Civil society organisations and social movements extremely concerned about the current state of the climate negotiations, which is now posing a serious threat to the survival of the world, make a call to meet the climate emergency.
The statement can be signed here.
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There is much talk about the 2009 climate change meeting that takes place 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark as a crucial moment in global climate change negotiations - let alone for the future of humankind and the planet.
Mainstream media has been talking about a breakthrough “post-Kyoto agreement” or “post-2012 agreement” but these descriptions are not entirely accurate. As noted by one senior developing country official: “the Kyoto Protocol is not yoghurt; it has no expiry date”. The 2012 date is simply the commencement of the second commitment period. Negotiations under the Convention are for action now, up to and beyond 2012.
As the climate negotiations intensify on the road to Copenhagen, a key issue that has occupied much attention is the issue of mitigation and the burden-sharing between developed and developing countries. At stake in the climate negotiations, therefore, is among the largest divisions of wealth and resources in modern history.
With less than 20% of the population, developed countries have produced more than 70% of historical emissions since 1850, far more than their fair share based on equal per-person emissions. This basic and undeniable truth forms the foundation of the global climate justice movement.
Women’s groups are also challenged to introduce gender into the climate negotiations, forming alliances with governmental organizations and UN agencies.
Another key issue for environmental NGOs is the market-based responses to climate change proposed by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), carbon markets and schemes aimed at Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). These mechanisms have been widely criticized because they would exacerbate local social and environmental conflicts and foster land grabs whilst failing to tackle the climate crisis.
Activists from all over the world are coming together in a series of events to demand a fair outcome of the conference. Follow their activities and statements in the links below.
The GGCA is a network of non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations and UN agencies that managed to submit several suggestions for gender text that will be taken into consideration at the crucial decisions of COP-15 in Copenhagen.
Civil society organisations and social movements extremely concerned about the current state of the climate negotiations, which is now posing a serious threat to the survival of the world, make a call to meet the climate emergency.
The statement can be signed here.
This Informal Note analyzes the Copenhagen Accord in terms of its legal nature and its substantive content, outlines important issues and concerns for the consideration of developing countries in the context of the UNFCCC negotiations and their development implications, and identifies some options that developing countries may consider in the context of their future action in relation to the Copenhagen Accord. January 2010 (pdf).
Copenhagen was a unique opportunity to turn the world’s course away from climate disaster, towards a safe future for all of us on this small planet. Massive global public mobilization demanded it. But leaders of the major powers negotiated for their national interests, instead of safeguarding our shared destiny. January 2010 (pdf).
“We are disgusted by the failure of rich countries to commit to the emissions reductions they know are needed, especially the US, which is the world's largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases". December 2009.
A number of civil society organizations gathered in the Social Watch network have signed a declaration asking developed countries to acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command. 17 December 2009.
"Although climate change requires global actions, the historical responsibility for emitting the majority (80%) of the greenhouse gases in the last 250 years lies on the countries of the North" states the declaration.
The inter-governmental negotiating text that is under discussion contemplates various measures for accelerating the diffusion of technologies. It will most likely create an "Action Plan" as well as a "Technology Body" that will prove influential in the coming years in deciding which technologies get financial and political backing. December 2009.
In the middle of the two weeks of negotiations, on Saturday December 12, 2009, Friends of the Earth International will ‘flood’ through the streets of Copenhagen with demands for climate justice.
Together with other social movement Via Campesina will participate in various parallel activities in September in Bangkok during the UNFCCC last preparatory meeting towards Copenhagen.
Copenhagen unveiled that the leading southern countries are willing accomplices in climate crime to the rich nations, while the hope remains with the rising power of the climate justice movements. December 2009.
Pretty speeches can take you only so far. A month after the Copenhagen climate conference, it is clear that the world’s leaders were unable to translate rhetoric about global warming into action. January 2010.
An agreement drawn up by leaders from the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa has been recognized by the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. December 2009 (pdf).
Negotiations – resumed after U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech failed to deliver any tangible targets – are likely to continue into Saturday 19 December.
So that's it. The world's worst polluters – the people who are drastically altering the climate – gathered here in Copenhagen to announce they were going to carry on cooking, in defiance of all the scientific warnings. December 2009.
The UN climate summit reached a weak outline of a global agreement in Copenhagen, falling far short of what Britain and many poor countries were seeking and leaving months of tough negotiations to come. December 2009.
To anybody interested in the future of the earth’s climate, the conclusion of the Copenhagen conference represents either colossal disappointment or profound rage. December 2009.
As climate talks enter their final phase, Oscar Reyes outlines the hardball negotiating tactics being used to force a weak deal that favours industrialised nations. 15 December 2009.
Greenpeace International ED, Kumi Naidoo, delivered a passionate speech at the launch of the Global Day of Action March in Copenhagen 12 Dec. 2009. "Yes we can, yes we must and yes we will deliver a fair efficient and legally binding treaty to protect the future of our children!". Watch the video.
The Copenhagen negotiating texts include proposals to expand carbon markets which would delay binding greenhouse gas reductions and encourage the outsourcing of pollution from North to South. Carbon markets redefine the problem of climate change to fit the business-as-usual assumptions of neoliberal economics. December 2009.
This book produced by the Transnational Institute’s Carbon Trade Watch Project provides a devastating critique of both the theory and practice of carbon trading, which lie at the heart of global climate policy.
Mary Robinson and Alice M. Miller outline how a human rights framework should be an essential tool in designing strategies, programmes and institutions to help nations mitigate and adapt to climate change. They focus on institutional issues including the role played by the World Bank and highlight reforms needed. Finally they call for building stronger bridges between human rights and development, and between those working on social justice and environmental justice. November 2009.
In their statement, groups expressed strong opposition to giving any role in climate finance or climate programs to the World Bank, regional development banks and other international financial institutions – and emphasized the need for “a new global fund”. October 2009.
This document presents a series of arguments in favor of the climate justice movement prepared for the campaign calling for the repayment of climate debt.
(DOC). July 2009.
A new UN report that says that the international community is not responding urgently coincides with two major upcoming events: a U.N. summit on climate change in New York on Sep. 22 and the impending negotiations on a new global treaty on climate change scheduled to take place in Copenhagen in December.
To achieve their objectives in climate negotiations developed, countries will likely use all the strategies and tactics available to them to convince, and if necessary, to divide and rule the developing countries says this Oilwatch report. June 2009. (PDF)
Two months after, the reverberations of the confusing clash in Copenhagen are still being felt. Climate change is too serious an issue to get lost in the confusion. Thus, the process for 2010 should get sorted out so that the negotiations can resume. But on what basis? 11 February 2010.
Several developing countries are understood to have expressed their concerns about the Copenhagen Accord, or the manner in which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat or the UN Secretary-General and the Danish Prime Minister have written to them about the Accord. 3 February 2010.
