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It was the week that wasn't at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, at least when it comes to seeing any strong commitment from world leaders on the issue of climate change.
There was anticipation that an agreement may have been in the works to see a funding commitment to assist developing nations in reducing their dependence on fossil fuels, but it never materialized. International climate financing is a primary sticking point in the climate treaty negotiations underway in preparation for the world climate summit this December in Copenhagen.
Many TckTckTck partners spent the week making a lot of noise to drive home the point that the world's government leaders must begin to show leadership on climate change in the run-up to Copenhagen. Greenpeace hung a massive banner (actually "massive" would be an understatement) from a Pittsburgh bridge to greet the G20 leaders on the opening day. "It is imperative that developed world leaders do not fail again in Pittsburgh. They must put money on the table to support developing countries" said Damon Moglen, Greenpeace USA's global warming campaign director.
TckTckTck partner Avaaz, took to the streets with a "Climate Fail" message after it was clear that "G20 Leaders are likely to miss the boat on climate change financing."
While there was lots of noise outside, there unfortunately wasn't much action inside the G20 summit. This was an opportunity for our leaders to make public their intentions of signing an ambitious, fair and binding deal in Copenhagen and on that point, the summit was clearly a "climate fail." There's two likely reasons this happened: either our leaders do not intend to do much in Copenhagen or other more pressing issues trumped climate change on the G20 agenda. I would suggest the latter is closer to the truth. A huge monkey wrench was thrown into the G20 agenda with news of a secret underground nuclear facility in Iran and while climate change is a dire threat to our well-being, immediate threats of possible nuclear war take precedent for traditional national security efforts.
All this aside, it was an amazing week with people coming together in Pittsburgh and ensuring that at least among everyday people, climate change was front and center. While other issues took over inside the summit, the point is that thousands of people showed up and made it clear that climate was the issue that wanted addressed. If we keep showing up at these key events, we will continue to gain momentum which is what we will need if want our government leaders to sign an ambitious, fair and binding deal in Copenhagen. If enough of us stand up to lead, our leader will follow. Are you ready?
