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As the world prepares for December’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Bill McKibben talks to Alternatives’ contributor Mark Brooks about what Canadians can do to spur leaders to act. An American environmentalist and author of 12 books, including The End of Nature, McKibben is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign.

Alternatives Journal: What is 350.org?

Bill McKibben: 350 is the most important number in the world. James Hansen at NASA produced a paper saying that any amount of carbon in the atmosphere greater than 350 parts per million is not compatible with the planet on which civilization developed or to which life on Earth is adapted. We’re already past 350 – we’re at 387 – and rising, which is why the Arctic is melting; it’s why Australia is on fire; it’s why we’re seeing historic floods and so on.

Our organization, www.350.org, is planning a huge global day of action all around the world on October 24, six weeks before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. It’s going to be the biggest day of environmental action the world has ever seen.

AJ: What does the 350 ppm target mean in terms of the emissions reductions that will be needed?

BM: It requires that we stand on the brakes and throw this whole system into reverse. Not a gradual braking to a halt, but a squealing U-turn. It basically means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels by the middle of this century, and we have to leave most of the coal in the ground.

I wrote the first book about this issue 20 years ago called The End of Nature, which isn’t particularly cheerful, but even then we didn’t understand how quickly we would need to move.

AJ: Some scientists now think it is too late to stop global warming. Do you think that 350 ppm is a realistic target and that we still have time?

BM: It’s as realistic as we make it. It’s not that we’re going to stop global warming. We’re not. The question is whether we’re going to stop it short of some civilization-scale challenge or not, and that’s an open question that will be decided in the next few years.

AJ: What needs to be done for us to get to 350 ppm?

BM: The sine qua non is to get a price on carbon fast. If that price is stiff enough, then that will put market systems into action and we’ll see a large-scale and rapid mobilization of resources. We also need quick investments by governments in clean-energy research and direct regulation of some carbon sources like automobiles.

AJ: How have we become so reliant on fossil fuels and why have we completely failed to address this problem so far?

BM: Because fossil fuels are incredibly cheap and incredibly powerful. That’s why we’re rich in some ways and we’re reluctant to let go. And of course there are also incredibly powerful vested interests that make unbelievable amounts of money. Exxon Mobil made more money in 2007 than any company in the history of money.

AJ: Would you agree with Thomas Homer-Dixon when he says that change of the magnitude we require happens when we are galvanized by some kind of crisis or systemic breakdown?

BM: I think we have that now. What does it mean when the Arctic melts? What does it mean when the Government of Australia says they’re not going to call it a drought any longer because drought implies it might come to an end some day? We’re in that breakdown.

AJ: What would the implications of a post-carbon economy be for the tar sands in Alberta?

BM: We’ve got to leave coal in the ground and we’ve got to leave unconventional oil in the ground. The ecological cost of extracting that stuff is simply too high for the planet to bear. It’s not going to make Calgary oil executives happy, but on the other hand, it’s going to give the Aboriginal people there some chance of holding on to those landscapes where they have been for thousands of years.

AJ: How can people get involved with the International Day of Climate Action on October 24?

BM: 350.org is not organizing events directly so it’s really an opportunity for people to think creatively and get involved with initiatives that are already being planned or to start their own, large or small. And 350.org is the hub of all this. You can find out what is already being planned in your community, get ideas for events and find tips on how to organize.

We just passed the 1000 actions mark and we are now getting near to half the countries in the world participating. We need many, many more, so go to 350.org and register an event. If there isn’t a rink someplace in Canada with 350 hockey players on it, I’ll be disappointed. There’s really not a moment to waste.

Visit http://cday.atypical.ca/about/ to find out about Canadian action on October 24.

Mark Brooks, a Montreal-based environmental consultant and journalist, publishes a blog on economics and the environment at www.markbrooks.ca.