[Event] PROTEST at US Embassy Activists to demand climate justice, reparations from the United States, other major polluters

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

PROTEST at US Embassy
Activists to demand climate justice, reparations
from the United States, other major polluters
24 November 2011, Thursday, 2:00 PM
US Embassy, Roxas Blvd., Manila

Assembly at 12:00 NN, Liwasang Bonifacio
Route: Liwasang Bonifacio to Taft Ave. to TM Kalaw

Days before the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) and the 7th Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP7) in Durban, South Africa, around 800 climate justice activists are expected to participate in a protest action on Thursday against the world’s major polluters, particularly the United States and the 40 other developed countries that are listed in the Annex I of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Led by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), and Jubilee South – Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JS-APMDD), the protest is part of the November 20-26 “Week of Global Actions for Climate Justice,” a collective effort of more than 100 international, regional and national organizations from North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia and the Pacific.

Milo Tanchuling, PMCJ lead convenor and FDC secretary-general, said the Philippines and other poor countries are the least responsible for the climate crisis, yet they suffer its worst effects and are deprived of the means to respond. This, in essence, is where activists around the world demanding climate justice is coming from.

In a statement recently released, entitled “Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice,” more than 100 organizations listed five major demands from all governments, especially the Annex I parties, as part of a broader struggle to achieve climate justice, reparations for climate debt and a profound global transformation.

According to the statement, if the international negotiations are to mean anything, all governments must deliver outcomes that will:

1. Prevent catastrophic climate change and ensure just and fair sharing of drastic emission reductions. Limit temperature rise to well below 1.5º C and bring it down to 1º C as fast as possible. Rich industrialized countries to fulfil their existing legally binding commitments and undertake drastic emissions cuts without offsets in line with their fair share of the global carbon budget that takes into account historical per capita emissions. Offsets and other loopholes must be removed. The US must commit to comparable targets, based on its historical responsibility;

2. Stop false solutions. Stop the implementation and pursuit of false solutions such as carbon trading, market-based approaches to forests, soil and water, large-scale geo-engineering and techno-fixes, nuclear energy, mega hydro dams, agro-fuels, and clean coal;

3. Ensure adequate and appropriate finance on the basis of countries’ responsibility for climate debt and obligation to make reparations to all affected peoples. Rich, industrialized countries to cover the full costs of enabling peoples of developing countries and other affected communities to deal with the impacts of climate change (including past, present and future losses), as well as the costs of enabling developing countries to shift to equitable, post carbon sustainable systems. Climate finance must not be in the form of debt-creating instruments and should be channelled through a democratic and accountable global fund that is independent of other international financial institutions and upholds the principles of direct access and country-determined, participatory decisions on the use of funds;

4. Ensure appropriate technology transfers without intellectual property barriers. Developed countries must ensure free sharing of safe, appropriate and ecologically and socially sound technologies; and,

5. Advance the transformation to Equitable, Democratic Post Carbon Systems. Take decisive steps towards the profound transformation of the system based on equity, science and the rights of peoples to live well in harmony with and respect for Mother Earth. Transform social and economic structures and technologies and re-orient policies to move away from profit-driven, growth oriented, high-carbon, elite-dominated exploitative systems and instead ensure a just transition to people-driven, equitable, democratic, post-carbon sustainable development. -30-

MEDIA ADVISORY
23 November 2011

Contact persons:
Milo Tanchuling, FDC Secretary-General, +63.920.901.8711
Bobby Diciembre, FDC Media Officer, +63.920.905.9856

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), and Jubilee South – Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JS-APMDD) invite you to cover