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China's New Role in Climate Action Raises Hope for Change
Strong, sustainable growth is high on the agenda for the G20, which met earlier this month in Hangzhou, China. The gathering of 20 of the world's most important economies offered a unique opportunity for these countries to send a powerful message of unity in climate action to the world, building upon last year's Paris Climate Agreement. Indeed, with China and the United States having formally committed to the Paris Agreement, the moment marked an important turning point in the global climate conversation and - importantly - reinforced China's new role in that dialogue.

Considered by the global community as a key member to climate action, China has made significant strides in recent years to drive the clean energy revolution and climate change fight across the world. China's commitment to reduce GHG emission is integral to the passage of the Paris Agreement. As a country with the world's largest population, China worked closely with the United States to secure a crucial bilateral climate deal that set the foundation for success at COP21.

Increasingly, the world has realized that climate action and economic growth go hand in hand and China is exemplary in its prioritization of climate action as part of its development plan. Meanwhile, short-term air quality improvement and longer-term, systemic climate change mitigation demand greater - and more urgent - action.

As a Commissioner of the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), a diverse group of key players in the global energy sector that comprises perspectives from industry, finance, NGOs and former elected officials, we recognize that the world will not achieve a truly sustainable energy transition overnight. The ETC's recent analysis of 17 countries' national commitments under the Paris Agreement, including China, the United States, and EU, provides important analysis of which mechanisms are included in these commitments, where they fall short, and how countries might hasten their achievement.

China's INDC: The Largest CO2 Reduction Commitment

China's commitment under the Paris Agreement stipulates a peaking of emissions before 2030, and Non-fossil energy reach 20% of primary energy consumption. Compared to other developing countries' intensity targets, China's GHG peak target is more constructive, showing how a giant industrial economy can practice its global responsibility even at huge economic costs and obstacles.

According to the INDCs of 17 countries, China makes the largest emission reduction commitment of up to 3.16 Gt CO2 (under same GDP assumptions, INDC target compared to the baseline, which is the average of multiple scenarios in the word). Achieving this ambitious target depends on China's efforts in economic transition, energy efficiency improvement and near-zero carbon energy development. Having made an impressive progress in expanding near-zero carbon energy portfolio, China already has the world's largest installed wind power and photovoltaic capacity, which is a very significant achievement, especially considering its relative low income and limited land resources per capita.

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China's INDC: The Role of Fossil Fuels

Of course, there are other levers at play: energy productivity is expected to increase at 4 percent per annum (as compared to only 2.5 percent in the Untied States and European Union).

Additionally, the power sector in China today accounts for nearly half the country's coal consumption. The INDC addresses this head-on: about one-tenth of emissions reductions will be anticipated to come from a shift in fossil fuel resources, due to the coal reduction and a push to using gas in power. In a demonstration of the interrelatedness of the global energy system, China's new policies of supply side reform to reduce the over-capacity of coal production by 0.8-1 billion tones, have fueled a reversal in coal prices worldwide, which will help reduce the economic competitiveness of coal, compared to the clean energies in the global market.

A Clear Path Forward

Even under China's INDC, the country's energy related emissions might increase before 2030, driving by the urbanization in next 15 years. To realize the peak as soon as possible, the country will specify additional energy efficiency measures, and decarbonize other non-power sectors.

There are two important pathways China must pursue in order to secure a clean development agenda. First, rapid urbanization across the country offers the opportunity for better city planning that prioritizes industrial and building energy efficiency, vehicle electrification and innovative financing mechanisms that leverage private sector and state funding to finance sustainable infrastructure projects. Beijing, for instance, aims to install 435,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2020, in an effort to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road by 600,000.

Second, as part of its goal to diversify away from a heavy manufacturing base, China will focus on promoting energy efficiency and designing its energy systems so renewables can be readily integrated into its electricity sector - the largest in the world. Critically, the Chinese government can address new energy demand by scaling up its energy efficiency programs.

On the supply side, though China has the most grid connected wind capacity of any country in the world, the curtailment problem is more and more important. To rectify this, the country must better coordinate between generation and transmission planning, and should reform its utility pricing system , to help integrate efficiency measures and renewable energy into the overall system. In the meantime, it is also important for China to put more efforts in the critical innovative techniques, such as smart energy and micro-grids.

A Bright Future

As the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, the second largest economy and the largest population of nearly 1.4 billion people, China stands poised to shape the future of our global energy system, which in turn holds enormous implications for the global economy. China's recent reforms and commitments send a powerful signal to the world that it is serious about global leadership on these issues. By continuing to prioritize smart urban development with an increased emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable deployment, China can cooperate with the other countries, lock the world into a safe, prosperous and sustainable future for all.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or, officially, "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"). The SDGs represent an historic agreement -- a wide-ranging roadmap to sustainability covering 17 goals and 169 targets -- but stakeholders must also be held accountable for their commitments. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Energy Is at the Core of the Sustainable Development Goals

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Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is crucial to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable Development Goal 7 is all about saving energy. But why is it so important to think energy efficiency first? Let me start with some context.

This week, hundreds of leaders from politics, business and civil society gather in New York for Climate Week. The fact that Climate Week and the United Nations Private Sector Forum are now an annual event along with the World Economic Forum shows the importance and opportunity to mitigate climate change and create sustainable growth.

We have the opportunity to work together across sectors, businesses, civil society and at all levels of government to capture what is truly the opportunity of our lifetime - to create liveable, sustainable and competitive solutions that will benefit us all.

How are we taking action? We are saving energy

At this point, you might be thinking: While that all sounds great, how do we actually go from talk to action and make it happen?

A natural starting point for action is using our resources better and making more out of less, which is in fact doable today. If we use our energy resources more efficiently, we can generate 49% of the necessary reductions in emissions to mitigate climate change, as has been shown by research from the International Energy Agency.

Getting it right from the start with efficient technologies

The goal is clear. With SDG 7 we focus on energy. It is about giving access to sustainable energy to the 1.1 billion people who are looking forward to being able to cook without having to spend hours collecting firewood, study at night, or keep life-saving medicine cool.

If we are to give 1.1 billion people access to energy as is foreseen in SDG 7, we need to ensure that these 1.1 billion new consumers of energy use it as efficiently as possible. Imagine for a second: What would happen if 1.1 billion new energy consumers adopted the technologies we used 25 years ago including our energy habits?

Currently, the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements is 1.7 percent. Yet this is still way behind the annual 2.6 percent needed between 2010 and 2030 to meet the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) objective of doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency. In order to deliver on doubling our energy efficiency, we should ask ourselves what we can already do today?

