Trocaire highlighted the issue of climate justice at the Bonn climate negotiations in June where representatives of the world’s governments were negotiating the text of a new climate deal that governments will sign in December in Copenhagen.
As members of the joint CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis campaign on climate justice, Trocaire held a video link to Malawi where CIDSE and Caritas partner organisations from around the world were meeting to share their experiences on how to help people on the ground deal with the impacts of climate change and on how to co-operate to generate pressure on world leaders to agree to an ambitious and fair deal in Copenhagen.
Niamh Garvey of Trocaire said it was “really good” to hear from people from Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania and India, among others, and for the delegates from Bonn to be able to put their questions to them. The partners presented a joint statement, outlining what they believed is necessary to address in a new deal on climate change.
“It was really interesting to hear from our partners on the advocacy they are doing in their own countries on climate change,” Niamh said. “For example, in Kenya Trocaire is involved with a coalition of organisations, the Kenya Working Group on Climate Change, who are not only collaborating on the international negotiations, but have also been really active in working with parliamentarians in Kenya to push for a climate change law. It is clear that from the local level right up to the international level that it will be people speaking out and showing that they demand action from governments that is essential to getting a fair and effective new deal on climate change.”
A huge disappointment at Bonn was the fact that no progress was made on agreeing how rich countries would help developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change. “Rich countries have a responsibility to help developing countries cope with the impacts of climate change, by way of compensation for the damages caused,” Niamh said. “In these negotiations the amount of finance needed, how it will be generated and how it will be distributed, are all to be decided. However, so far there has been no progress at all on agreement on these three issues.
“The European Union must play a leadership role in these negotiations and unless we start to see some movement on these critical issues the chances of success in Copenhagen are looking unlikely.”
Trocaire also launched a research paper at Bonn on technologies that are needed to support adaptation.
To read Niamh Garvey’s Bonn blogs, see