference, there is still a lot of debate about the outcome of Copenhagen: did it pose a serious step forward or is it now an archetype of missed opportunity? The faith community worldwide has continued to voice its disappointment, and push for a comprehensive plan to ensure that we protect the Creation and assist with adaptation and mitigation in developing nations. In the United States, debate about a climate bill continues to simmer, even if it feels like it has been moved to the back burner.

Only one day remains at COP15 in Copenhagen, and beyond forest protection, any agreement is highly uncertain. On Thursday, Secretary Clinton announced the U.S. would be willing to contribute to a $100 billion annual fund for climate change adaptation, but without progress on many unresolved fronts, the progress that has been made on carbon commitment reductions and the adaptation fund will be put on hold awaiting a future climate agreement. The U.S. has revealed what it has on the table little by little without changing what that was. China appears very unlikely to agree to anything more than a vague statement of principles, the EU has not announced on a common position to many issues, and the G77 countries are largely internally divided.

After week one, which was largely characterized by nations taking strong stances, there is hope that this week – the last of the conference – will yield more malleability and concrete action to bring the different parties together. While little official happened over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of protesters pushed for more assertive climate action.

I just returned last night from 3 days at the Brownfields Conference in New Orleans, hosted by the EPA in collaboration with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). I'm still decompressing all the information - I attended 9 panels sessions plus all the plenaries over the three days and got home at 11 last night.

I know you've been asking yourself when Texas Impact would finally post its Energy Use and Public Involvement Survey so you can help us identify the Texas faith community's environmental priorities. Well, the wait is finally over!

Tell us about all the great work your congregation has done in the last year to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy: Take the survey online today!