If we are to seize the potential of energy efficiency, I believe collaboration is absolutely essential. This is what we are committed to doing. One example of this is the SEforAll partnership, where we as partner in the new District Energy in Cities Initiative will set up a team of deployable district energy experts to support cities in developing, retrofitting or scaling up district energy systems. The team will assist more than 30 cities that have been chosen as part of an extensive consultation process to identify municipalities with high district heating or cooling potential.

The Sustainable Development Goals - The opportunity of a lifetime

If we are to succeed, it requires action from all of us - and as a business leader, I believe that we need to be leading by doing. In fact, we are already working with the US Department of Energy and the Alliance to Save Energy to ensure that the US will double its energy productivity by 2030, which would save $327 billion annually in avoided energy costs and would lower greenhouse gas emissions to one third below the level emitted in 2005.

Energy efficiency and sustainability are not about limiting our options or comfort. On the contrary, they are about innovation and creating new opportunities. I am happy to see new solutions emerging where we are able to combine digitalization, innovation and energy efficiency to create sustainable solutions. This not only improves our environmental footprint but also frees money to be spent elsewhere.

The technology is available today. What we need to do is use our minds smartly and collaborate in order to create innovative solutions that will help mitigate climate change without compromising on cost, quality or comfort.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or, officially, "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"). The SDGs represent an historic agreement -- a wide-ranging roadmap to sustainability covering 17 goals and 169 targets -- but stakeholders must also be held accountable for their commitments. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Think Blue: Finding Growth in the Caribbean Sea
Ours is a blue planet. Water covers over 70% of the Earth's surface, and the ocean economy drives global trade, annually contributing around 3% or US$ 1.5 trillion to global value added. What's more, experts expect ocean-based industries to double this contribution to global GDP within the next 15 years.

But this growth comes at a price, and we find ourselves today at a crossroads.

Without a concerted effort to ensure the sustainability of the marine environment, mounting threats to ocean health could jeopardize the benefits of the seas for future generations. The good news is that it is still not too late to act.

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From Green to Blue

"Thinking green" was the buzzword of the past decade, as countries and companies alike woke up to their shared responsibility to sustainability. Now it's time to add another color to the pallet: blue.

The "blue" economy looks to balance ocean wealth and ocean health by sustainably managing ocean assets (e.g. fish stocks, coral reefs, etc.) and ecosystem services (e.g. coastal protection, the potential for carbon capture, oxygen production). And according to the new report by the World Bank Toward a Blue Economy: A Promise for Sustainable Growth in the Caribbean in collaboration with key partners including The Commonwealth Secretariat, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, millions of people in the region could benefit.

The Caribbean Sea directly supports the economies of 37 coastal and small island states and territories. Notably, the ocean economy generates a fifth of the total GDP of the island states and territories in the region. And we believe this is an underestimate.

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What needs to be done?

On land, mapping areas for spatial planning is common practice. It's unlikely anyone would consider building a highway through the most productive tropical forest in the world, for example. But under the sea, such divisions are less easy to manage.

The Mesoamerican reef is the marine equivalent of a terrestrial tropical forest. The longest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef, it runs directly below the Caribbean Sea and provide 60% of biomass for Mexico and the USA.

To put it simply, without coral, there would be no fish. And no fish means no food for millions of people.

And yet, this same ecologically important area is exploited by numerous sectors and users all with their own regulations, priorities and objectives.

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That's why mapping the ocean space and the area's natural capital needs to be one of the first steps towards a sustainable ocean economy. In the Caribbean, this marine spatial planning, as it's called, would categorize the sea area for particular uses.

While there is still a long path to tread, the nations of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), have already begun moving in this direction, developing an integrated governance policy for their shared ocean space, as well as committing that at least a fifth of territorial waters will be protected by 2020.

What's the goal?

Ultimately, the blue economy isn't just about protection. Rather it's about ensuring the sustainability of marine ecosystems and their associated natural capital assets. This cannot be achieved without healthy ocean environments.

And since ocean health depends on much more than what goes on under the water, promoting the blue economy in the Caribbean will require cooperation between governments, private sector (both on and off land) and civil society.

It's a big task, but if we all get on the same page, it is not too late to act.

Stay up to date with the Caribbean's progress. Follow @wbcaribbean

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The Internet Is Freaking Out About A Dead Cow In A Supermarket
Earlier this year, a truck carrying cows to slaughter rolled over. Two animals escaped from the overturned vehicle and made a run for it. One ran for the open doors of a supermarket--it would have seemed like a safe, enclosed space for a terrified animal.

In a twist of fate that is as nauseating as it is poignant, the animal was shot dead in the meat aisle. The resulting inadvertent scene is one that could have been staged by an artist or activist trying to raise awareness that meat, dairy and eggs are sanitized packages representing dead animals who wanted to live and who fought for their lives.

The gruesome scene would whet no human's appetite, yet strangely, restoring the supermarket to normal would involve even more blood and gore: skinning and chopping up the body to be packaged for sale.

When I shared this photo on social media, it went viral, with over 1400 people so far reacting to it. Many people commented to express their sadness that the animal was shot.

But the other animals in that rolled truck were sent straight to slaughter. They faced more uncomfortable transport, the scary sights, sounds and smells of the slaughterhouse, and a frightening death. Is that better than being shot in a supermarket?

This is another of the paradoxes of our species: when an animal escapes slaughter, we can't help but root for him or her. We intuitively understand that it is a matter of life or death for that individual--and we want them to live.

We don't realize that the villain in the story isn't the slaughterhouse. It is any of us humans who keep slaughterhouses in business.

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How To Finance A New Climate Economy
Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the Financial Times.

Over the next fifteen years, the world needs to invest more in new infrastructure and upgrades than everything that exists today. This means we have a crucial window of opportunity to build it right, reflecting the new international priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.

If we continue on our current high-carbon economic model, the world will need to invest more than $90tn in infrastructure. But it won't cost much more to build our energy, transport, water, and telecommunications systems in a low-carbon way. Making our infrastructure cleaner and more sustainable could add as little as 5 per cent to upfront costs, which could be fully offset by lower operating costs. It would also make our economy cleaner, more efficient, and more productive. Plus, it would reduce the enormous costs of adapting to climate change.

We know the capital exists for low-carbon infrastructure; we just need to unlock it. There are four key steps we should take to do so.

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First, once and for all we need to get rid of the market distortions that are biasing investment toward high-carbon projects. Subsidies to fossil fuels cost up to $600bn per year, many times what is received by renewable energy. These subsidies encourage inefficient energy use, discourage the development of clean energy technologies, and intensify air pollution.

Governments and investors who don't take into account these costs are liable to make uninformed decisions that are bad for them, their citizens, and the planet as a whole. For the market to reflect the true value of infrastructure investments, countries ought to reform subsidies and introduce meaningful carbon prices. More than 40 countries and 500 companies have begun pricing carbon, and initiatives like the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition are helping others learn from each other's successes. I expect the pace of change to accelerate now that the Paris Agreement has shifted expectations globally toward a low-carbon growth path.

