Barcelona UN climate talks: the developed countries must finally follow the lead of the developing countries

PEJ News - Joan Russow and Richard Levicki - Global Compliance Research Project - The fifth United Nations climate change talks,are being held in Barcelona from November 2 to November 6.

Because of the global urgency, there must be the political will to strive to contain the rise in temperatures to less than 1°C above pre-industrial levels. and strict time frames must be imposed, so that overall global emissions will begin to be reversed as of 2010. There must be a target of 30% below 1990 levels by 2015, 50% below by 2020, 75% by 2030, 85% by 2040 and 100% below by 2050, while adhering to the precautionary principle, the differentiated responsibility principle, and the fair and just transition principle. Under the Framework Convention, every state signatory incurred the obligation to conserve carbon sinks; thus the destruction of sinks, including deforestation and elimination of bogs must end.
PETITION: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/global-climate-change-copenhagen-petition


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The time for procrastination about climate change has long since passed; the world is in a state of emergency and inaction is negligence. See www.ClimateChangeCopenhagen.org

Solutions for the state of emergency depend upon the political will to address climate change within the complexity and interdependence of guaranteeing human rights, ensuring social justice, protecting and conserving the environment and ecosystems, reducing the ecological footprint and moving away from the current over-consumptive model of development, and preventing war and conflict.

While the threat of climate change has been obvious to most scientists for five decades, the industrialised world, which is the major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, has refused to acknowledge, let alone address the urgency of the crisis. Heavily influenced by developed-world financial, media and industrial corporations, corporate front groups, and industry-funded academics, corporate controlled states have failed not only to address the urgency of the crisis by enacting effective legislation, but also to even seriously considering - let alone investing in - the resources needed to protect both the poor and most vulnerable and also their own coasts and citizens from the current and future impacts of climate change. In addition, they have failed to consider the need to assist low-lying states and small island developing states that have already been impacted by climate change, and to take responsibility and compensate for the widespread displacement of people resulting from climate change. These impacts are all considered externalities by policy-makers who continue to subsidize fossil fuels while ignoring the burgeoning economic and social costs of climate change.

Because of the global urgency, there must be the political will to strive to contain the rise in temperatures to less than 1°C above pre-industrial levels. and strict time frames must be imposed, so that overall global emissions will begin to be reversed as of 2010. There must be a target of 30% below 1990 levels by 2015, 50% below by 2020, 75% by 2030, 85% by 2040 and 100% below by 2050, while adhering to the precautionary principle, the differentiated responsibility principle, and the fair and just transition principle. Under the Framework Convention, every state signatory incurred the obligation to conserve carbon sinks; thus the destruction of sinks, including deforestation and elimination of bogs must end.

The dominant greenhouse gas-producing and emitting states should be compelled to finance this international fund. Funds traditionally distributed not only through the GEF but also through the Bretton Woods institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and additional bilateral funds, such as those in the German Fund for International Climate Initiative, should be channelled through this global fund. This fund would be indispensable for preventing climate change, and for achieving the objectives of the UNFCCC.

Additional funds must be derived from reallocation of global military expenses, including budgets and arms production and sales. Part of this fund could be allocated to compensate states damaged in any way by the failure of industrialized states to discharge obligations under the UNFCCC and other legal obligations.

Other budgetary sources for this Fund would be the redirecting of subsidies from socially inequitable and environmentally unsound non-sustainable energy to socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.

In addition, measures to alleviate the impacts of climate change must include the cancellation of the outstanding debt of developing states, and the implementation of the minimal long-standing commitment of 0.7% of GDP being transferred to Overseas Development (ODA). The ODA must serve the needs not of the developed states but of the developing states. Any shortfall in funding should be bolstered by increased ODA by nations that inequitably gain an advantage from historical emissions or reduction scenarios that are not in line with the principle of equity.

All these funding measures could only just begin to compensate for the “emissions debt” owed, by the developed states to the developing states.

The impact, of climate change on the world's poor, on indigenous peoples, vulnerable communities, and especially low-lying states will be the greatest, and they must be assisted by Industrial states, which have a legal and moral imperative, to provide funds for socially equitable and renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.

In addition, major greenhouse gas-producing states must be forced to implement the actions that would discharge the obligations incurred when they signed and ratified the UNFCCC (provisions of the UNFCCC have become international peremptory norms and as such are binding) and be forced to repay the emission debt. Historic emissions should be calculated and an assessment made of the degree of dereliction of duty in the implementation of the UNFCC. From these assessments, provisions must be made to compensate the states that have been most damaged by the failure, of the major greenhouse gas emitting states, to discharge obligations under the Convention. In such cases, a fund should be set up to assist vulnerable states in taking delinquent states to the International Court of Justice.

The developed states must finally follow the lead of the developing nations, many of which are suffering the most from climate change; The developed states must discharge their obligations incurred through the Framework on Climate Change.

Please see www.ClimateChangeCopenhagen.org

Global Compliance Research Project



CONTACTS:

Joan Russow (PhD) Canada, (GlobalComplianceResearch@gmail.com)

Richard Levicki (MSc) England (GlobalComplianceResearch@gmail.com)