Riot cops at a COP16 protest in Cancún. Credit: Nastasya Tay/IPS.

December 10

Nastasya Tay navigates her way between riot police, media scrums, children and the UN, exploring the warm fuzzy side of herself.

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Riot cops at a COP16 protest in Cancún. Credit: Nastasya Tay/IPS.

December 8 & 9

Nastasya Tay returns to Cancún, recovering from a weekend of legislative debauchery, and explores the world of climate talk acronyms in the lead up to the opening of the High Level Session of negotiations.

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Cancun, Dec 9, 2010 – When you look out from the press room at the centre of the Cancun talks, or from your hotel balcony, or from the window of your moving car, it’s a cobalt sea, dotted with teasing little swirls of white foam, bordered by swaying palm trees along a curvaceous coast of narrow white sands.

Credit: Diana Cariboni/IPS.

Every minute of the day, the deep, lulling sound of the ocean waves coupled with the rustling of the swaying palms surround you.

During the day in the hotel lobby, noisy throngs of holiday-makers, some barefooted or sandal-clad, towel-wrapped go by dropping sand and water in messy puddles, which seem especially so if you are not part of the gang; grapes really are sour! They yell across at each other, continuing their own enjoyable conversations.

And in the night, the beach and the restaurants in the resort turn into an idyllic romantic holiday for couples. Drinks are included in the daily rates, as is the food, which is plentiful and flowing, albeit within time limits as some from the IPS group found out ruefully. Couples lounge twirled together on reclining chairs watching Mexican dances and hearing live bands crooning sweet nothings.

Credit: Diana Cariboni/IPS.

None of them looks as though he or she knew what COP means, or that it is being held here in this palm-tree haven. It is equally hard to imagine that the holiday makers would worry whether their solid wastes were being treated, or if Cancun’s municipality generated all the energy and electricity being used, from renewable energy sources.

In other words, it seems difficult to get serious about anything in this atmosphere. It seems the most unlikeliest of places to discuss something as contentious, oftentimes abstract and difficult as the climate talks.

I hope however, that that’s not the reason for the talks still swaying around, albeit in a more gentler manner than Copenhagen last December, in tune with the palm trees surrounding the COP venue at the spa and golf resort, Moon Palace.

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Protesters in the streets of Cancun

December 6

Delegates in Cancun say they hope global climate talks will get back on track in Mexico. Rosebell Kagumire reports that negotiators have been asked to put women at the heart of any new strategy.

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Nastasya Tay ventures to Mexico City, where legislators from around the globe were taking a (sometimes wild) stab at thinking through climate solutions.

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Gunter Pauli, author of "The Blue Economy"

Gunter Pauli *

THIMPHU, Dec 6, 2010 (IPS/TerraViva) – A decade ago HM Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Queen of Bhutan visited the ZERI pavilion at the World Expo in Hannover, the largest bamboo building in modern times, constructed with a German building permit.

The Pavilion demonstrated new emerging business models, proven to work in Colombia, Brazil, Namibia, and Sweden. As the driving force behind these innovative development models, Her Majesty thought I should come to Bhutan.

I came and was enchanted with the country, its people. I was impressed with the visionary approach of HM Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King who not only brought democracy to his Himalayan Kingdom, but who stated early in his reign that happiness is more important than growth.

That vision is now known to the world as Gross National Happiness (GNH). There is no doubt, a nation that enshrines forest protection into the constitution, and establishes every citizen’s right to traditional medicine, embraces a different type of development.

On top of that, the government banned the sale of cigarettes and the use of plastic bags. However, the pressure to grow is high, unemployment poses a new challenge, and access to satellite television and internet entices many to emulate a consumption model desiring junk food that recently has been subjected to a special tax.

After crossing the country from West to East, four extended visits enriched by dialogues with government, private sector, and civil society, I submitted a portfolio of possible initiatives “to grow and be happy”.

Based on my experience in creating initiatives that respond to people’s needs, with what they have, I designed businesses that go beyond cutting costs, and rather generate more value, especially for remote rural communities.

And one of the core values is happiness. A portfolio of 6 top projects emerged, each based on a benchmark somewhere in the world, inspired by pioneers who have demonstrated a sense for competitiveness while having the capacity to reach out to the unreached.

These opportunities offer a platform for entrepreneurship, job generation and investments, provided the government creates the policies to make this happen.

Working sessions with the Prime Minister and his colleagues lead to the formulation of government resolutions to set the stage for implementing this GNH portfolio backed up by an independent GNH Fund.

The Prime Minister’s goal that Bhutan will revert to 100% organic farming, forever. As a first step to achieve that goal, he wishes to decree that all food served in restaurants and hotels must be certified organic.

This guarantees higher income to farmers. The second policy option may even do better: turn Bhutan into the first country committed to bioplastics. An inspirational encounter between HM the Queen with Dr. Catia Bastioli, the founder of Novamont (Italy), who is already converting agro-waste of 600 Italian farmers into bioplastics, set the stage for a promising collaborative effort.

Bhutan said no to plastic bags. Now it says yes to bioplastics made from left-overs which after use, are composted and returned to soil.

The rise of petroleum imports is hurting the Bhutanese balance of payments. The Prime Minister already declared that the country will be carbon negative. Now he is prepared to commit to eliminate all use of fossil fuel.

He is inspired by the pioneering work of Las Gaviotas, Colombia. Las Gaviotas taps pine trees, and generates all the fuel it needs. Bhutan has a 72% forest cover. We can imagine an army of “happy tappers”, generating fuel from the trees.

The capital city of Thimphu, and emerging urban centers are struggling with an increasing flow of black water, a danger to public health and costly to treat. The Prime Minister is ready to turn Bhutan into the first country committed to eliminate septic tanks, sewage and water treatment.

Instead, Bhutan wishes to opt for the Swedish technology proven to work in homes, schools, apartment blocks and city quarters by the architect Anders Nyquist in Sundsvall. This “dry” approach, that does not smell at all, eliminates viruses at source, recycles water on site, regenerates nutrients and is cheap.

Each policy decision proposed is backed by technologies, competitive business models, investment opportunities, … based on the Blue Economy, a development model that does not require anyone to pay more to be sustainable.

Everyone in the government read my book with the same title, now I realize the power of publishing! These policy decision made on December 7, 2010 inspired me to create the GNH fund with local partners. Over 100 personalities signing a letter of support go beyond the clapping hands and tapping shoulders.

We are delighted to advance on an investment rather an aid strategy and expect the fund will be operational by Spring 2011. Imagine if the big neighboring countries would opt for the same strategy.

* Gunter Pauli author of “The Blue Economy” and entrepreneur. (COPYRIGHT IPS)

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Adventures with fruit and heretical reflections from Nastasya Tay as Japan knocks the Kyoto Protocol.

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December 3

Rosebell Kagumire finds Southern African officials worried that people back home will be disappointed by any REDD agreement.

Follow @RosebellK via her twitter stream as she delves into the devilish details of reducing degradation of forests.

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What do you get when over a billion people try to change a light bulb? Nastasya Tay listens in on the Chinese, misses her bus, and queries the difference between climate finance and aid.

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Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is high on the agenda for civil society, says Rosebell Kagumire.

Follow @RosebellK via her twitter stream as she delves into the devilish details of reducing degradation of forests.

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Listen to TerraViva’s other COP16 Podcasts here.