The Assembly of social Movements, COPENHAGEN.

The Assembly of Social Movements was held on 13 December in the Klimaforum (the alternative forum or people’s climate summit). It brought together more than a thousand people, in a joyful, fraternal and combative atmosphere.

Here grass-roots movements from all of the world’s continents have expressed their views, stressing that for many of them the fight against climate change is a question of survival. These movements include the Via Campesina1, indigenous peoples from all over the world, African associations and as many NGOs and associations grouped together in the networks of Climate Justice Now! The Geneva-Copenhagen climate justice caravan is present to remind us that the rules governing trade must be changed and that new trade regulations constitute the core of the policies to be implemented to prevent climate change. In this aspect, we were very far from the Bella Center, where the official conference that came to a halt this Sunday. In the Klimaforum climate change was no longer an abstract concept that based on figures, acronyms and all kinds of statistics; it became a social, human and cultural reality.

The demonstration on December 12 has been welcomed by all as an immense source of hope and renewed combativeness and a historic moment for the alter-globalisation movement. Attac-Denmark gave a talk evaluating the demonstration and denouncing the «preventive» interrogations by the Danish police that were intended to intimidate the demonstrators and to criminalise the message given by the demonstration.

Attac-Denmark gave a talk on the position taken by the European Union in the negotiations and on the carbon markets, which can be summed up in the following four points:

1 The European Union, although initially in favour of a binding treaty within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol with firm commitments for emission reduction by the industrialised countries, has now aligned itself with the United States’ position, which rejects a binding treaty for the countries of Annex 1 (the rich countries) in spite of renewed demands by the G77 for a legally binding agreement.

2 The European Union has announced that it will commit itself to a reduction in emissions of 23% between 1990 and 2020. It has therefore gone back on its promise to progress to a 30% reduction if other countries also commit themselves to do so. (The new proposals by G77 plus China are for a reduction of 52% in emissions 1990-2017, 65% by 2020, 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, reaching a maximum level of global warming of 1.5°C).

3 The European Union’s proposal for creating an emergency fund of 2.4 billion euros by 2012 has aroused the anger of the countries of the South, especially as there is no serious announcement of a financial commitment in the longer term.

4 The weakness of public-funding proposals demonstrates that the carbon markets are seen as the main source of funds for the struggle against climate change. Attac opposes the carbon markets, because they are inefficient and counter-productive, because they provide increased opportunities for financial speculation and because the compensation mechanisms allow the rich countries to reach their emission objectives without making fundamental changes in their economic systems. Our air is not for sale! Our world is not for sale!

Some background information to help understand the discussions on the nature of the text expected to result from the Copenhagen talks.

Friday 11 December. During the day two proposed texts were circulated as a basis for the negotiations at the Conference of the Parties (COP). These texts were distributed by the President of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) and by the President of the Ad-hoc Working Group on the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) respectively.

What are these working groups?

The Copenhagen Conference is the 15th annual Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992) hence the name COP 15. COP 1 was held in Bali in 2007 and approved the Bali action plan which comes to an end in December 2009.

In Copenhagen, there are two different lines of negotiation: one for the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and one for all of the Parties of the UN Convention. For this reason two texts have been proposed. For the moment these are mere skeleton drafts that need to be added to and completed.

The AWG-KP. In 2005, the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol (2005-2012) decided to begin the process for a second period of commitment after 2012. As the Kyoto Protocol is a treaty that has to be ratified by the parliaments of the signatory countries, the deadline of the end of 2009 should leave enough time for the ratification process to take place and guarantee continuity until after 2012 (if the commitment is continued).

The AWG-LCA. After the Bali conference it was decided to reach an agreement on the application the UN Convention in 2009.

The United States, Australia, Canada, and now the EU, hope to come out of Copenhagen with a single text. This amounts to lifting the binding character of the Kyoto Protocol on the industrialised countries.

Many countries of the South have also prepared draft texts. One of these has been drawn up by China, and is supported by India, South Africa and Brazil. It can be consulted at http://medias.lemonde.fr//mmpub/edt/doc/20091210/1278666_2b8e_thebeijing...

Alternative documents have been drawn up by the least developed countries (LDCs) the African countries and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) respectively. Work to coordinate these proposals is now under way.

