BOLIVIAN CLIMATE CONFERENCE SIGNALS HOPE
Friend of the Earth International welcomes the
conference and a delegation [2] plans to participate in it together
with social movements, non-governmental organisations, government
representatives, intellectuals and Indigenous Peoples from around the
world.
This conference aims to open up space for civil
society and government representatives to coalesce around
common, just demands in order to give a new impetus and direction to
the UN talks on climate change.
Friends of the Earth
International chair Nnimmo Bassey said:
“Bolivia's
positioning on environmental issues provides a beacon of hope which
we encourage other governments and local authorities to follow.
Despite being economically challenged, Bolivia has rightfully and
bravely stood up to the divide and rule tactics that have been
deployed by rich industrialised countries.”
“The UN
Climate Convention sets out basic principles of developed country
responsibilities for current and historical emissions that are
routinely undermined. Furthermore, the UNFCCC has become deeply
manipulated and weakened by the governmental promotion of corporate
interests above environmentally and socially sound solutions to
climate change,” he added.
The conference has seventeen
working groups which will produce proposals on, for instance, the
dangers of carbon markets, the Kyoto protocol, forests, agriculture
and food sovereignty.
“The Kyoto Protocol contains false
solutions such as carbon offsetting through the Clean Development
Mechanism. This conference in Bolivia allows us to promote an
alternative, sustainable approach along with other social movements,
trade unions and Indigenous Peoples,” said Friends of the Earth
International chair Nnimmo Bassey.
Carbon offsetting
loopholes allow business-as-usual pollution in the North. New
proposals such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation for Developing
Countries (REDD) threaten to privatise forests in order to try to
offset the emissions of developed countries. There are particular
dangers to the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples and
the sanctioning of forest conversion to monoculture tree plantations
which have detrimental social and environmental impacts.
Bolivia
challenges the business-as-usual approach promoted by rich
industrialised countries and has put forward progressive proposals on
climate debt in order to demand the freeing up of environmental space
and compensation to developing countries and communities facing
climate impacts that they did not cause.
NOTES
[1]
The conference website is http://pwccc.wordpress.com/
[2] For more information contact the following
spokespeople who will attend the conference in Bolivia:
IN
EUROPE
Asad Rehman, Senior Campaigner, Friends of the Earth
England, Wales and Northern Ireland: +44 77201 47280 (UK Mobile)
Joseph Zacune, Friends of the Earth International Climate
Justice and Energy Program Co-ordinator +44 7912 406424 (UK mobile)
Meena Raman, Honorary Secretary of Friends of the Earth
Malaysia: + 41 22 908 35 50 (Swiss mobile)
IN AFRICA
Nnimmo
Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair, Tel: +234 80 37 27
43 95 (Nigerian mobile)
IN THE AMERICAS
Martin Drago,
FoEI´s Food Sovereignty Program Co-coordinator +59899 138559
(Uruguayan mobile)
Kate Horner, Friends of the Earth US
Policy Analyst, +1 360 319 9444 (US mobile number)
Isaac
Rojas, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Forest
and Biodiversity Programme, Tel: + 506-83 38 32 04 or 506-22 68 60 39
(Costa Rican numbers)
Eduardo Giesen, Friends of the Earth International Climate Justice and Energy Program Regional Coordinator + 56-9-9163.0995 (Chilean mobile number)
Ricardo Navarro, Friends
of the Earth El Salvador (CESTA) President: email
foeelsalvador@hotmail.com