Second, we need to invest in innovation. Currently, only about 2 per cent of overall R&D spending goes to low-carbon projects. Developing new, cheaper green tech solutions would go a long way in reducing upfront investment costs for infrastructure. And at the same time, more effective dissemination of existing technologies will be crucial because of the sheer volume of the power plants, buildings, roads, and rails that will be built in the next few years.

Third, we need to develop a pipeline of sustainable projects by strengthening public investment. When I was President of Mexico, our government put in place the most ambitious infrastructure program in Mexican history, raising annual investment from 3 per cent of GDP per year to almost 5 per cent.

We accomplished this by making infrastructure a national priority reflected in the public budget, cutting red tape, and partnering with the private sector. We also sought to innovate by monetising already functioning infrastructure to gather resources that could be invested in new projects through the National Infrastructure Fund. It's essential for every government to have a national strategy to coordinate planning.

Effective project preparation, pipelines and sound investment frameworks can help ensure that there's enough money for infrastructure projects, and that the right projects are picked in the first place. Throughout the process, multilateral development banks can offer technical assistance and reduce perceived risks through their presence.

And finally, we'll need to better harness private finance and align it with the sustainable future we want.

There are multiple ways to shift private capital into the green economy. One that has become popular in recent years is green bonds that are earmarked for sustainable investments. Issuances of green bonds grew to $41.8bn in 2015, three times higher than in 2012.

Five years from now, China's green bond market alone will likely be worth $230bn. Most green bonds are in the financial, energy, and property sectors, but they should be diversified to include transport, agriculture, waste, and adaptation. We also need to establish clear rules so investors know exactly what classifies a bond as green in each of these areas.

Green investment banks dedicated to sustainable infrastructure are another effective way to crowd-in private investment. So far, green banks have achieved attractive returns, and can leverage up to $10 from the private sector for each dollar of public spending. Dozens of green banks have emerged in recent years, including in countries like the UK, Japan, and Malaysia and in states like California, Connecticut, and New York.

And to truly green the financial system, companies and investors must acknowledge their exposure to climate risk and take it into account in investment decisions. Ignoring environmental factors that impact long-term value is a failure of fiduciary duty.

Several EU countries now mandate corporate reporting on greenhouse gas emissions or climate risk exposure. And the G20 has recently established an industry-led Task Force under the Financial Stability Board on voluntary Climate-related Financial Disclosures to come up with consistent ways for companies to disclose these risks. We look forward to its recommendations later this year as an important step forward.

Infrastructure could either be the pillar upon which we base our growth, development and future prosperity, or it could crumble beneath us. It is time for us all to realise that sustainable infrastructure is not just one potential pathway among many: it is the only growth story of the future.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or, officially, "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"). The SDGs represent an historic agreement -- a wide-ranging roadmap to sustainability covering 17 goals and 169 targets -- but stakeholders must also be held accountable for their commitments. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Rebooting The Food System
Yesterday marked the beginning of a new global collaboration between the EAT Foundation (EAT), Jamie Oliver Food Foundation (JOFF) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP): one that takes aim at obesity, hunger, climate change and environmental degradation all together.

We're in a crazy moment - we're battling the bulge while staving off hunger. Obesity and malnutrition literally live side by side in communities, and even families, around the globe. At the same time, we're choosing to use what precious natural resources we do have to fuel a food system that's making us - and our planet - sick. We continue to spend our limited resources in ways that threaten our lives, and jeopardize our future generations.

By 2040, there will be approximately nine billion of us to feed. With the planet already aching under our pressure, we know this course is unsustainable.

We're overweight - obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, with a staggering 30 per cent of us now overweight or obese. That's nearly 2 billion people globally - including 42 million children under the age of five. The knock-on effect is an escalating epidemic of non-communicable diseases. Low and middle-income countries are hit the hardest - and are now suffering the perverse reality of ballooning obesity and undernutrition at the same time.

We're starving - malnutrition and hunger haunt one in nine of us. It's the reason nearly half of all children under five die prematurely. Chronic malnutrition in early life leads to stunting; preventing children's bodies and brains from growing properly. This damage is irreversible and has huge consequences for their learning and their adult lives.

We're wasteful - we waste enough food every year to feed the world's hungry four times over. In rich countries, we produce more than we need and have standards in place that force good food into landfills instead of mouths. And, in low-income countries, good food perishes before it can get to the people who need it - largely because of limited and overburdened food transport and storage systems. It's not for lack of food - but rather poor use and distribution. In fact, rich countries' food waste is approximately equivalent to all of the food produced in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We're polluting ourselves - one third of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change are from agriculture production. The livestock industry alone accounts for almost 15 per cent of all human-caused emissions. In addition, the global food system is driving deforestation and species extinction, and is depleting marine ecosystems and fresh water resources. We are putting a stranglehold on our oxygen sources, which we rely on to absorb the excess carbon we create.

And we're running out of band-aid solutions - the costs associated with obesity alone are astronomical, costing two trillion dollars every year. In the UK alone, more money is spent on the patchwork of issues caused by obesity than on the fire and police services combined.

With all of that weighing heavily on our minds, we have come together to start a collaboration that believes the recipe for good nutrition is equal parts what we put into our bodies, and what we put into the environment we live in. A growing body of research from across the field - published in leading scientific journals, such as Nature - suggests that healthy, plant-based diets (low in meat, animal products and processed foods) tend to be more environmentally sustainable, and vice versa. Changing what we eat - and how we produce it - is the closest we'll get to a silver bullet for improving the health of people and the planet.

However, to unlock that great potential, we need systemic change - and action across all sectors.

This is a huge business opportunity. The food sector is guaranteed to grow. An increasingly wealthy global population is demanding access to tasty and healthy food. Business has the opportunity to work with farmers to secure their livelihoods in the long-term. They can do this by supporting sustainable agricultural practices that improve environmental impacts and increase yield of healthy produce. They can ensure that farmers, as stewards of the environment and our diets, make a fair wage in all parts of the world. By living up to their ethical and health promises, they can grow their business - and change the food system to make us healthy, not sick.

Public sector and governments must be the voice of those hit hardest. They need to create integrated policies that make sustainably-produced, real food available (and more affordable), and prevent empty calories from being incentivized. Equally, they can be a vital bridge to lead kids out of the cycle of poverty and hunger. In developing countries, locally grown school meal programmes, which buy food from smallholder farmers, benefit the entire community. They fuel local businesses, as well as healthy bodies and minds. When schools have public sector support for meal programmes, they prime kids to learn. And provide the most vulnerable kids with what is often their only meal all day. Equally, it's essential that the curriculum teaches kids about sustainable farming practices, as it's the only way that crucial changes to the food system will take root.

