[Coral-List] Speak out for Copenhagen 2009

[emmanuelle botte]

Dear listers,

following a number of e-mails about the *Copenhagen summit* I just wanted to
let you know that *a petition has been launched on the Internet* by a number
of NGO including WWF, Medecins du Monde, Greenpeace, Care and others. This
happened in France but maybe in other countries too, I'm not sure. In
France, it's an open letter to the French President asking him to take the
voice of the French people into consideration when he goes to Copenhagen.

*For the petition to be valid, i.e for the president to understand that
people care and think that the protection of our environment is a priority
or at least an important issue, we need to have a million signatures*. So
far, there's about 300,000 people who signed the petition.

*You may not be French. But you are aware of the damages that we, as a
whole, are inflicting to our planet*. In Copenhagen, the French president
will just happen to be another one among the many heads of states that will
attend the summit, so that if we do get the million signatures on time, and
if we do get to show that the people can apply even just a little bit of
pressure on the politicians, and if this is thanks to the Greeks, the
Americans, the Japanese, the Mexicans, the Germans, the Egyptians, the
Australians who signed along with the French...who cares that they were not
French?

*Please be more active than us: sign up and forward to your contacts*, add
the link to the petition on your Facebook page if you have one, etc...

Go to:
*http://www.copenhague-2009.com/* <http://www.copenhague-2009.com/>
*...and just enter your e-mail address where it’s written “je signe l’appel”
on the right of the page and click on “valider”.* I did it: all I got back
is a window confirming my signature, saying thanks and explaining that my
computer can’t be used to sign the petition with another e-mail address in
the next hour. It’s as simple as this.


I translated the letter in English (see below) so that you can understand
what is said. Please forgive me for all the “Frenchisms” that I must have
included. I put them in between “ “ so that you know I’m not sure about the
exact translation.

Have a happy day,
Emmanuelle

<><      <><     <><     <><     <><     <><     <><     <><     <><
<><     <><

« Monsieur le Président »,

In December will be held in Copenhagen the UN Summit on the climate. Facing
the risk of a changing climate, the leaders of the world will have to
overcome their diverging views and short term interests to gather around a
global political project based on scientific facts and therefore give a
follow-up of the Kyoto protocol that will help us to face the challenges
that we will all be confronted to in the coming decades. The result of the
conference will determine the human climate future. But as Ban Ki-Moon
(general secretary of the United Nations) said a year ago: “ we’re aboard a
catastrophe if we do not act”.

Being recognised as protectors of the environment, of the human rights and
of international friendship, conscious of our responsibilities, we have
decided for the first time to speak as one voice to express in public our
concern and ask you to act with ambition and determination at the Copenhagen
summit. In regards to the “climatic ultimatum” that Humanity is facing
today, Monsieur le President, you will have a meeting with History in
December 2009.

The warming of the climate system is without a doubt. Human activities are
its cause. Their impacts are already visible in different parts of the
world, especially by the increase in climate catastrophes. If we don’t act
now, they will probably be much worse in the future. This is the conclusion
of 2,500 scientists from around the world who received the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2007 for their work on the changing climate phenomenon. Since then, new
scientific evidence show, everyday, that the climate is changing beyond the
most pessimistic predictions, with consequences that are actually much in
advance compared with the predictions and are already visible.

Although it is still hard to precisely evaluate the extent of these impacts,
the dangers are certain. Damaged ecosystems, extreme weather fluctuations,
sea level rise…the first victims of these catastrophes are the already
vulnerable populations from the Sub-Sahara Africa, from Central and
South-East Asia and in the numerous islands and island-based countries. Food
security, access to potable water or to land are severely threatened and
hundreds of millions of people risk to be forced to exodus, thereby
increasing the number of the people that we call “climate refugees”. In a
world full of crises, we fear that war, dictatorship, inequalities, poverty
and human suffering will overcome a bit more again the fight for peace,
human dignity and democracy.

