Blog 1 - Bonn Climate Talks

Blog 2 - World People's Conference

Bonn Climate Talks fail to bring substantive results for global emissions reductions

by Adolphine Byayuwa Muley, CARE Southern Voices partner
Founder and Coordinator of UEFA, a non-profit organisation working to assist marginalised and indigenous groups in DR Congo - including doing environmental work with women. 

June 11, 2010

The first week of negotiations in Bonn did not bring any substantive results as far as emissions reductions are concerned. This is one of the main obstacles for an accord between the Parties.

The President of the Working Group for Long Term Compromise (AWG-LCA) decided to concentrate first on intersectoral questions and the re-elaboration of the introductory chapter about the shared vision.
The parties announced their ideas and positions on technology transfer, capacity building, finance and activities of Monitoring & Evaluation as well as verification. In the course of the debate, the divergent positions were being comfirmed.

At the same time, some observers note that there is small progress on matters of finance thanks to a new initiative by the United States of America to contribute more funding for climate activities. One might ask whether this is only to confirm what the Associated Press has already reported last week: a US report submitted to the United Nations stated that the Obama administration plans to increase their greenhouse gas emissions by 4% until 2020 and at the same time would contribute to 30 billion US Dollars that were being committed for developing countries in Copenhagen.

This would mean a triplication of American aid to developing countries. If this were true, it would be a real pity. Because financial contributions to climate change adaption are no substitutes for continuing efforts to reducing emissions. It seems like the Northern countries have not yet understood that climate change is a reality, even though we can see its negative effects in different countries on many TV stations!!!

In general, if the financial questions would be answered with a just compromise on emissions reductions, we could hope for a success of the negotiations. Today, we estimate the costs of climate change to add up to around 100 billion US dollars per year. The Secretary General of the United Nations has established an expert group to develop proposals on financing and mechanisms to manage these funds.

This working group will send their recommendations to the Conference of the Parties in December in Mexico. If there was a little progress to note concerning the financial aspects of the accord, there are however still large differences on the question of reducting emissions. Until this day, the developed nations try to escape from their historical responsibility that was laid out in the Kyoto protocol. This is why they try to merge it with the LCA to create one single document. Many countries do not agree with this strategy, especially the G77 and China, the indigenous population and civil society.

They propose to adopt a voluntary system of compromise on reduction without taking the obligations to a general and obligatory framework of reduction. At the same time, they try to integrate the principal aspects of the Copenhagen Accord into the negotiation text, even though this accord has not been formally adopted by the COP in December 2009.

For indigenous populations, it is very important to raise funds for themselves to participate in the COP conference in Mexico. The Mexican government also needs to be aware of the need for transparency and the people's right to participate on every level of the negotiations on climate change.

In Bolivia: The world's peoples raise their voices in defense of Mother Earth against the impacts of climate change

By Silvia Arguilar, Climate Change and Food Security Manager, CARE Bolivia

April 23, 2010

Related documents:

BIF Bulletin Special Edition April 2010

World_People's Agreement_English

World_People's Agreement_Spanish

Submission_by_Plurinational_State_of_Bolivia

Resultados_CMPCC_principales_conclusiones

From April 19- 22, more than 12,000 delegates from over 100 countries gathered in Bolivia to attend an alternative 'People's World Conference' on Climate Change. The broad range of participants was a testament to the urgency of the climate crisis. Indeed, the term "climate crisis" was used frequently at the meeting, in recognition of the fact that this phenomenon is already visible and having a real impact on the daily lives of many people, some of whom were present at the event.

This gathering was also remarkable in that it brought together not only political dignitaries, but also a very diverse range of social movements, organizations, associations, coalitions and regular people from around the world. Despite this human diversity, they all united around one common goal: To demonstrate that the "Copenhagen Accord" from COP15 in December last year was a clear failure.

In essence, the Accord failed to set any goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions in the medium term (2020) and accomplished even less on long terms goals (2050). The lack of positive progress was especially devastating for the world's most vulnerable populations, who are hardest hit by climate change although they have contributed least to causing it.

This is particularly the case for indigenous and rural people, whose subsistence is directly associated with the sound management and use of natural resources. During the conference, concern was also extended to peri-urban populations living on the fringes of cities, which areas are increasingly populated by climate migrants. Many of these people have been displaced unexpectedly to new regions often living under unfavorable conditions. They also tend to find themselves at greater risk owing to the kinds of settlements they are forced to live in. In response, the Peoples Summit intended to – and succeeded in – giving a bigger voice to people of the developing world on climate change. Particularly for the thousands of people from indigenous and social movements, the Cochabamba summit was an unprecedented and important opportunity to voice their concerns in a global forum about the impact of climate change and to share their knowledge about how to tackle this formidable challenge.

The final "People's Declaration" of the conference was the outcome of 17 working sessions held over the 3-day

conference with 150–300 people in attendance at each session. This declaration was intended as a strong message to reach a more equitable and definitive accord at the next Climate Change Summit to be held in Cancún, Mexico and to approve the amendment of the Kyoto protocol, which is legally binding on the signatory parties. The Summit concluded that the solution to this crisis is not simply to improve adaptation strategies but to actually demand significant and effective measures to stop catastrophic climate change and its consequences on Mother Earth and the life it shelters.

Below are some of the main conclusions included in the declaration that will be presented at the upcoming Climate Summit in Cancún, Mexico.

• Reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to allow GHG concentrations to return to 300 ppm, thereby limiting rises in the average global temperature to a maximum of 1°C.

• Adaptation funds to address climate change exclusively as part of a funding mechanism that is administered and directed by involved Governments with autonomy, transparency and equity.

• Developed countries must pledge to provide new annual financing in addition to the Official Development Assistance, deriving public funds and amounting to at least 6% of GDP, to address climate change in developing countries.

• Developed countries, the main parties responsible for climate change, must assume their past and present responsibility and must recognize and honor their climate debt in all its dimensions as the foundation of a fair, effective and scientific solution to climate change.

• A Global Referendum, plebiscite or consultation of the world's peoples on climate change, in which every individual is consulted on the level of emission reductions that developed countries must achieve.

• Establishment of a Climate and Environmental Justice Tribunal with the legally binding authority to prevent, rule on and sanction governments and individuals who by their acts or omissions pollute and/or provoke climate change.

• Developed countries must take responsibility for climate migrants by welcoming them into their territories and recognizing their basic rights through the signing of international agreements that establish a definition of climate refugees that is agreed to by all governments.

• Building of a movement of the world's peoples for Mother Earth that is based on the principles of complementarity and respect for the diverse origins and outlooks of its members, offering a broad-based and democratic opportunity to coordinate and articulate global action.

The agreements reached at the World Peoples' Conference on Climate Change could certainly be described as ambitious, especially when compared to the advancements made in earlier climate change talks, and more still when compared to greenhouse gas emission reductions actually achieved to date. But, it is precisely that reality and lack of prior commitment that lends validity to the "People's Accord" and proves that climate change has moved beyond the purview of academics, activists, and international agencies to take center stage on the agenda of the world's peoples, giving the debate a face –the face of regular citizens for whom climate change is not science fiction but reality, in places such as the mountains of Chacaltaya, which have lost their blanket of eternal snow and with it part of the ecosystems that depend on it.