Scientists must keep us honest and focused. We are lucky to live in a world where some of the brightest minds from across different disciplines are working to improve our health and reduce climate change, in all parts of the world. They need to keep ringing the alarm bells when we don't listen, keep credible research firmly in the public eye and keep collaborating to ensure that knowledge is shared.

All of us need to be advocates - with our voices and wallets - for these changes that we so urgently need, to make the food system we want. This is about prioritising the health prospects our children deserve, all over the world.

If we can work together to achieve the agendas we share, we know a better future is within sight.

Jamie Oliver, MBE, world-renowned chef and food campaigner

Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen, Founder and President EAT Foundation

Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and the EAT Foundation, in conjunction with the high-level side event, "Urban Food Systems: The Nutrition Challenge," during the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York. The EATx at UNGA is a collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. #EATx #eatforum

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It's Time To Get Real On The Sustainable Development Goals
Co-authored by Jonas Freist-Held, UN-Habitat Youth Advisor for Europe

In Munich, important stakeholders of German and international development gathered to discuss the Agenda 2030. In a nutshell: Germany wants to play a leading role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - and the youth will play a central role in Germany's Agenda 2030.

Thursday morning, Munich, in the plenary of the German Museum. Bono's grinning face appears on the screen. "Guten Morgen!", the front singer of U2 greets, "I am sending you a message from the future. It's 2030. I am happy to tell you: There's no more AIDS; Tuberculosis - kaputt, Malaria kaputt." "Our world in 2030" is the slogan of the Conference on the Future organized by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). And so it is Bono, also activist and founder of ONE, that entertains the audience with the world he wants. "Germany plays a major role in making my wishes become true" he concludes.

Plenary session of the Conference on the Future.

Germany: An Extreme Developing Country
Prior to the conference, German Minister for International Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller, made a remarkable statement: "Germany", he said, "is an extreme developing country." What did he mean? In contrast to the prior eight Millennium Development Goals, the 17 SDGs don't only apply to the so-called developing countries but to all members of the United Nations. Germany is far from perfect. Just last week, for instance, a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation revealed that the number of children growing up in poverty has increased to 2.5 million in the last years. In terms of gender-equal economic participation and opportunities, Germany is only ranked 38th out of 142 countries worldwide. Burundi is 3rd, Malawi 12th and Ghana 13th. 32.2 percent of Germany's energy production comes from renewable sources - not bad in comparison to other OECD countries, but way too little to achieve the goals of the COP21 and SDG 13 on Climate Change. Brazil currently produces 73.5 percent of its energy consumption from renewables, Colombia 67.9 and Portugal 49.3.

Nevertheless, being one the world's biggest economies and richest countries, Germany has the power and money to play an important role in achieving the Agenda 2030. And one of the most important stakeholder groups is pushing the German government to pursue an ambitious agenda: the youth.

Youth Takeover
Prior to the conference and on invitation of the German government, 38 youth activists came together for a youth lab to discuss and negotiate about Germany's Agenda 2030. The activists represented a wide range of international, national and local organizations: Amnesty International, Commit e.V., German Association to the United Nations, NAJU, ONE, Plan International Germany, Plant for the Planet, UN Habitat Youth Advisory Board, UNICEF, German Red Cross and many more. The result: four policy claims in the categories poverty, prosperity, planet and peace.

Poverty is sexist!
We produce enough food to feed the world population of 7.4 billion. But still 795 million people suffer from hunger and mal-nourishment. In Germany, 18 million tons of food are thrown away every year - that are 313 kilograms per second! We have to rethink how food production is managed and how farmland is distributed. In this context: poverty is sexist. 90% of land is owned by men. If women would have equal access to resources as men, the number of undernourished people in the world could be reduced by 100-150 million. Thus, the German government should support women with microcredits and vocational training to found farms.

The IMF admitted it, Thomas Piketty wrote a bestseller about it and the Club of Rome emphasizes it in its new report: unregulated markets and economic inequality is poison for our societies. And it's increasing. "Our economic system has failed", Graeme Maxton, Secretary General of the Club of Rome, argues during his speech at the "Conference on the Future". As the wealth gap widens and widens - in 2010, 388 people possessed 50 percent of global wealth, today only 62 people come up for the same share - policy makers struggle to impose a tax on high-frequency trading of stocks and securities - a risky, but often profitable business for the super-rich. As trickle-down economics have failed, a financial transaction fee of 0.2 percent could help create a global development fund that tackles socio-economic inequality through distribution. Germany should be its loudest advocate.

Act Local, Think Global
We are chronically consuming too much. And the way we consume in our globalized world has become unsustainable and a threat to our planet's future. Minister Müller warns: "We are the first generation that is capable of wiping out the life on our planet because of our lifestyle. But we are also the first generation that has the instruments to prevent that." If we act. South American economies such as Brazil, Argentina or Paraguay have become highly dependent on growing and exporting soy - for example to feed cattle in Europe. This has severe consequences for our planet and the local economy: food production for local markets has decreased. The destruction of the rain forests proceeds in a frightening speed, at the expense of the world's biodiversity. On top, large companies make small farmers disappear, destroying their livelihood. Instead of importing fodder from Latin America, European countries should use its fertile soil to produce it themselves. To achieve challenging objectives, you need disruptive policies: The European Union should forbid fodder imports.

In a video message German chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany will focus on making progress on the SDGs during its upcoming presidency of the G20. "Development politics have never been as modern and important as today," Peter Altmaier, Merkel's chief of staff and right hand ascertained looking into the faces of a diverse and equally interested audience in the German Museum in Munich. The political and societal climate in Germany allows the government to play a proactive role in preserving peace, fostering development and tackling humanitarian crises worldwide. The country is one of the biggest net contributors to the UN-budget. This is remarkable, but we should not take it for granted in times when nationalism, protectionism and isolationism are on the rise worldwide. To invest in the tolerance and empathy of future generations, the German school curriculum should entail mandatory projects on humanity.

Think Big
Realistic claims? Some more, some less. But if we want to be serious about achieving the SDGs, the goals of the COP21 and the objectives of the New Urban Agenda business as usual won't work. We need creative ideas. We need disruptive policies. And we need a (global) youth movement that pushes the policy makers of today to make visionary decisions.

