WUNRN
"Let
us not forget that technology does not have the ability to eliminate poverty,
respect human rights, ensure gender equality, stop climate change and build a
sustainable society – people do."
Road to Copenhagen - Preparation for
Climate Change Conference 2009
Chaired by 3 Eminent Women
A
New Climate Deal Based on Human Progress and Justice
Regulatory failure led to the financial crisis – let us not make the
same mistake on climate. The Kyoto protocol ends in 2012 and the global
community must decide on a new agreement in Copenhagen 2009.
It is a very important meeting since
it must pave the way for the agreement that we all hope to reach next year in
Copenhagen. This agreement probably represents the world’s last chance to bring
climate change under control before it is too late.
But as the United Nations gathers
the world’s environment ministers in Poznan, the economic underpinnings for a
muscular new treaty appear shakier than ever. The executive secretary of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer, recently
said in an interview that, ”yes things have changed but I don’t think anyone
will show the stupidity to focus on the short term and ignore the long-term
issue because these decisions will be with us for 30 years.” This statement
also reflects the position of President-elect Barack Obama and the European
Union. Both players have vowed to stick to commitments to cap emissions of
carbon dioxide, arguing that government action and investing in new green
technologies and renewable energy is a sustainable way to stimulate the economy
and create new jobs, i.e. smart growth.
We have engaged as co-chairs in the
climate initiative “Road to Copenhagen” which is an open and web-based network
that calls not only for smart growth but for climate justice. We have committed
to this initiative because we believe that the climate debate, and a new
treaty, needs a more stringent focus on the human and social implications of
climate change.
Most of the expected 2.6 billion
rise in global population by 2050 will come from the poorest regions in the
world. These are regions which have no convergent economic growth, are the most
unstable politically and will be the hardest hit by climate change. Jefferey
Sachs speaks about the paradox of a unified global economy and a divided global
society where the poverty trap is self-reinforcing, not self-corrective. It is
an alarming trajectory which constructs a “sustainability gap” that must be
addressed. It is clear that we will not be able to mitigate climate
change unless we address poverty.
Climate change is happening now. We
can see that the poorest people and countries, those least responsible, are and
will be hardest hit. For example, Africa as a continent is responsible for 3.8
percent of global CO2 emissions yet the impact of climate change will be
unfairly devastating.
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) estimates that adaptation costs for developing countries are in the tens
of billions per annum - by 2050 they will amount to USD 86 billion per year. Absorbing
the climate change impacts will hamper achievement of many of the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including those on reducing poverty
and child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
At best, 1 per cent of the resources
required is currently available via the levy on the Clean Development
Mechanism. Therefore, in order to ensure climate justice and meet the
MDGs, we need to develop new innovative ways for capacity building and
technology transfer. More importantly, we need ensure that the funds available
for adaptation measures in developing countries are fair and proportionate -
clearly reflecting the “polluter pays” principle, respecting human
rights frameworks and gender equality, i.e. climate justice.
Prevention is better than cure.
Acting early makes sense not least from an economic point of view.
According to the 2007/2008 Human Development Report issued by the UNDP, every
US dollar invested in pre-disaster risk management in developing countries can
save USD 7. Hence, industrialized countries must take strong and immediate
steps to increase assistance to the least developed countries for adaptation.
While mitigation is global,
adaptation is local. This is why a new climate agreement must place adaptation
on equal footing with mitigation. Furthermore, it must address the
issue of climate justice and human rights in a development perspective.
Ultimately, achieving sustainability
and a low-carbon economy will not only depend on technological innovation, but
will require far ranging social and political innovation. Let us not forget
that technology does not have the ability to eliminate poverty, respect human
rights, ensure gender equality, stop climate change and build a sustainable
society – people do. That is what the initiative Road to Copenhagen
is about – and the agreement in Copenhagen must be about – climate justice for
all peoples. The
Nobel peace prize laureate Wangari Mathai puts it very simply:
“there can be no sustainable development without an equitable
development; and there can be no equitable development without gender equality”.
Mary Robinson, Former President of
Ireland and Vice President of Club of
Madrid
Margot Wallström, Vice President of
the European Commission
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime
Minister of Norway, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change, Member of the Club of
Madrid
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