Download - Third World Network

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Durban package: ‘Laisserfaire, laisser passer’Bolivia’s former chief climate negotiator contends that the free market regime ofmeasures adopted by the climate change conferences in Copenhagen, Cancunand now Durban to tackle global warming will fail to stem an increase intemperatures beyond the critical 2°C.Pablo SolonC O V E RTHE Climate Change Conferenceended two days later than expected,adopting a set of decisions that wereknown only a few hours before theiradoption. Some decisions were noteven complete at the moment of theirconsideration. Paragraphs were missingand some delegations didn’t evenhave copies of these drafts. The packageof decisions was released by theSouth African presidency of the Conferenceof the Parties (COP) tothe United Nations Framework Conventionon Climate Change(UNFCCC) with the ultimatum of‘Take it or leave it’. Only the EuropeanUnion was allowed to make lastminuteamendments.Several delegations made harshcriticisms of the documents and expressedtheir opposition to sections ofthem. However, no delegation explicitlyobjected to the subsequent adoptionof these decisions. In the end, thewhole package was adopted by consensuswithout the objection of anydelegation. The core elements of theDurban package can be summarisedas follows:1) A zombie called Kyoto Protocol• A soulless undead: The promisesof reducing greenhouse gas emissionsfor the second commitment periodof the Kyoto Protocol representless than half of what is necessary tokeep the temperature increase below2°C.• This zombie (secondcommitment period of the Kyoto Protocol)will only finally go into effectnext year.• It is not known if the secondDelegates at the 1997 conference which led to the Kyoto Protocol. The presentpromises of reducing emissions under the Protocol’s second commitment periodrepresent less than half of what is necessary to keep temperature increase below2°C.period of the Kyoto Protocol willcover five or eight years.• Canada, Japan and Russia willbe out of this second commitment periodof the Kyoto Protocol. Australiaand New Zealand have not even madeany pledges yet, while the UnitedStates is not a Party.• This will be known as the lostdecade in the fight against climatechange.2) New regime of ‘laisser faire,laisser passer’• In 2020 a new legal instrumentwill come into effect that will replacethe Kyoto Protocol and will seriouslyimpact on the principles of theUNFCCC.• The core elements of this newlegal instrument can be already seendue to the results of thenegotiations so far: a) voluntarypromises rather than binding commitmentsto reduce emissions, b) moreflexibilities (carbon markets) for developedcountries to meet their emissionreduction promises, and c) aneven weaker compliance mechanismthan the Kyoto Protocol.• The new legal instrument willcover all the states, and developedcountries will want to remove the differencebetween developing and developedcountries. The principle of‘common but differentiated responsibilities’already established in theUNFCCC is in danger of disappearing.• The result will be the deepeningof the ‘laisser faire, laisser passer’regime inaugurated in Copenhagen,Cancun and Durban which will leadto an increase in temperature of morethan 4°C.3) A Green Climate Fund withno funds• The Green Climate Fund nowhas an institutional structure in whichthe World Bank is a key player.• The $100 billion a year by 2020is only a promise and will NOT beprovided for by the developed countries.• The money will come from thecarbon markets (which are collapsing),from private investments, fromcredits (to be paid) and from the developingcountries themselves.THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE No 255/25649
C O V E R4) A lifesaver for the carbonmarkets• The existing carbon markets willlive regardless of the fate of the KyotoProtocol.• Also, new carbon market mechanismswill be created to meet the emissionsreduction pledges of this decade.• It is a desperate attempt to avoidthe loss of the carbon markets, whichare collapsing due to the fall of thecarbon credits, from 30 euros per tonto 3 euros per ton of CO 2.• Developed countries will reduceless than what they promise becausethey will buy emission reduction certificatesfrom developing countries.5) REDD: a perverse incentiveto deforest in this decade• If you don’t cut down trees youwon’t be able to issue certificates ofreduction of deforestation when theREDD (reducing emissions from deforestationand forest degradation)mechanism comes into operation.• Consequence: deforest now ifyou want to be ready for REDD.• The safeguards for indigenouspeoples will be flexible and discretionaryfor each country.