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Refugees and the Birth of Empathy
In April 2015, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu met in Dharamsala for a historic conversation about joy. The Book of Joy (on sale now) chronicles the week-long discussion. Learn more at bookofjoy.org and on social media with hashtag #sharethejoy

"Many of us have become refugees," the Dalai Lama tried to explain, "and there are a lot of difficulties in my own country. When I look only at that," he said, cupping his hands into a small circle, "then I worry." He widened his hands, breaking the circle open. "But when I look at the world, there are a lot of problems, even within the People's Republic of China. For example, the Hui Muslim community in China has a lot of problems and suffering. And then outside China, there are many more problems and more suffering. When we see these things, we realize that not only do we suffer, but so do many of our human brothers and sisters. So when we look at the same event from a wider perspective, we will reduce the worrying and our own suffering."

I was struck by the simplicity and profundity of what the Dalai Lama was saying. This was far from "don't worry, be happy," as the popular Bobby McFerrin song says. This was not a denial of pain and suffering, but a shift in perspective--from oneself and toward others, from anguish to compassion--seeing that others are suffering as well. The remarkable thing about what the Dalai Lama was describing is that as we recognize others' suffering and realize that we are not alone, our pain is lessened.

Often we hear about another's tragedy, and it makes us feel better about our own situation. This is quite different from what the Dalai Lama was doing. He was not contrasting his situation with others, but uniting his situation with others, enlarging his identity and seeing that he and the Tibetan people were not alone in their suffering. This recognition that we are all connected--whether Tibetan Buddhists or Hui Muslims--is the birth of empathy and compassion.

I wondered how the Dalai Lama's ability to shift his perspective might relate to the adage "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Was it truly possible to experience pain, whether the pain of an injury or an exile, without suffering? There is a Sutta, or teaching of the Buddha, called the Sallatha Sutta, that makes a similar distinction between our "feelings of pain" and "the suffering that comes as a result of our response" to the pain: "When touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed, ordinary person sorrows, grieves, and laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical and mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he feels the pain of two arrows." It seems that the Dalai Lama was suggesting that by shifting our perspective to a broader, more compassionate one, we can avoid the worry and suffering that is the second arrow.

"Then another thing," the Dalai Lama continued. "There are different aspects to any event. For example, we lost our own country and became refugees, but that same experience gave us new opportunities to see more things. For me personally, I had more opportunities to meet with different people, different spiritual practitioners, like you, and also scientists. This new opportunity arrived because I became a refugee. If I remained in the Potala in Lhasa, I would have stayed in what has often been described as a golden cage: the Lama, holy Dalai Lama." He was now sitting up stiffly as he once had to when he was the cloistered spiritual head of the Forbidden Kingdom.

"So, personally, I prefer the last five decades of refugee life. It's more useful, more opportunity to learn, to experience life. Therefore, if you look from one angle, you feel, oh how bad, how sad. But if you look from another angle at that same tragedy, that same event, you see that it gives me new opportunities. So, it's wonderful. That's the main reason that I'm not sad and morose. There's a Tibetan saying: 'Wherever you have friends that's your country, and wherever you receive love, that's your home.'"

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of two critical conferences at the UN on the Refugee and Migrant crisis: the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants (Sept. 19th, a UN conference) and the Leaders Summit on Refugees (Sept. 20th, hosted by U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, at the UN). To see all the posts in the series, visit here. To follow the conversation on Twitter, see #UN4RefugeesMigrants.

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As Dakota Access Protests Escalated, Obama Admin OK'd Same Company for Two Pipelines to Mexico

Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog

Photo Credit: C-SPAN

On September 9, the Obama administration revoked authorization for construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) on federally controlled lands and asked the pipeline's owners, led by Energy Transfer Partners, to voluntarily halt construction on adjacent areas at the center of protests by Native Americans and supporters.

However, at the same time the pipeline and protests surrounding it were galvanizing an international swell of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its Sacred Stone Camp, another federal move on two key pipelines has flown under the radar.

In May, the federal government quietly approved permits for two Texas pipelines -- the Trans-Pecos and Comanche Trail Pipelines -- also owned by Energy Transfer Partners. This action and related moves will ensure that U.S. fracked gas will be flooding the energy grid in Mexico.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is also set to carry oil obtained via hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), but in the northern U.S., from North Dakota's Bakken Shale Formation through several Great Plains states to Illinois.

Within a two-week span in May 2016, as the Sacred Stone Camp was getting off the ground as the center of protests, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued presidential permits for the Trans-Pecos and Comanche Trail Pipelines. Together, the pipelines will take natural gas obtained from fracking in Texas' Permian Basin and ship it in different directions across the U.S.-Mexico border, with both starting at the Waha Oil Field.

Similar to the case of North Dakota oil wells whose oil will likely be transported via Dakota Access, and like the name Dakota itself, the Comanche Trail Pipeline's nomenclature originates from a Native American tribe.

Today the Comanche Nation is headquartered in the southwestern part of Oklahoma in Lawton, and was removed from Texas in the aftermath of the Comanche Wars. As part of those wars, this nomadic tribe used the Comanche Trail which crossed West Texas and through what is now Big Bend National Park.

Like many other tribes, the Comanche Nation has come out in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Some members have formed a support group called Comanches on the Move, which has taken caravans on the road from Oklahoma to the Sacred Stone Camp in North Dakota.

U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council

The same month the Obama administration permitted the Comanche Trail and Trans-Pecos Pipelines, the U.S. and Mexican governments announced the signing of an agreement creating the U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council. This council's objective is "to bring together representatives of the energy industries of the United States and Mexico to discuss issues of mutual interest." Its membership list is a who's who of major oil and gas players.

The list includes a senior-level lobbyist for Halliburton; the president of oil and gas industry services giant Honeywell Mexico; the CEO of Hunt Consolidated Energy (and former energy policy adviser for George W. Bush's 2000 campaign); the CFO of Sempra Energy's Mexican subsidiary, IEnova; and the president of the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association (PESA), who worked on the press team in the George W. Bush White House and 2000 presidential campaign.

Image Credit: U.S. International Trade Administration

PESA members, including Halliburton (Halliburton's Robert Moran, a councilmember, serves on PESA's Board of Directors) and other oil and gas industry services companies, will serve as among the biggest winners of Mexico's ongoing energy sector privatization.

IEnova, the Sempra Energy subsidiary, owns numerous pipeline assets throughout Mexico and also owns the Energía Costa Azul LNG terminal on Mexico's west coast. The Trans-Pecos Pipeline is set to connect to IEnova's Ojinaga-El Encino Pipeline at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hunt, meanwhile, serves as a symbol of the contradiction existing between U.S.-Mexico energy relations and U.S.-Mexico immigration policy. Prior to its involvement in the U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council, Hunt was actually the first company to have a "holes in the wall" open border policy. Under the George W. Bush administration, this policy allowed energy to flow between borders, with gas flowing to real estate owned by the powerful and wealthy Hunt family.