The “climatic emergency” therefore commands us to act in response to the
scale of the threats that are ahead of us. We already control most of the
technologies necessary to be up to the challenge of a development model that
would integrate the climatic reality to its real extent. Moreover, this
breach with a development model inherited from an archaic past is a source
of considerable opportunities for the economy, employment and innovations.
But we still need to make the political decision to do it.

First of all, we must absolutely succeed in stopping the increase in global
greenhouse gases emissions until 2015 before we start decreasing them. This
is the only way to limit the warming of temperatures well below 2°C, the
threshold over which the capacity of our ecosystems and our societies to
adapt is threatened. To do so, the industrial countries, including France,
need to get collectively involved and decide to reduce their greenhouse
gases emissions of at least 40% before 2020 compared to 1990.

But this will not be enough. The developing countries too need to put in
place industrial, agricultural and energetic policies that will limit the
growing of their emissions, before reducing them, without compromising their
legitimate and understandable aspiration to develop both economically and
socially. The Copenhagen treaty will need to allow these countries to evolve
towards models that do not use as much carbon. It will also need to adapt to
the inevitable consequences of a changing climate.

For a lot of us, particularly the most fragile of us, these actions will not
be possible without the financial and technical support of the industrial
countries. The needs until 2020 are evaluated as more than 100 billion euros
per year. This is less than 10$ of the global military/defence budget.

Being responsible for the vast majority of the greenhouse gases today in the
atmosphere, and with stronger capabilities to act, the industrial countries
bare the moral, loyal and economical responsibility to take on a fight
against the changing of the climate. “Monsieur le Président”, it is your
duty to lead the fight that is without a doubt the challenge of this
century. Our common future will depend, in 200 days, on the political
choices that will be made in Copenhagen.

Serge Orru, *WWF-France
*Pascal Husting, *Greenpeace France
*François Danel, *Action contre la Faim
*Olivier Braunsteffer, *Care France
*Souhayr Belhassen, *FIDH
*Nicolas Hulot, *Fondation Nicolas Hulot
*Anne Bringault, *Les amis de la terre
*Michel Bruguière, *Médecins du Monde
*Luc Lamprière, *Oxfam France Agir Ici
*Sandrine Mathy, *Réseau Action Climat
*Michel Roy, *Secours Catholique*
2009/11/10 Georgina Bustamante <gbustamante at bellsouth.net>

