Article signed by Margot Wallström and Mary Robinson
We have around 2850 days, or 97 months to save the planet.
That is when we, according to "doomsday climate experts", will go beyond the climate’s “tipping point”. A point where it is no longer likely that we will stay below the 2C temperature rise threshold. On November 6 (or Today if the article is published that day) is a day when a different kind of meeting on climate change will be held in Brussels. So, what is different about this meeting? To start with the participants have recognised that there is a different clock to watch than the one on the office wall. Contrary to being a counsel of dooms day, it tells us that everything we do from now matters. Climate change is a story about desperation and hope. It can literally kill us or it can save us. Climate change will test us, threaten us and force us to change. And change, the unknown, is daunting. But it does not have to be. On the contrary, we believe there are reasons to be optimistic, even to be very optimistic. Because, in fact, we have the know-how, the tools, the technology and the economy to mitigate climate change and ensure climate justice! And that is what the meeting we are hosting today is about, that change is possible. The Kyoto protocol ends in 2012 and the global community must decide on a new agreement in Copenhagen 2009. That is why the conference and the initiative we chair is called Road to Copenhagen. Last December the debate started at UN level in Bali and this year the negotiators will meet in Poznan, Poland (1-10 December). We have engaged in this unique initiative because we believe that politics alone can't fix climate change. As people throughout the world it will be our daily choices and outspoken demands on companies and politicians that will decide the temperature. We will all be affected, so we should all have the right to express our concerns, needs and expectations. This discussion should not only be reserved for a small elite of politicians, business people and experts. We need to have a democratic debate on climate change and our future. And that is what Road to Copenhagen is about - giving as many people, business and civil society groups as possible a voice in the negotiations on a post-Kyoto agreement.
Road to Copenhagen is a joint initiative organised by Club of Madrid, Globe Europe and Respect Table. It brings together people from all walks of life who believe that change and a sustainable world is possible. It is web-based and interactive, and open to every one to engage and discuss directly with politicians, NGO's and progressive business.
The meeting on November 6 (or today if the article is published that day) will discuss the agenda of the upcoming UN climate conference in Poznan. We will talk about the long term targets, progress made on adaptation and technology. One workshop will in particular focus on human rights, gender and climate justice, a dimension which often is overlooked in the current UN debate. A debate which tends to focus on climate change in terms of technology and its economy and less on the human and social context. This aspect will be an important contribution to the communiqué that will be elaborated and delivered by us directly to the UN negotiators in Poznan.
Why do we feel the human context is so important? In 1820, the United Kingdom was the richest country in the world. The average income per person was three times greater compared to the poorest region, sub-Saharan Africa. Today the United States is the richest country in the world with a per capita income that is roughly twenty times larger than of the poorest region, still sub-Saharan Africa. 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. 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”. It is clear that we will not be able to mitigate climate change unless we address poverty and ensure climate justice.
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, 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.
Mary Robinson, Vice President of the Club of Madrid
Margot Wallström, Vice President of the European Commission
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. This week a preparatory meeting is taking place in Poznan, Poland (1-12 December).
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