 Translation : Ann Oltra, Coorditrad

 

 Submission on behalf of the Plurinational State of Bolivia

Shared Vision for Long term Cooperative Action

 

The Conference of Parties,

1. Recognizing that human beings are part of an interdependent system with which we must live together in harmony and balance while respecting the rights of all;

2. Recognizing the need to achieve not merely peace among humanity but to restore equilibrium and harmony to nature by defending everything that has life and gives life;  

3. Acknowledging that we have followed the laws of humanity while violating the fundamental laws of nature giving rise to climate change and other forms of ecological destruction;

4. Believing that to achieve the realization of human rights and human dignity it is necessary to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth;

5. Recognizing that access to and use of the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system is necessary for the realization of human rights including the right to development, and that atmospheric space should be fairly shared between all countries and peoples;

6. Recalling that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognized that global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values;

7. Noting that the majority of the historical emissions contributing to current atmospheric concentrations and to current and committed future warming originated in the developed countries;

8. Recognizing that the past, current and proposed future emissions by and for developed countries are limiting and will further limit access to and use by developing countries of an equitable share of the atmospheric space required for their development;

9. Affirming that by over-consuming the available capacity of the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system to absorb greenhouse gases the developed countries have run up an “emissions debt” to developing countries;

10. Recognizing further that current levels of warming are damaging forest, mountain and other ecosystems, melting snow and glaciers, thinning ice sheets, causing the oceans to rise and acidify, threatening coral reefs and intensifying droughts and floods, fires and extreme weather events and that these adverse effects threaten to worsen as the warming already committed in the Earth’s systems takes effect;

11. Recognizing that the countries most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change are developing countries and that climate impacts are already imposing substantial and rising costs, damages and setbacks to development thereby undermining the rights and aspirations of developing countries to development;

12. Acknowledging that climate change has caused and is causing increasing adverse impacts to indigenous peoples, local communities and other vulnerable groups and that the human rights, including the inherent rights of indigenous peoples as affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other instruments, must be respected in all efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change;

13. Affirming that the historical emissions of developed countries are causing disproportionate harm to developing countries and that developed countries are thus responsible for compensating developing countries for their contribution to these adverse effects as part of an “adaptation debt” owed by developed countries to developing countries;

14. Recognizing that developed countries emissions debts and adaptation debts together constitute a climate debt, which in turn is part of a broader ecological debt reflecting the environmental footprint, excessive consumption of resources, materials and energy and contribution to declining biodiversity and ecosystem services;

15. Emphasizing that further delay by developed countries parties in addressing their excessive emissions and consumption, and reducing and repaying their climate debts to the developing countries, and significantly constrain opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels of greenhouse gases and increase the risk of more severe climate change impacts; 

16. Seeking to ensure the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action; 

Decides as follows:

17. All parties shall enhance their contribution to long-term cooperative action to combat climate change with a shared vision which is based and in fulfillment of the objective and principles of the Convention in particular common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, equity and historical responsibility.

18. The shared vision is for long-term cooperative action, which is comprised of a range of essential elements including:

1. Enhanced implementation by developed countries of their commitments to enable developing countries to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change and to meet the costs its adverse effects, in accordance with Articles 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.7 and 4.8;
2. Enhanced implementation by developed countries of their commitments to implement policies and measures that demonstrate they are taking the lead in modifying longer-term trends in anthropogenic emissions consistent with the objective of the Convention established in Article 2, in accordance with Article 4.2;
3. Enhanced implementation by developed countries of their commitments relating to the provision to developing countries of financial resources in accordance with Articles 4.1, 4.3, 4.4. 4.5 and 4.7, including through the provision of full costs for the implementation by developing countries of commitments relating to the communication of information related to implementation under Article 12.1 and the provision of agreed full incremental costs of implementation of commitments included in Article 4.1 of the Convention;
4. Enhanced implementation by developed countries of their commitments relation to the development and transfer of technology and the enhancement of endogenous technologies and capacities in developing countries, in accordance with Articles 4.1, 4.3, 4.4. 4.5 and 4.7; 
5. Enhanced action by developing countries to mitigate climate change including through voluntary nationally appropriate mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, in accordance with Article 4.1 of the Convention, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner; and
6. Changes to the international financial, economic and social system, which drives excessive production and consumption, including the excessive production of greenhouse gas pollution, and perpetuates unfair and unbalanced relations between peoples and between peoples and nature. 

