COP28:
We are in the planning process for actions leading up COP28, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates, November 6 - 17. More info to come.
COP27:
See a selection of videos from COP27 including speeches by President Biden, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and others
CCMP at COP27: Our Accomplishments
-
Our Steering Committee member (Outreach), Cindy Piester, also representing our ally WILPF, attended COP27, building on the work of VFP member David Collins during COP26. Listen to the podcast with Cindy's insights into what good (some) and not-so-good (a lot) came out of COP27. She handed out and wore (!) our popular bumpersticker and our CCMP brochures, and had many productive conversations with other civil society participants.
- Cindy's work included:
- Networking with other organizations working on climate + militarism nexus, including British-based Conflict and Environment Observatory.
- Building awareness of the relationship between the existential crises of global militarism including the increased threat of nuclear war, and global climate change, including connecting with former Vice President Al Gore, a panel of US Senators, and many activists from all over the world.
Pictured above: Cindy Piester addresses the US State Department at COP27 on issues related to military emissions impact on climate and UNFCCC reporting protocols.
Pictured below: Al Gore at COP27 event, Egyptian Youth Delegates, and Cindy wearing a CCMP bumper sticker.
COP26:
VFP Statement on Results of COP26 - If COP26 is the "last best hope for the world" as Climate Envoy John Kerry stated, the USA is largely responsible for the failure to achieve that "hope." President Biden says the USA is "... leading by the power of our example". The Veterans For Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project (CCMP) believes that the USA's poor "example" led to the half-measures achieved at COP26.
- Why should other nations, both USA's friends and foes, prioritize action on climate when the USA spends more in one year on so-called "defense" than the total 10-year funding for climate action proposed in Biden's Build Back Better plan?
- Biden's promised doubling of funds "...by 2024 to $11.4 billion per year to help developing nations deal with climate change," is less than the funds added by Congress to an already bloated FY 2022 military budget.
...CCMP understands the Biden Administration and U.S. Congress cannot pivot from decades of pursuing global military dominance to seriously addressing the climate crisis without political support from the American people. Consequently, going forward we plan to support efforts, such as Congresswoman Barbara Lee's (CA-13) resolution H. Res. 767, which calls for the monitoring and reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S. military. We in CCMP will continue our programs of public education and advocacy, online and in person. By highlighting the emissions of the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet, CCMP will enlist allies in support of reprioritizing resources to defend against the real threat to USA's security, the climate crisis.