[WSF-Discuss] Fwd: Pablo Solon in The Guardian

Sat Mar 20 05:23:48 UTC 2010

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Julia del Carmen Sanchez <sanchezgcca at gmail.com>
> Date: March 19 2010 6:16:10 pm GMT+05:30
> To: Jai Sen <Jai.sen at cacim.net>
> Subject: Fwd: Pablo Solon in The Guardian
>
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/mar/19/bolivia-conference-on-climate-change
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>
> Bolivia creates a new opportunity for climate talks that failed at  
> Copenhagen
>
> Bolivia will host an international meeting on climate change next  
> month because it is not prepared to 'betray its people'
>
>
> Bolivia's UN ambassador Pablo Solon-Romero during a press  
> conference. Photograph: Paulo Filgueiras/UN Photo
>
> In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who  
> defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a  
> "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious  
> argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by  
> half measures. We can't make compromises with nature.
>
> Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step,  
> undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is  
> why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and  
> other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and  
> why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next  
> month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared  
> to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver".
>
> Our position was strongly criticised by several industrialised  
> countries, who did their brazen best to blame the victims of climate  
> change for their own unwillingness to act. However, recent  
> communications by the European Commission have confirmed why we were  
> right to oppose the Copenhagen accord.
>
> In a report called International climate policy post-Copenhagen  
> (pdf), the commission confirmed that the pledges by developed  
> countries are equal to between 13.2% and 17.8% in emissions  
> reductions by 2020 – far below the required 40%-plus reductions  
> needed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2C degrees.
>
> The situation is even worse once you take into account what are  
> called "banking of surplus emission budgets" and "accounting rules  
> for land use, land use change and forestry". The Copenhagen accord  
> would actually allow for an increase in developed country emissions  
> of 2.6% above 1990 levels. This is hardly a forward step.
>
> This is not just about gravely inadequate commitments, it is also  
> about process. Whereas before, under the Kyoto protocol, developed  
> countries were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a  
> certain percentage, now countries can submit whatever targets they  
> want without a binding commitment.
>
> This dangerous approach to climate negotiations is like building a  
> dam where everyone contributes as many bricks as they want  
> regardless of whether it stops the river.
>
> The Copenhagen accord opens the dam and condemns millions. Various  
> estimates suggest that the commitments made under the accord would  
> lead to increases of between three to four degrees celsius – a level  
> that many scientists consider disastrous for human life and our  
> ecosystems.
>
> For Bolivia, the disastrous outcome of Copenhagen was further proof  
> that climate change is not the central issue in negotiations. For  
> rich countries, the key issues in negotiations were finance, carbon  
> markets, competitiveness of countries and corporations, business  
> opportunities along with discussions about the political makeup of  
> the US Senate. There was surprisingly little focus on effective  
> solutions for reducing carbon emissions.
>
> President Evo Morales of Bolivia observed that the best way to put  
> climate change solutions at the heart of the talks was to involve  
> the people. In contrast to much of the official talks, the hundreds  
> of civil society organisations, communities, scientists and faith  
> leaders present in Copenhagen clearly prioritised the search for  
> effective, just solutions to climate change against narrow economic  
> interests.
>
> To advance an agenda based on effective just solutions, Bolivia is  
> therefore hosting a Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the  
> Rights of Mother Earth on 19-22 April, and inviting everyone to  
> participate. Unlike Copenhagen, there will be no secret discussions  
> behind closed doors. Moreover the debate and proposals will be led  
> by communities on the frontlines of climate change and by  
> organisations and individuals dedicated to tackling the climate  
> crisis. All 192 governments in the UN have also been invited to  
> attend and encouraged to listen to the voices of civil society and  
> together develop common proposals.
>
> We hope that this unique format will help shift power back to the  
> people, which is where it needs to be on this critical issue for all  
> humanity. We don't expect agreement on everything, but at least we  
> can start to discuss openly and sincerely in a way that didn't  
> happen in Copenhagen.
>
> • Pablo Solón is Ambassador to the UN for the Plurinational State of  
> Bolivia. He is a sociologist and economist, was active in Bolivia's  
> social movements before entering government, and is an expert on  
> issues of trade, integration, natural resources and water.
>
>
> -- 
>
> -- 
> Julia Sánchez
>
> National Campaigns Coordinator
>
> Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA)
>
> Cell: +91 97179-11325
>
> Skype: sanchez_julia
>
> Email: julia.sanchez at tcktcktck.org
>
> http://tcktcktck.org

______________________________
Jai Sen
jai.sen at cacim.net
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www.cacim.net
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