The document reflects on the author's experience at COP16 in Cancún, focusing on discussions surrounding building energy efficiency, highlighting successful initiatives like Mexico's zero energy low-cost housing program. It emphasizes the need for urgent action on decarbonization as indicated by the IEA's findings, while also noting the lack of public engagement compared to previous conferences like Copenhagen. The author suggests that genuine cooperation, rather than competition, might be more effective in addressing climate change challenges.

1. From
With
COP16
now
a
moment
in
history,
and
the
package
making
up
the
Cancún
Agreements
now
in
place,
some
reflections
from
my
few
days
there.
The
side
event
I
specifically
came
to
participate
in,
organised
by
REEEP’s
Energy
Efficiency
Coalition,
was
well
attended
and
well
received.
The
subject
was
building
energy
efficiency,
and
in
addition
to
my
own
presentation
on
Asian
exemplars,
Professor
Peter
Boelsterli
from
Bern
University
of
Applied
Sciences
raised
some
thought-­‐provoking
ideas
on
the
topic
of
the
training
of
architects
and
building
professionals
in
China,
where
an
architect
might
be
working
on
not
one
or
two
but
literally
one
or
two
thousand
projects
at
the
same
time,
and
Fernando
Mayagoitia
,
Project
Leader
for
the
Innovation
and
Sustainable
Growth
program
at
Urbi,
one
of
Mexico’s
major
housing
construction
companies,
regaled
the
audience
with
stories
of
the
challenges
and
solutions
involved
in
the
remarkably
successful
Zero
Energy
Low
Cost
Housing
programme
showcased
during
the
COP.
REEEP
and
the
EEC
were
instrumental
in
initiating
the
connection
of
parties
which
led
to
this
success,
bringing
in
the
Canadian
government
which
eventually
provided
the
larger
portion
of
the
external
funding,
so
Fernando’s
enthusiastic
report
was
especially
gratifying.
The
wide
variety
of
climates,
the
technology,
policy,
and
finance
hurdles,
and
the
crying
need
for
housing
that
would
not
drain
low-­‐income
families’
budgets
in
the
form
of
a
lifetime
of
high
energy
bills
are
all
elements
of
the
Mexican
story
that
will
surely
resonate
with
their
Chinese
counterparts.
The
roadmap
developed
to
guide
the
Mexican
case
(and
bear
in
mind
they’re
only
at
mile
1
along
that
road
so
far)
would
be
worth
a
serious
look.
Among
the
literally
hundreds
of
side
events
to
the
main
negotiating
session
I
made
it
my
goal
to
get
to
the
Green
Solutions
exposition
to
see
what
Mexican
companies,
in
particular,
were
doing
to
move
low
carbon
forward.
Apart
from
a
booth
featuring
the
Zero
Energy
Low
Cost
Housing,
other
exhibits
showed
some
solar,
wind,
and
few
electric
vehicles.
Not
ground-­‐breaking,
but
solid
confirmation
that
Mexico
has
plans
to
continue
its
low
carbon
efforts.
My
second
goal
was
IEA
Day.
This
full
morning
of
presentations
from
representatives
of
various
divisions
within
the
International
Energy
Agency
showed
me
numerous
examples
of
genuinely
good
work;
work
that
it
would
be
worthwhile
for
all
of
us
in
the
field
of
energy
efficiency
to
know
about.
Yes,
the
700
page
World
Energy
Outlook
2010
can
be
somewhat
daunting
(a
Chinese
edition
is
forthcoming),
and
the
450
Scenario
describes
carbon
dioxide
emissions
at
a
level
30
percent
higher
than
other
parties
already
consider
untenable.
But
IEA
Executive
Director’s
solemn
words,
that
“the
investment
bill
to
decarbonise
the
global
energy
mix
has
risen
by
USD
1
trillion
since
last
year’s
IEA
estimate,
for
an
identical
environmental
goal”,
left
no
one
doubting
the
urgency
of
effective
action,
not
words.

2. Unlike
Copenhagen,
where
evidence
was
everywhere
that
the
local
citizens
were
not
only
well
aware
of
the
COP,
but
also
more
than
willing
to
express
their
opinions
about
it,
any
sign
of
public
engagement
in
Cancun
was
hard
to
find.
Not
impossible,
though.
While
on
an
early
morning
visit
to
a
local
market
to
catch
some
Mexican
colour
I
came
across
a
pair
of
posters
from
the
“Against
Climate
Destruction
Organisation”
(excuse
my
probably
flawed
translation).
You’ll
see
they
are
quite
gruesome.
The
previous
day
I’d
been
given
a
talk
about
the
fascinating
but
bloodthirsty
Mayan
civilisation
that
had
flourished
in
the
Cancun
area
–
one
feature
of
which
was
a
ball
game
in
which
in
some
versions
the
captain
of
the
winning
team,
not
the
losing
team,
had
his
head
chopped
off.
It
caused
me
to
wonder
if
countries
attempting
to
“win”
next
year’s
hopefully
final
climate
change
negotiations
might
not
find
any
such
success
equally
fruitless.
Much
better,
methinks,
to
strive
for
a
genuine
draw.