News
The South versus the EU in climate justice trial
Brussels, 1 December 2009 – Broederlijk Delen (one of CIDSE's two Belgian members) and CIDSE have put the devastating impacts of climate change on poor people in the South in the spotlight.
In a mock trial, the European Union was sued for failing to acknowledge its responsibilities in causing climate change and for doing too little to support developing countries in their battle against climate change. Bolivian climate expert Elizabeth Peredo, Director of Fundación Solón and member of the Bolivian Platform against Climate Change, testified as climate witness in the simulation of a Climate Justice hearing.
Peredo explained how she sees the impacts of climate change on people in Bolivia with her own eyes every day. “We need to reconsider our lifestyles and the way we fuel our economies,” she said. “There’s an urgent need to drastically change our relationship with nature.” Peredo said that the city of La Paz, where she was born, had been blessed with glaciers that were now melting. Even though Bolivia contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it suffers severe climate change impacts.
CIDSE Secretary General Bernd Nilles said: “The poor communities we work with have contributed the least to climate change, but bear its heaviest brunt. We will not reach an effective climate agreement if rich countries fail to acknowledge their moral and historical responsibilities.”
Syeda Rezwana Hasan, lawyer at the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Society, agreed that rich countries have the obligation to support developing countries on climate change. “For me this is a question of environmental law, which states that no country may suffer from excessive damage caused by the development of another,” she said
Developing countries need adequate financial and technological support to adapt to climate change and to pursue low carbon development. The EU has so far failed to agree on how much money they will put on the table for climate finance. There is a risk that EU countries will repackage current aid money, meaning that funds intended to support improvements in health and education will be used to tackle climate change.
Climate finance will be a deal maker or breaker at the climate talks in Copenhagen, Broederlijk Delen and CIDSE therefore urge the EU to set the example with strong financial commitments.
--
Contact:
Karel Ceule, Broederlijk Delen, karel.ceule@broederlijkdelen.be, +32(0)476.330.221
Roeland Scholtalbers, CIDSE, scholtalbers@cidse.org, +32(0)478.962.013
More information
- Watch the video report on CIDSE YouTube Channel
- Footage and high resolution photos of the Climate Justice hearing are available upon request.
- CIDSE calls on developed countries in Copenhagen to commit to providing $195bn or €131bn per year by 2020 in public climate financing, ensuring that this will be provided in a secure and predictable manner and in addition to existing Official Development Assistance commitments.
- CIDSE, its members and their partners from the South, will attend the Copenhagen climate summit held from 7 to 18 December 2009. Regular updates regarding our participation will be made available here and in the Press/Media section of our website.
