by Tina Gerhardt
TIQUIPAYA, Bolivia—This small town outside Cochabamba,
Bolivia—where cows roam freely and campesinos grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers to sell at the local market—is a far cry
from Copenhagen. But it’s the latest gathering
place in the ongoing effort to shape an effective global response to climate
change.
Here, Bolivian President Evo Morales is convening the People’s World Conference on Climate Change this week, an alternative to the unwieldy and thus far unsuccessful U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. NGOs, scientists, activists, indigenous
leaders, and representatives of 60 to 70 national governments are coming
together for the event—in all, about 7,500 attendees from 110 countries.
The poor nations and poor people of
the world were left out of dealings at Copenhagen, conference organizers
argue. “The only way to get negotiations
back on track not just for Bolivia or other countries, but for all of life,
biodiversity, our Mother Earth, is to put civil society back into the process,”
said Pablo Solón, Bolivia’s delegate to the U.N. That’s exactly what this week’s conference is
intended to do.
Speakers from all walks of life
will talk about climate justice: NASA climate scientist James Hansen; actor, director,
and activist Danny Glover; journalist and activist Naomi
Klein; Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva; Egidio Brunetto, a leader of
Brazil’s Movement of Landless Rural Workers; Lumumba Di-Aping, who served as
chief negotiator for the G77 group of developing nations at Copenhagen.
Plenary sessions and working groups—the usual stuff of
conferences—will be accompanied by lively cultural events and dinners. The gathering is intended to be truly open
and inclusive—in marked contrast to the behind-closed-doors negotiating that
brought about the Copenhagen Accord. The hope is that the outcomes of this
conference can influence the next U.N. climate conference in Mexico in
December, making it more open and fair too.
Morales will kick it all off with a speech on Tuesday
morning; you might be able to catch it on a live stream.
What Evo Morales wants
Morales was one of five heads of state to formally oppose the
Copenhagen Accord. In what many are interpreting as a direct response to that
intransigence, the U.S. recently denied
Bolivia climate aid.
To address climate change on a global level, Morales has put
forward four suggestions:
1. Climate
reparations from developed nations for developing nations
While developed or rich nations are historically responsible
for causing climate change through their greenhouse-gas emissions, poorer
nations are more likely to feel the effects and are less able to fund and undertake
changes to adapt to climate change. The idea of reparations was widely
discussed in Copenhagen and endorsed by well-known figures like Naomi Klein as
well as organizations like Jubilee South and Focus on the Global South. Here in
Bolivia, villagers are demanding
compensation for their glaciers melting.
2. An international court to prosecute transgressions
against the environment
The goal is to establish an International Climate Justice
Tribunal or International Environmental Court within the U.N. framework,
modeled on the International Court of Justice, that will seek to enforce nations’
commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Last week, international environmental lawyer Polly Higgins put
forward a related proposal to include
“ecocide” in the list of crimes against peace, so that cases could be tried
at the International Criminal Court.
3. A Universal Declaration for the Rights of
Mother Earth
On Earth Day 2009, Morales
called on the U.N. General Assembly to develop such a declaration, modeled
on the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
“One of the most important implications is that it would enable legal
systems to maintain vital ecological balances by balancing human rights against
the rights of other members of the Earth community,” write
Solón and environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan.
4. Development and transfer of clean technology
The UNFCCC has been discussing technology transfer, and
Morales wants to make sure it stays on the agenda, so that developed countries
provide developing countries with the technology necessary to adapt to
climate change and produce and use energy sustainably and efficiently.
All this and more will get an airing at the People’s
Conference. Tune in later this week to
learn how it all shakes out.
Related Links:
U.S. lowers expectations for climate treaty this year
Brazil suspends bidding for controversial dam