A week of global actions for climate justice
Published on Fri, 2011-11-18 07:53
Civil society is not standing with arms crossed in view of the seeming impasse of the deliberations on the way to the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will begin on Nov 28 in Durban, South Africa. Dozens of organizations launched an urgent call to persuade the industrialized countries to renew their commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and they also prepare mobilizations for climate justice all over the world for the next week, on the eve of the meeting. These organizations raised the alarm against the industrialized countries intention to dilute the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), approved in 1997. The Protocol, that will expire next year, imposes on those nations a regime of emissions’ reductions that they are trying to replace with voluntary cut pledges. The civil society organizations’ statement warns that “governments of rich industrialized countries have been trying to reverse Climate Convention principles and dismantle existing agreements”, and claims for a “drastic” and “fair” reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and to “stop false solutions” such as “carbon trading, market-based approaches to forests, soil and water, large-scale geo-engineering and techno-fixes, nuclear energy, mega hydro dams, agro-fuels, and clean coal”. The organizations also propose that industrialized states “cover the full costs of enabling peoples of developing countries and other affected communities to deal with the impacts of climate change (including past, present and future losses), as well as the costs of enabling developing countries to shift to equitable, post carbon sustainable systems,” according to the “countries’ responsibility for climate debt”. That “adequate and appropriate finance” should avoid “debt-creating instruments” and must “be channeled through a democratic and accountable global fund that is independent of other international financial institutions,” the statement adds. This “Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice” coincides with a joint statement issued in Beijing on Nov 1 by Ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (the so-called BASIC countries), who warned that “the Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of the climate regime and its second commitment period [of emissions cuts by developed countries] is the essential priority for the success of the Durban Conference”. Representatives of the Group of 77, the Arab Group and the Alliance of Small Island States participated in the meeting as observers. Besides, the African Group, the Least Developed Countries and the ALBA group of Latin American countries launched on Oct 7 in Panama an alliance to ensure that the Durban conference’s outcomes strengthen the regime of greenhouse gas emissions reduction set by the Kyoto Protocol. The civil society organizations’ statement reads as follows:
Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice We are movements and organizations engaged in many struggles for a new world - a world in which the needs, interests, rights and aspirations of peoples everywhere have priority over the profit of corporations and the excess of elites. In the year ahead, our solidarity and collective action is extremely crucial. Climate change is already having devastating impacts globally and is accelerating. The window for preventing the breach of tipping points and stopping climate catastrophe is rapidly closing. Climate change is more than multiplying the sufferings of people already burdened by the global injustices of hunger, dispossession and violation of human rights. It is a crisis that also threatens to wipe out vast populations and profoundly change life on Earth. We must act with clarity, cohesion and courage if we are to stabilize the Earth’s climate system and secure a just and sustainable world. Like other global crises, climate change arises principally from historically unequal economic and social structures, from practices and policies promoted by rich, industrialized countries, and from systems of production and consumption that sacrifice the needs of the many to the interests of a few. The affected peoples of the world bear little responsibility for the climate crisis yet suffer its worst effects and are deprived of the means to respond. Addressing these challenges requires profound social transformation in all countries and at all levels – local, national and global. It requires a rapid shift to systems and methods of production and consumption that are compatible with the limits of the planet and are aimed at meeting the needs of peoples rather than the relentless pursuit of profit. Part of the process of profound social transformation is fighting for and achieving immediate concrete results in terms of drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and enabling people to deal with the impacts of the climate crisis. It is in this light that we are engaged in the fight for an international climate architecture that is rooted in science, equity and justice. Governments meeting at this year’s UN Climate Conference in Durban must end years of delay and meet their moral, historical and legal obligations. Rather than honoring their historical responsibilities and legal commitments, governments of rich industrialized countries have been trying to reverse Climate Convention principles and dismantle existing agreements. This effort started with the so-called Copenhagen Accord, was advanced by the Cancun outcomes, and may reach culmination in Durban. Among other things, they are seeking to impose a domestic “pledge and review” system, deregulate multilateral climate rules and promote false solutions such as the expansion of carbon markets. Their efforts must be met with intensified resistance. As part of a broader struggle to achieve climate justice, reparations for climate debt and a profound global transformation - we demand from all governments that if the international negotiations are to mean anything, they must deliver outcomes that: * Prevent catastrophic climate change and ensure just and fair sharing of drastic emission reductions. *Stop false solutions. * Ensure adequate and appropriate finance on the basis of countries’ responsibility for climate debt and obligation to make reparations to all affected peoples. * Ensure appropriate technology transfers without intellectual property barriers. * Advance the transformation to Equitable, Democratic Post Carbon Systems. We urge all movements, peoples’ organizations, civil society groups and all concerned citizens to come together in a Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. Let us kick off this campaign together with coordinated mobilizations in a Week of Global Actions for Climate Justice on November 20 to 26.
Initial List of Participatinng Movements and Organizations International and Regional Networks and Organizations USA and Europe Africa Latin America and the Caribbean Bangladesh India Indonesia Malaysia Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Philippines More information This report is based on data from the following sources:
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