Hopenhagen turns into Copendisaster

Commenting on the failure of rich country governments to secure a strong and fair UN agreement to tackle climate change in Copenhagen, Martin Galea De Giovanni Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Malta said:

Politicians cannot call this outcome a success when in fact nothing meaningful has been agreed. Negotiations must now become even more intense to reach a just and effective climate agreement.

The European Union and other rich countries have stood motionless when giant strides forward are required given the scale and urgency of the climate crisis facing the world. The world now needs a bold dramatic shift in political will from the European Union and other developed nations responsible for causing the climate crisis.

With the eyes of the world on Copenhagen, Europe had the chance to commit to stronger action against climate change and break the deadlock, but EU leaders backed out of offering higher emissions reductions targets and adequate funds for developing countries.

European and other developed countries must commit to at least 40% emissions reductions by 2020 without offsetting, and supply the money developing countries desperately need to deal with climate change. Failure to do so is shameful.

President Obama’s take it or leave it ultimatum was shameful – his offer of pitiful emissions cuts and money offers fell a long way short of what is required.  Now he is trying to save face presenting a flimsy declaration as a successful conclusion to the talks.

The only success at Copenhagen has been for rich countries who used backroom deals to ditch their duty to cut emissions first, and for corporate lobbyists who want to continue business as usual.

Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International, stated that Copenhagen has been an abject failure. Justice has not been done. By delaying action, rich countries have condemned millions of the world’s poorest people to hunger, suffering and loss of life as climate change accelerates. The blame for this disastrous outcome is squarely on the developed nations.

We are disgusted by the failure of rich countries to commit to the emissions reductions they know are needed, especially the US, which is the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases.

The only real leadership at the conference has come from the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people who have come together to demand strong action to prevent climate catastrophe. Their voices are loud and growing ­ and

Friends of the Earth both in Malta and around the world will continue to be part of the fight for climate justice.