The 2010 Toronto summit is the fourth meeting of the G20 talks, where heads of government discuss global, environmental, financial and economical issues. The theme of the Toronto summit was Recovery and New Beginnings, which refers to the state the world is in financially, the recession and ways to tackle the economic financial crisis.  

 Some reports have shown that the protests were mostly peaceful with not one person being seriously injured. However there are several other reports that have the protester numbers exceeding 5,000 with many getting extremely violent and leading to the arrests of over 500 protesters.

Before marches were due to start, protesters met in a near by park, but were disturbed by the police who searched and handed out warnings. It has been said that the police also raided a university building, rounding up more protesters in, it was said, an effort to suppress any further violence.

The initiative that has been put together by 10:10 has launched and already has the support of both the Labour and Conservative parties. 10:10 are working together with ROSPA (royal society for the prevention of accidents) and have created the Lighter Later campaign and it is believed that it will result in reduced energy consumption, fewer accidents and improved health.

By changing the clocks to GMT+2 in the summer and GMT+1 in the winter and gaining an extra hour of daylight will reduce the daily demand for electricity. This adds up to be ½ million tonnes of Co2 being prevented and moves the UK 10% closer to the reduction in carbon emissions.

However, this is not a new story as changing daylight hours has been planned and tested before but didn’t succeed. Whereas workforce productivity increased and energy was saved it is said that there was an increase in traffic accidents in Scotland. It will be felt that this is a detrimental prospect for Scotland as during the winter months it is very dark and would mean school children are getting to school in the dark mornings.

I feel it is a divided front on how the public feel in this matter. Would changing the clocks really guarantee an extra hour of daylight? Of course it wouldn’t. Just by changing the clocks does not come with a written promise of more sun. But the concept of helping to reduce energy used in homes and potentially reduce the risk of accidents is one to be considered.

Go to the website to sign your name on the list to speak out for “give me more sunshine”.

Now being nicknamed “Cash for Caulkers”,  the Homestar program outlines plans for a  government rebate to US businesses and homeowners who refit their homes to become more energy efficient. This includes replacing windows, doors, insulation and using other resourceful materials from an approved list.

Obama believes this initiative is going to revitalise the US construction industry, creating more jobs and lowering household energy bills. It could cost $6 billion to put into place but will pay back rebates to some 3 million homeowners direct from hardware stores or contractors. The incentives are attracting attention already with promised instant payouts of up to $1500 for an upgrade and up to $3000 for a home refit.

However, this is still being discussed by congress and has not yet been passed as law, but the Homestar Coalition have put in to place some strategies to help senators and congressional representatives to see the light.

A-list US celebrities gathered together by proactive environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, initiated a serious Green campaign on January 29th geared towards mobilizing Americans to get involved with forcing the hand of US environmental policy. A selection of the USA’s best-known celebrities including, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman and Forest Whitaker, along with rising stars Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long, are leading the This is Our Moment campaign to bring the need for clean energy to the fore in Washington.

Whereas here in the UK, following what some see and the complete failure of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, there is a sense that our leaders are not prepared to listen to us or act upon important green issues. People who feel strongly about green issues in the UK are starting to turn away from politicians for help and look to take positive action on a grassroots, local community level.

However in the US political system, mass lobbying has always had significant sway over US policy. Supported by mainstreaming celebrities, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the very latest viral and public forum technologies, the This is our Moment movement is designed to help Americans contact their senators, flood their email boxes, make videos and generally get interactive in pushing for an American clean energy bill. Given the negative global press generated by the Bush administrations restrictive environmental attitudes, this new campaign breathes fresh air into the environmental struggle not just in America, but the world at large.

Watch the extented campaign clip here

The conference provided a program on the first global agreement to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support adaptation for the most vulnerable and help establish environmentally sustainable growth.

Countries have agreed to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius. Developed countries are implementing targets for greenhouse gas emissions and financially supporting the developing countries.

Also, the most vulnerable will be identified and protected – taught to adapt to the changes brought on by global warming. In addition, discussions regarding the subject of reducing carbon emissions due to deforestation were initiated.

After 2 years of negotiations leading up to this UN Copenhagen conference, the above all appears rather vague and in fact a spokesperson from Greenpeace has been quoted as saying, ‘It’s so weak as to be meaningless’. Not quite the positive, inspirational outcome we were hoping for.

Apparently, we are led to believe, that this controversy was started due to leaked emails. It appears that it will take 3 years for the re-examination of the findings, so only by 2012 will the information have any perceivable credibility.  The Met Office database is one of three main sources used by the UN to analyze climate change and was to be the foundation of the talks in Copenhagen this week

The timing plays straight into the hands of countries such as America and Australia, who are concerned that unrealistic CO2 emission cuts will be introduced at the summit.