• The offer of funding for forestsis postponed until the next decade dueto the fact that demand for carboncredits will not increase until then becauseof the low emission reductionpromises.Amandla! Jallalla!In the actions and events of thesocial movements in Durban, two battlecries emerged: ‘Amandla’ and‘Jallalla’. The first one is a Xhosa andZulu word from South Africa whichmeans ‘power’. The second word isan expression in Aymara which means‘for life’. ‘Amandla! Jallalla!’ means‘Power for life!’This is the ‘power for life’ that wemust build, transcending borders,from our communities, neighbourhoods,workplaces and places of study,in order to stop this ongoing genocideand ecocide.ÿuInternational analyst and social activist Pablo Solonis former United Nations Ambassador and chiefclimate change negotiator of the Plurinational Stateof Bolivia.Panama Climate News Updates(October 2011)ISBN: 978-967-5412-61-5 64 ppThis is a collection of 18 NewsUpdates prepared by the ThirdWorld Network for and during therecent United Nations ClimateChange Talks – the third part of the14 th session of the Ad Hoc WorkingGroup on Long-term CooperativeAction under the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change(UNFCCC AWG-LCA 14), and thethird part of the 16 th session of theAd Hoc Working Group on FurtherCommitments for Annex I Partiesunder the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP 16) – in Panama City, Panamafrom 1 to 7 October 2011.Price PostageMalaysia RM10.00 RM2.00Third World countries US$6.00 US$2.00 (air); US$1.00 (sea)Other foreign countries US$8.00 US$2.00 (air); US$1.00 (sea)Orders from Malaysia – please pay by credit card/crossed cheque or postalorder.Orders from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore,Thailand, UK, USA – please pay by credit card/cheque/bank draft/internationalmoney order in own currency, US$ or Euro.If paying in own currency or Euro,please calculate equivalent of US$ rate. If paying in US$, please ensure thatthe agent bank is located in the USA.Rest of the world – please pay by credit card/cheque/bank draft/internationalmoney order in US$ or Euro. If paying in Euro, please calculate equivalent ofUS$ rate. If paying in US$, please ensure that the agent bank is located in theUSA.All payments should be made in favour of: THIRD WORLD NETWORKBHD., 131 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. Tel: 60-4-2266728/2266159; Fax: 60-4-2264505; Email: twnet@po.jaring.my; Website:www.twnside.org.sgI would like to order ............. copy/copies of Panama News Updates (October2011).I enclose the amount of .......................... by cheque/bank draft/IMO.Please charge the amount of US$/Euro/RM ..................... to my credit card:American Express Visa MastercardA/c No.: Expiry date:Signature:Name:Address:THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE No 255/25650
Page 5: Cause and effectThailand has endure
Page 10 and 11: E C O N O M I C STrade Representati
Page 12 and 13: E C O N O M I C Snumber of supermar
Page 14 and 15: E C O N O M I C Simbalances in the
Page 17 and 18: Durban ushers in new UN climatetalk
Page 19 and 20: C O V E RThe clash of paradigms in
Page 21 and 22: C O V E Rdecision was only of the n
Page 23 and 24: C O V E RGrenada, speaking forthe A
Page 25 and 26: C O V E Rnegotiations on climate ch
Page 27 and 28: C O V E Rneeds help in the form of
Page 29 and 30: C O V E Rget a domestic climate law
Page 31 and 32: C O V E Rthing to this body. Let us
Page 33 and 34: C O V E RThe venue of the 1997 talk
Page 35 and 36: C O V E RAction Plan) through decis
Page 37 and 38: C O V E Rtries), nor is there any r
Page 39 and 40: C O V E Rwas a need for further ela
Page 41 and 42: C O V E RMoving forward half-clearl
Page 43 and 44: C O V E RDecision on Green Climate
Page 45 and 46: C O V E RThe Green Climate Fund was
Page 47 and 48: C O V E RLessons from the financial
Page 49 and 50: C O V E RAnnex I targets: A disappe
Page 51: C O V E R‘If a weak pledge-based
Page 55 and 56: C O V E Rthe European Union’s car
Page 57 and 58: W O R L D A F F A I R SJintao sent
Page 59 and 60: W O R L D A F F A I R SPlaying with
Page 61 and 62: W O R L D A F F A I R SWashington w
Page 63 and 64: W O R L D A F F A I R SIn fact, he
Page 65 and 66: W O R L D A F F A I R Stheir employ
Page 67 and 68: H U M A N R I G H T SAn online repo
Page 69 and 70: Giving up guns for motherhoodHundre
Page 71 and 72: T R I B U T EFrantz Fanon and the c
Page 73 and 74: T R I B U T EVehicles belonging to
Page 75: P O E T R YThe Lu (1907-1989), a Vi

Download - Third World Network

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?