19. A shared vision integrates a set of global goals including a global goal for emission reductions. These include:

1. The equitable allocation atmospheric space between developed countries and developing countries during the period 1750 to 2050 based on the principles of equity and historical responsibility, and the needs of developing countries in order to achieve their economic and social development and poverty eradication;
2. Achievement by Annex I countries that are not party to the Kyoto Protocol of total and domestic emission reductions comparable to those undertaken by Annex I parties to the Kyoto Protocol through a second and subsequent commitment periods;
3. Provision of financial resources by developed countries to developing countries for adaptation, technology transfer, capacity building and mitigation as described in sub-paragraphs (d) to (g) of this paragraph; 
4. Provisions by developed countries of means of implementation to developing countries to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change, to meet the costs of its adverse effects and to repay adaptation debts including through the provision of financial resources by developed countries equivalent to at least 3% of their GNP; 
5. The transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries and enhancement of their endogenous capacities and technologies including through the provision of financial resources by developed countries equivalent to at least 1% of their GNP;
6. Capacity building to enable the upgrading of developing countries institutional capacities to address climate change and its adverse effects including through the provision of financial resources by developed countries equivalent to at least 1% of their GNP;
7. Measures by developing countries to mitigate climate change, including nationally appropriate mitigation actions supported and enabled by developed countries including through the provision of financial resources by developed countries equivalent to at least 1% of their GNP;
8. Identification and removal of all barriers to access to technologies at the most affordable cost and appropriate treatment of intellectual property rights including exclusion of patents on climate related technologies to developing country Parties;
9. Capacity building for developed countries to enable them to reduce their high per-person greenhouse gas emissions, to live in harmony with nature and to reduce their climate and ecological debts to developing countries and nature; and
10. Quantified changes to the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production by developed countries.

20. Subject to the fulfillment of the global goals established in paragraph 19, and in order to achieve the objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevent dangerous interference with the climate system, the parties will seek to return greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to well below 300ppm CO2eq with a view to returning concentrations to levels as close as possible to pre-industrial levels in the longer-term, and to limit the average global temperatures to well below 1°C with a view to returning temperatures to levels as close as possible to pre-industrial levels in the longer-term.

21. Achieving the shared vision requires reversing the trend of increasing global greenhouse gas emissions through a just, comprehensive and science-based approach. It calls for:

1. Agreement on the equitable allocation of global atmospheric space between developed and developing countries;
2. The deepest possible reduction of emissions from domestic sources by developed countries; and
3. Adequate and timely provision of financial resources and transfers of technology to developing countries to enable and support their measures to mitigate emissions, including nationally appropriate mitigation actions.

22. Achieving an equitable allocation of global atmospheric space between developed and developing countries is determined by:

1. An agreed global emission budget between the period [1750][1900] to 2050;
2. An agreed methodology for sharing the global emissions budget among developed and developing countries reflecting cumulative historical and/or per-person annual emissions and the needs of developing countries to achieve economic and social development and poverty eradication; and
3. The allocation, based on this methodology, of total and domestic assigned amounts to Annex I parties under the Kyoto Protocol and targets for a comparable effort for Annex I parties that are not party to the Kyoto Protocol.

23. For this purpose, developed countries shall take on total and domestic commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that reflect an equitable allocation of atmospheric space and address the needs of developing countries. Developed countries shall ensure that:

1. Their greenhouse gas emissions do not exceed their total assigned amounts, with a view to modify longer-term trends in global greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the objectives of the Convention and enabling developed countries to repay their emissions debt to developing countries; and
2. Their greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources do not exceed their assigned domestic amounts, with a view to ensuring that their overall domestic emissions of greenhouse gases are reduced by a minimum of 49% by 2017 to enable developing countries to have access to adequate atmospheric space to achieve economic and social development and poverty eradication.

24. A developed country may, with the agreement of other parties, meet the difference between its total assigned amount and its assigned domestic amount by the provision of financial resources and the transfer of technology through mechanisms operating under the authority of the UNFCCC, in the context of its commitment to provide the agreed full incremental costs of actions by developing countries under the Convention.

25. The implementation by developed countries of their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to provide the agreed full incremental costs of actions by developing countries to implement their commitments under the Convention, shall together enable parties to reverse the trend of increasing global greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure that global greenhouse gas emissions peak before 2015 at the latest and decline thereafter.

26. Developed countries shall further ensure that they reduce their net domestic greenhouse gas emissions by more than 100% before 2040 through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from sources and enhancement of greenhouse gas removals by sinks.  

27. Developed countries shall not resort to any form of unilateral climate related-measures including border adjustment measures and tariffs against the goods and services of developing countries on climate-related grounds as such measures violate the principles and provisions of the Convention including those related to common and differentiated responsibilities, trade and climate change and the relation between mitigation actions of developing countries and provision of finance and technology by developed countries.

28. Developed countries shall not take actions to deal with environmental challenges including taxation or imposing levies on the services or sectors of developing countries (e.g. aviation/maritime) or environmental measures addressing trans-boundary or global environmental problems unless such measures have been agreed to by international consensus and are in coherence with the principles and provisions of the Convention.

29. The inherent rights of indigenous peoples as affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other instruments must be respected in all efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

30. The extent to which developing countries will effectively implement their commitments under the Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed countries of their commitments under the Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology.