The latest round of international climate-change negotiations in Durban, South Africa have begun and diplomats are trying to find a replacement agreement for the Kyoto Protocol. On the first night of negotiations, an information session took place in downtown Victoria, which was hosted by a local non-profit group called Majority for a Sustainable Society.
The night began with a presentation from Tom Pedersen, director of the Pacific Institute of Climate Solutions. He gave the crowd a rundown of his work and of the latest climate science, which showed that the climate is warming even quicker than expected.
Leila Scannell, a PhD student in environmental psychology, then presented her findings about what type of messaging is effective at engaging people to get more actively involved in climate-change advocacy. Not surprisingly, the use of fear as a motivating technique was the least effective.
Guy Dauncey, local alternative energy expert, spoke next and he shared his ideas for solutions to addressing the problem. Like many other scientists, academics, and environmentalists, he advocates to make polluters pay and to provide alternative-energy incentives. He also asserted his belief that with current alternative technologies we can create jobs, power the world, and not give up our modern lifestyles.
Local nature activist Ken Wu then ended things off by stating the need for a strong grassroots movement to advocate for change, especially at the federal level.
With the extensive scope of the climate-change issue and an oil and gas sector that continually finances the climate-denier movement, the need for a grassroots movement has never been greater.