World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth

Pablo Solón

The Climate Change Conference ended two days later than expected, adopting a set of decisions that were known only a few hours before their adoption. Some decisions were even not complete at the moment of their consideration. Paragraphs were missing and some delegations didn’t even have copies of these drafts. The package of decisions was released by the South African presidency with the ultimatum of “Take it or leave it”. Only the European Union was allowed to make last minute amendments at the plenary.

Several delegations made harsh criticisms to the documents and expressed their opposition to sections of them. However, no delegation explicitly objected the subsequent adoption of these decisions. At the end, the whole package was adopted by consensus without the objection of any delegation. The core elements of the Durban Package can be summarized as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Nele Marien (*)

After this morning a set of 2 negotiation texts, giving the “bigger picture” for the Durban outcome were presented, and later rejected by the G77, now a second trial has been presented.

Let’s see what it says.

1) It takes note of a decision — still unknown — under the CMP which would “secure a ratifiable second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol” Well, or you just adopt a new commitment period. Or you don’t, and you can’t secure what parties will do in the future. Seeing the list of unfulfilled promises, and the amount of announces that developed countries have made stating they don’t want a second commitment period, it is quite doubtful that a 2nd commitment period can be ‘secured’. Read the rest of this entry »

After several hours of waiting, a new “bigger picture” text came out in the Durban Climate Conference. Again, drafted only by some. 

Chairs Proposal

INDABA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Friday, 9 December 2011 @ 23:00

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing that climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus requires to be urgently addressed by all Parties, and acknowledging that the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, with a view to accelerate the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions; Read the rest of this entry »

Finally  the two draft decisions (one for the COP, one for the Kyoto Protocol) that have been workerd out in exclusive and closed meetings, have been known. In bold the most problematic points, analysis on the will be published soon.

I. Draft Decision for the COP

Chairs Proposal

INDABA: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Friday, 9 December 2011 @ 08:00

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing the need to meet present and predicted climate change imperatives through

full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention with a view to reducing

global greenhouse gas emissions so as to hold the increase in global average temperature below 2 °C above preindustrial levels, and to consider strengthening this goal in relation to a global average temperature rise of 1.5°C; Read the rest of this entry »

Talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference are in their second to last day, but little progress appears to have been made on the key issues of extending the Kyoto Protocol or forming a Green Climate Fund. The United States is refusing to accept any deal involving binding emissions cuts before the year 2020 despite dire warnings that the world can’t afford to wait. We get analysis from Pablo Solón, Bolivia’s former ambassador to the United Nations and former chief negotiator on climate change, and from Patrick Bond, a South African climate activist, professor and author. “The main issue is the figure of emission reductions of rich countries is not really being raised,” Solón says. “It is very, very low… You cannot be silent when you see the genocide and ecocide that is going to happen because of this kind of decision.” Solon also says the U.S. “blackmails” developing countries into dropping demands for binding cuts by threatening to withdraw climate aid. Bond says the next round of climate talks should include the idea of sanctions against major polluters, like the United States, that reject binding cuts.