Is Climate Justice another utiopia?

The diplomatic battle in the climate talks is on fire: the transition from the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in three years time, and the new treaty is very delicate; the United States will not ratify Kyoto now because that would condemn them to pay expensive sanctions (not being able to comply with its targets) and it seems that other rich countries are questioning the old Protocol as a reference point despite being law in 184 countries.

As we know, only the Annex I countries though have obligation to reduce their emissions between 2008 and 2012 of an average 5.2% with respect to their 1990 level: these are the industrialized countries; the new treaty should expand responsibilities and commitments. Now, since the United States are finally back on track the major preoccupation is how to involve them in the new deal to be signed at or (much more likely) after the COP15 in Copenhagen: the developing countries want that the firm basis of Kyoto rests untouched, but since the priority is to deliver a new treaty the danger is to throw away the old agreement without having a new one yet. On this issue Yvo de Boer though clearly warned everyone that “you don’t saw the branch you are sitting on”; so writing the new deal as an extension to the Kyoto Protocol is probably the safest way forward: we will see.

We are in the crucial phase where tricks and games are taking place behind the doors and everything can still happen. During the second day of the Barcelona talks (the last 5 days of negotiations before COP15) the African delegates walked out to protest against the lack of decisions on targets and funds from developed countries, before they were promised further efforts to solve these issues. If there are enemies to face these are selfishness and materialism that can further destabilize our common and sole atmosphere to an irreversible point, dramatically enlarging the unjust gap between the rich and the poor world. Bernaditas de Castro Muller, coordinator of the G77 and China group (130 developing countries), is one of the most experienced negotiators and, during a recent interview with The Guardian, she seemed very worried, doubting that the rich countries “have any sense of life in the least developed countries” since “the US and the EU are illegally abandoning an international treaty (Kyoto)”*. Even if it is logical that a complete change of the industrial civilization we live in needs profound and patient dialogue among all the actors, at this point particular interests are to be deemed absolutely secondary to the global risks we are all facing.

This week the G20 meeting of finance ministers could tell us more whether the expected cards and money will be put on the “hot” table. Key people who have been working so hard to obtain a successful outcome are optimistic: Yvo de Boer expects commitments to be made by the President of the United States and other governments and Al Gore thinks that Democrats and Republicans can still make the Climate Bill pass the US Senate’s scrutiny. The world is ultimately waiting for Barack Obama to go to Copenhagen after having received the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway (on December 10th) and show us that he means to deserve it all in the years to come. A black President at the White House was called a utopia; there is still some time to make a global climate justice reality too.

*Source: “The climate power game” by John Vidal in “Guardian weekend 07.11.2009”.

Written by Luca Marazzi on behalf of Responding To Climate Change