"Over the years, Hunt has transformed his 6,000-acre property, called the Sharyland Plantation, from acres of onions and vegetables into swathes of exclusive, gated communities where houses sell from $650,000 to $1 million and residents enjoy golf courses, elementary schools, and a sports park," wrote the Texas Observer in 2008. "The plantation contains an 1,800-acre business park and Sharyland Utilities, run by Hunt's son Hunter, which delivers electricity to plantation residents and Mexican factories."

Hunt was also one of the companies recently approved to bid on offshore oil parcels on the Mexico side of the Gulf of Mexico.

Wall Won't Block Pipelines

The creation of the U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council comes as Mexico continues to make its push to privatize its energy sector under the auspices of constitutional amendments signed into law in 2013 and move away from the state-owned system run by Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos). Under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as first reported by DeSmog, the U.S. State Department helped spearhead those privatization efforts.

"The Council, comprised of private sector representatives from both countries, is expected to exchange information and industry best practices in order to provide actionable, non-binding recommendations to both governments on ways to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico relationship on trade, investment, and competitiveness in the energy sector," reads the press release announcing the council's launch.

At a joint press conference featuring Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto and President Obama held at the White House on July 22, Obama mentioned the council and its looming first meeting.

"This fall, our new U.S.-Mexico Energy Business Council will meet for the very first time to strengthen the ties between our energy industries," said Obama. "And, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your vision and your leadership in reforming Mexico's energy industry."

With most eyes on the immigration debate and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's grandiose claims about building a "beautiful wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border, it's easy to forget that proverbial walls are coming down when it comes to energy, and in particular, the flow of oil and gas across the border.

"As long as the wall doesn't go below ground," one industry executive recently told Financial Times, "I think we'll be OK."

Thanks to the regulatory blessing of the Obama administration, Energy Transfer Partners may be the first beneficiary to go "under the wall" with its Trans Pecos and Comanche Trail Pipelines.

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It's Your Dog's Birthday! How Will You Celebrate It?

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I love celebrations, especially when it involves one of my kids, so this month when my four-legged baby turns one-year-old, I'm throwing him a bash.

While some friends and family roll their eyes, and my neighbor's think I'm corny, I don't care. The joy of seeing Tally Ho dive into his cake will overshadow all scoffing.

As far as the party, my children (the furless ones) love any excuse to send out invitations and break out the bakeware. Whether or not Tally understands the celebrations on him, I know he'll enjoy every second and crumb.

Do you long to throw your dog a party? I have three words for you: Go for it!

While I've spent my 30-plus-year career helping people understand, troubleshoot and teach their puppies and dogs good manners, lately I've been called on to help plan playdates, supervise doggie gatherings and orchestrate celebrations. As an all around canine-party-planner here are some tips.

What day are you celebrating? Loop your guests in with an event title. Are you hosting an actual birthday, a Gotcha Day, award ceremony or a moving-up celebration? Dog parties aren't just for birthdays anymore! Any time is the right time to socialize and celebrate your dog love.

Guest List Is the party for your friends or your dogs' pals? Either way, it will be fun if you keep the list to the people and pooches he loves best! Let your guest list shape the rest of the party planning from where you'll meet to your party favors.

If your kids are calling the shots, let them. Few grown-ups have the time to adore a dog as a child does. Yes, it might cost you a gob. Yes, your kids will use your dog's party to invite their friends. Yes, you'll have to make two cakes,one in the shape of a ball or a squeaky toy, another store bought or creative creation for the kids, but so what? My family records each pets' Gotcha Day: my kids still celebrate each and every one of them right down to Ruby our long-lived Chinese Fighting Fish!

On or off leash? I stand by my claim that a dog leash is one of the cruelest inventions. Necessary, yes, but kind, no. Dog's don't like being tethered any more than you would. While you can make the effort to teach your dog to enjoy being hooked up, it's relative. All dogs prefer to play off leash.

So when it comes to the question of partying, off leash is best. If you don't have a fenced enclosure, schedule a time to meet at a local dog park. Still stumped where to hold your event? Try a few doggie day care centers: they may be willing to rent out their space.

The Main Event Deciding to throw your dog a party is one thing; planning it is another. Keep these things in mind:

Your Menu Since dogs and people have different nutrition needs read up before you create your menu. Make a head count of dogs-to-people so you'll have enough food to serve everyone. Potlucks, where everyone brings a dish, can be fun for any get- together. Like kids who have allergies, individual dogs may have sensitivities too: ask anyone bringing a dish to share to include a list of ingredients.

Activities Few dog's play alike. Consider the games your dog guests like best. Tug, fetch, body slamming and teeth gnashing are all fair game, but if you're bringing dogs together who haven't met, make sure chaperones are on hand to redirect them if the interactions get dicey.

Cake Few dog cakes measure up to our standards. I recommend a split fare, although a few cross-species dishes can be found in one of my all time favorite canine cuisine book, the Doggone Good Cookbook (St. Martin's Press).

Party Favors Party favors also depend on the recipient. A cake-shaped squeak toy is a no-brainer, although you can get more creative in your offerings passing out a busy toy or treat-stuffed pacifier to settle the dogs' on their way home.

Are the party favors for people? The world is full of dogcentric chachkies that will commemorate an afternoon well spent!

Of course, I can't end this piece without mentioning the importance of spay/neuter. A couple of unaltered interactions may leave you with a few extra "party favors.".

Stay tuned here and on my Facebook page for photos from Tally Ho's birthday bash. And don't be shy! Share your images and ideas for celebrations had or hoped for. Remember, life's an adventure. Call your dog and cmon' let's play!

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Our Ocean, Our Tomorrow

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"Being a card-carrying fisher entitles us to fish and participate in work programs," says Jomar Brusa, a fisherman registered with USAID's FishR program in the Philippines. (Photo credit: Gil Maraguinot, ECOFISH Project)

Our ocean impacts all of us--what we eat, drink, and breathe is all connected to this water that washes over more than 70 percent of our blue planet. A healthy ocean is central to human wellbeing--it creates millions of jobs, feeds billions of people, and generates trillions of dollars in the global economy. Twelve percent of the world's population--more than 870 million people--rely on fisheries and aquaculture alone to support their livelihoods. More than three billion depend on our ocean as a significant source of animal protein.

As vast as our ocean and its resources are, they are not infinite. Without a healthy ocean, billions of people would be unable to live with the health, wellbeing, and dignity that our American values and ethos dictate they deserve. Our U.S. foreign assistance is fueling the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts to reverse this trend and to help keep our ocean healthy and productive. By investing in programs that protect the lifeblood of our planet, we invest in ourselves and the future of our global community.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses a critical threat to our ocean and our foreign policy goals and objectives by destabilizing the food and livelihood security of coastal communities. At this year's Our Ocean Conference, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the Safe Ocean Network initiative, which, supported by our U.S. foreign assistance, builds a global community of dozens of nations, including the United States and private partners, to combat IUU fishing. Our new foreign assistance commitment of $2.0 million will give support, using satellite data to identify boats suspected of IUU fishing, strengthening partnerships with Pacific Island Nations through ship-riding programs with the U.S. Coast Guard, and providing technical assistance to countries as they sign up to the Port State Measures Agreement--a global framework for stopping IUU fishing. By integrating existing and emerging technologies, expanding the use of internet-based tools, and enhancing coordination and information sharing, this Network will strengthen efforts to detect, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing around the world.

USAID's work to address IUU fishing is also essential to U.S. efforts to protect our ocean. In the Philippines, USAID partners with the country's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to deter IUU fishing. With USAID support, in 2013 a first nationwide Municipal Fisheries Registration Program (FishR) was established for purposes of determining fishing allocation priorities, limiting entry into municipal water, and monitoring fishing activities. More than 1.5 million of the estimated 1.7 million municipal fishers have registered with FishR to date. These dynamic initiatives are just two examples of how the United States works with our partner countries to address complex challenges that threaten our global community.

Ocean Acidification--the ongoing decrease in the pH of our ocean--is another threat that our foreign assistance works to mitigate. Ocean Acidification is dangerous for many reasons, but its potential to harm fisheries is perhaps the most critical--it threatens food and trade sources for people around the world. Our planned investment of $500,000 in our Ocean Acidification program will allow the U.S. to enhance capacity for ocean acidification monitoring in areas including the Pacific Islands, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. Our U.S. foreign assistance will also support initiatives that mitigate climate-related impacts on coastal ecosystems.

Our foreign assistance will also provide an additional $1.5 million to support Marine Protected Area (MPA) projects in developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, and East Africa. Our support will build capacity to strengthen technical, legal, and policy capabilities in order to establish and effectively manage and enforce MPAs. MPAs are critical to sustainable development--they protect our ocean's coral reefs, maintain fish populations, preserve habitats, and bolster economies by enhancing industries such as fishing and tourism. From reducing IUU fishing and ocean acidification to creating MPAs, our U.S. foreign assistance works worldwide to ensure that our ocean remains healthy.

These are just a few examples of how State Department and USAID foreign assistance drives unique and dynamic solutions to the complex issues that threaten our ocean. The United States is committed to protecting our ocean, and to all aspects of development, and in 2015 we joined our global community in setting ambitious, common priorities for the decades ahead: the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). Water flows through each of these 17 Global Goals, which include ending poverty, promoting gender equality, combating climate change, and more.

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Coral bleaching is dangerous because it threatens the ecosystem that provides a habitat and food for marine organisms. (Photo Credit: Bryan Young)

U.S. foreign assistance, with a price tag of just one percent of the total federal budget, fuels the Global Goals and provides a tremendous return on investment for the American taxpayer. Our foreign assistance demonstrates our commitment to our core American values, like the right to live a dignified life, and freedom and equality for all. It also bolsters our national security goals and objectives--we invest in the countries that are developing today, so that they can become even bigger and better partners tomorrow, ensuring a safer world and a healthy, sustainable planet for all of us.

Our U.S. foreign assistance works on behalf of the American taxpayer to support our ocean, address global health challenges, counter violent extremism, combat climate change, and more. All of these efforts fortify our global community, and our neighbors around the world--from our own hemisphere to Asia--are becoming stronger. We will have more opportunities than ever before to engage, to learn from each other, and to grow trade and job markets. Our global community will rely on our ocean more than ever before, too--we will need more food, more water, and cleaner air. Our investment in our ocean today, in our foreign assistance programs that nourish and protect our blue planet, is critical for our tomorrow.

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's Our Oceanconference and Ocean Unite, an initiative to unite and activate powerful voices for ocean-conservation action. The series is being produced to coincide with the Our Ocean Conference (September 15th, 16th) as part of HuffPost's "What's Working" initiative, putting a spotlight on initiatives around the world that are solutions oriented. To read all the posts in the series, read here. The State Department does not endorse the content of this blog. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #OurOcean #MakeASplash.

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Let's make it a green peace

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Today (21 September), around the globe, we mark Peace Day 2016 knowing that for many peace is nowhere to be found; not today, and unless things change dramatically in many places, not any time soon.

2015 saw the number of refugees and displaced people reach record numbers - surpassing even post-World War II. It is with heavy hearts that we follow the news from around the world: the images are heartbreaking: a terrified child, a ruined hospital, a capsized boat, a city bombed to the ground, a community at the end of their tether. For every image that catches the media attention, many others go unnoticed. Suffering and grief beyond comprehension and beyond the limits of what people should have to endure, are the daily reality for many.

And while we cannot pretend to comprehend, we can, and must, ask ourselves - what must we do?

For Greenpeace, this is a question we grapple with, hold ourselves accountable to: how do we contribute to making our world more green and peaceful? Answers are not straightforward and are never sufficient. Collaborating with and supporting other non-governmental organisations, partners and communities opposing violence is one step in the right direction. Using our skills to help those impacted by conflict is another. These are necessary and important but are also after the fact.

One additional answer, one that we are passionate about, is - speaking up against the idea that the only way to achieve security is through military might and that borders and weapons hold the key to a peaceful existence. Instead, we believe we must work to address the root causes leading to conflicts, to try and prevent them from occurring, or escalating in the first place. We must all work alongside communities to identify non-violent solutions to problems.

War is the ultimate challenge to peace; violence is the most extreme form of threat. But peace cannot be solely defined by the absence of war or conflict. This is not just playing with words.

It underpins what approach we take to achieving peace. Governments spend a fortune on 'defense' - guns, bombs, war planes and the ultimate weapon - nuclear weapons. By comparison there is currently very little focus on and very little time and money spent on proactively preventing conflict.

The twentieth century model of security, based on military might, is no longer applicable. The notion that weapons are the way to safety, military dominance is a mark of superiority, and "what happens over there stays over there" are powerful myths that many see only leading to more violence and suffering and rarely resolving conflict. Peace in the 21st century means more than the absence of war.

We need to replace a narrow paradigm, a national security approach based on military might, and a fear of those different from ourselves with one that reflects a broader understanding of true security - human security. Human security focuses on protecting and promoting the dignity, empowerment and fulfilment for all people. It means not only protecting people from threat, but creating the kind of environmental, social, political, and economic systems that support and enhance people flourishing alongside each other and their environment.

A healthy environment is key to human security. Caring for the environment is a necessity, not a luxury. Our fates and that of the natural world are intimately connected. We humans cannot survive, nor live peacefully, without a healthy, functioning environment.

Nobel Peace Laureate Willy Brandt once said: "Peace is not everything, but without peace everything is nothing." This logic applies even more-so to the natural world that provides us with the basis for our very existence.