>
>
>
>
> From: glispa-discuss at googlegroups.com
> [mailto:glispa-discuss at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bruce Potter at IRF
> Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 9:36 AM
> To: Caribbean Territories Group
> Cc: Discuss GLISPA
> Subject: [GLISPA Discuss] Vulnerable countries unite against climate change
>
>
>
> from a [UK] Department for International Development (DFID) blog site at
>
>
>
> http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/News-Stories/2009/Maldives-climate/
>
>
>
> seems a bit overwrought, but nice to see some joint action by small islands
> and others. . . .
>
>
>
> Vulnerable countries unite against climate change
>
>
>
> Maldives meeting a crucial step towards Copenhagen
>
> 09 NOVEMBER 2009
>
> In Copenhagen in December, world leaders will have the chance to agree a
> global plan to fight climate change.
>
> The world’s most powerful nations will attend, but it is important that the
> meeting is not just about the interests of rich, developed countries.
>
> Representatives will also be present from the world’s poorest countries –
> including those that will be the worst affected by climate change over the
> next century.
>
> Floods, droughts, cyclones and other climate-related disasters are already
> being visited upon the developing world, but to date international
> negotiations on tackling climate change have been dominated by the voices
> and concerns of the developed world.
>
> On 10 and 11 October, the leaders of some of those countries most
> vulnerable
> to the effects of man-made global warming will gather in the Maldives for
> the inaugural Climate Vulnerables Forum. This is an opportunity for
> participants to work together to develop a strong, unified voice on climate
> change - a voice that will be heard in international negotiations such as
> Copenhagen.
>
> Countries attending include: the Maldives, Tanzania, Kenya, Barbados,
> Vietnam, Bhutan, Ghana, Kiribati, Nepal, Bangladesh and Rwanda. Each of
> these countries has experience of the effects of climate change – and
> action
> is vital in each to prevent catastrophic losses in years to come.
>
> Vulnerable countries at a glance
>
> The Maldives: A collection of 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean, 80% of the
> Maldives is no more than 1 metre above sea level. Scientists predict that
> rising sea levels could mean the Maldives become uninhabitable within the
> next century. Climate change is also contributing to more frequent and
> intense storm surges.
>
> Tanzania: Droughts and floods will be more frequent and rainfall patterns
> will change. Since the country is dependent on agriculture, this will
> impact
> heavily on economic growth. Low rainfall has already led to power shortages
> from the country’s hydro-electric dams, while falling water levels in the
> Great Lakes are threatening fishing, and floods in recent years have left
> thousands homeless.
>
> Kenya: Four major droughts have occurred in the last decade and, with
> temperatures set to rise by up to 5°C by 2100, more severe droughts are
> expected in coming decades. Poor rains in 2006 left 3.5 million people in
> need of food aid and in recent years food prices have shot up steeply.
> Floods will be more frequent and more severe due to wetter rainy seasons.
>
> Ethiopia: Almost one-quarter of the population was affected by extreme
> hunger in 2002/03 due to severe droughts and around 4 million needed food
> aid this year due to failed harvests and high food prices. Uncertainty in
> rainfall patterns could undermine current food security strategies, leaving
> more people at risk of starvation.
>
> Barbados: The Caribbean is one of the world’s “hot spots” for climate
> change
> impacts, and is at particular risk from floods and hurricanes. The 2007 and
> 2008 hurricane season left the region in need of humanitarian aid due to
> infrastructure damage and loss of livelihoods.
>
> Vietnam: By 2100 temperatures are projected to rise by 4.8°C and sea levels
> by 70 centimetres, affecting agriculture and threatening livelihoods and
> infrastructure in coastal areas. The weather is expected to become
> increasingly dry over the next few decades and it has been suggested that
> rice production could halve by the end of this century.
>
> Vanuatu: Like the Maldives Pacific islands such as Vanuatu will be
> vulnerable to rises in the sea level and to extreme weather events. The
> Pacific Ocean will also become more acidic, affecting marine life and the
> livelihoods of people dependent on fishing.
>
> Costa Rica: Climate-related disasters have struck Latin America with
> greater
> frequency over recent decades. Temperature increases over this century will
> see, by 2020 to 2030, the melting of most tropical glaciers, putting people
> in coastal areas at severe risk. Meanwhile, drier conditions will reduce
> the
> availability of water, affect hydro-power and reduce farmland to desert.
>
> Taking action
>
> DFID is already helping to prepare for the impacts of extreme weather in
> many of the above regions. In the Caribbean, efforts are underway to
> improve
> strategies for responding to disasters, while in the drought-hit countries
> of the Horn of Africa, farmers are being provided with alternative sources
> of income, so that they are more secure when crops fail. In Asian countries
> at risk of flooding, homes and schools are being built that will not be
> swept away by rising waters.
>
> The countries in attendance at the Climate Vulnerables Forum are less
> responsible for global warming than the bigger carbon-emitters of the
> developed world. But they will be more seriously affected by global
> warming.
> It is therefore crucial that their concerns and priorities are put at the
> centre of international efforts to tackle climate change.
>
>
>
> --
>
>      37 Years of Environmental Service to Small Tropical Islands
>
> --
>
>      Island Resources Foundation    Fone           202/265-9712
>
>      1718 "P" St NW, # T-4                fax     202/232-0748
>
>      Washington, DC 20036              Potter cell: 1-443-454-9044
>
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