Much of the damage we are inflicting on our planet is irreversible. We are now at a critical juncture, a tipping point, where overstepping our planetary boundaries is leading us down a path to growing instability, resource scarcity, fear, crisis and potential conflict. Some of the adverse impacts of climate change are already unavoidable. Crisis will continue to occur. It is how we choose to respond that matters.

Resource scarcity (water, arable land, energy) does not have to lead to conflict. In fact, research shows that often, it can create the conditions for rival parties to cooperate.

Sharing our scarce resources fairly and protecting the global Commons for us all are two essential ways to achieve a green and more peaceful world.

We can address the issues of growing resource scarcity and the local and global impacts of climate change by promoting sustainable options to resource scarcity.

Take energy for example. Conflicts are always complex, but around the world, the quest for resources and conflict often go hand-in-hand. Current conflicts in Iraq, Ukraine, Sudan, the South China Sea to Nigeria are all to an extent, linked to the ownership, access and transport of fossil fuels.

"Resource wars" are not new. But today we can overcome them. Energy is a key example for how transitioning to sustainable, clean renewable sources, could not only reduce conflict, but make life easier and more bountiful for billions. Worldwide 1.3 billion people - equivalent to 18% of global population - continue to live without access to electricity. 2.6 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. This is a problem especially for displaced people and refugees. Renewable energies are already helping to transform lives around the world, and Greenpeace is doing our part contributing to this by both mapping the road to 100% renewable energy for all, as well as working on the ground connecting people (for example in India, Italy and Lebanon).

Our vision is for a world where the intimate, symbiotic relationships between peace and the environment are cherished and acted upon. We stand for a world where people co-exist peacefully with one another and with nature. We stand for a world where the limits of our resources are respected, celebrated and shared. But to get there we must choose cooperation over conflict. We must choose equity and sustainability over greed, human dignity and courage over exploitation.

We stand for peace.

And as one of our founders said: Let´s make it a green peace.

Co-written by Jennifer Morgan and Bunny McDairmid - Executive Director Greenpeace International (a shared leadership role)

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Hypocrisy, They Name Is Climate Change Denial
Earlier this month, my co-author Tom Toles (the Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post) and I published our new book: The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy.

Some great early reviews of the book can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Tom and I had a commentary excerpting parts of the book in yesterday's (Sunday) Washington Post. In addition to calling out the most prominent current climate change denier of them all--Donald Trump--we profile eight other leading climate change deniers in the world of politics, individuals whom--as the commentary notes--have been responsible for "clouding the climate change debate" and stalling action by participating in "a campaign of deliberate misinformation".

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Among the Rogues Gallary of leading climate change deniers are (from left to right, top to bottom): congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), fossil fuel shill Steve Milloy, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, self-styled "Skeptical Environmentalist" Bjorn Lomborg, scientist-turned-denier-for-hire Fred Singer, the inimitable Sarah Palin, conservative funders Charles and David Koch (aka the Koch Brothers), and "swift-boat" architect Marc Morano.

A notable honorable mentionee is James Inhofe (R-OK). Though Inhofe didn't make the Rogues Gallery, he gets the attention he deserves in the book. From chapter 6 of the book (entitled "Hypocrisy, They Name is Climate Change Denial"):

Consider Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a recipient of extensive funding over the years from the fossil fuel interests including ExxonMobil and the Koch Brothers . He is perhaps best known for declaring that climate change is the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" and for introducing a snowball on the U.S. Senate floor as ostensible proof against global warming.

And Inhofe of course gets the full TTT (Tom Toles Treatment):

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When it comes to hypocrisy and irony, Inhofe is truly king. Under the heading of "you can't make this stuff up", there is for example this particular episode that we recount in the book:

Back in July 2011, Inhofe was selected as keynote speaker at the Heartland Institute's annual global warming denier "conference". He had to cancel out at the last minute however. He had grown ill swimming in a lake back in his home state of Oklahoma. The lake was suffering from an algal bloom as a result of the unprecedented heat and drought that Oklahoma experienced that summer --an event that scientists have determined was tied to climate change.

Though he quipped afterward, "the environment strikes back", he was obviously undeterred in his climate change-denying ways, remaining one of the most prominent advocates for fossil fuel interests in the U.S. Senate.

Which, finally, brings us to Inhofe's home-town newspaper, The Oklahoman, named the "Worst newspaper in America" by the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) for "conformance to the right-wing political views" of the paper's owners and its "alleged racist hiring practices" among other things.

The Oklahoman has an unusually atrocious record on all things environment. As CJR notes:

Where else can you find a big-city editorial page -- run by a Christian Coalition devotee plucked from Washington D.C.'s right-wing Free Congress Foundation -- that..demonizes..environmentalists...

.

And it hardly comes as a surprise that The Oklahoman, like Inhofe, is a major promoter of climate change denialism, acting as thinly veiled advocates for the fossil fuel lobby that dominates their state rather than a conduit of objective news for their readers.

So how low could they go, you might add? This is how low:

Stan Glantz has been called the "Ralph Nader of the anti-tobacco movement". He has led the effort to expose how tobacco interests hid the detrimental effects of their product on human health from the public, and has advocated staunchly for policies to reduce smoking.

Glantz has explicitly likened the fossil fuel industry's campaign to deny the science of human-caused climate change to the earlier campaign by the tobacco industry to deny the adverse health impacts of their product. Same modus operandi, even some of the same paid deniers-for-hire (like Fred Singer listed in the Rogues Gallery above).

Just last week, Glantz published a new high-profile study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) exposing how yet another industry tried to hide the adverse health impacts of their product. Glantz and colleagues found internal documents revealing that the junk food industry paid scientists to "play down the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead".

So, how does The Oklahoman cover this development? You guessed it: by turning the entire matter on its head, attempting to use it as an opportunity to blame the government rather than the powerful corporate interests who were exposed by Glantz' research. And, for good measure, they attempt to use the episode to attack the science of climate change! Indeed, they attack me specifically, resurrecting untruthful climate change denier talking points about the the discredited 'climategate' affair, and the widely debunked attacks on the famous "hockey stick" curve my co-authors and I published in the late 1990s (if you want to learn the truth behind all of this, consider reading my previous book The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars).

It is possible that such a twisted viewpoint, wherein an obvious example of industry malfeasance is used to attack the scientific community, including climate scientists specifically, could arise purely from profound ignorance, rather than cynicism and malice. Yes, anything is possible.

But in the end, we see that Hypocrisy: Thy Name is Truly Climate Change Denial.

Thy Nickname might just be The Oklahoman.

__________

Michael Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University and author of The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, and just out in September, The Madhouse Effect, with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles.

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