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Climate justice, equity and ecological debt
Presented by Friends of the Earth International
Douglas Brown, Friends of the Earth Ghana, stressed that climate change impacts heavily on African countries, and noted that these countries are least resilient to climate change. He urged the climate process to provide avenues for capacity building and technology transfer and additional, predictable financial resources, to enable African countries to adapt to climate change.
Bruce Thompson, Friends of the Earth Australia, noted that the Australian Government is actively campaigning against asylum seekers in that country. He underscored that there will be an increasing number of refugees in the future due to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
Rajendra Ravi, National Alliance of People’s Movement, India, stated that although the United Nations was established to provide equity and justice, it is a “puppet” for certain developed countries. He underscored that corporations have considerable influence over the international climate change process, but environmental non-governmental organizations do not. He stressed that farmers, the poor, and indigenous people suffer as a result of inaction on climate change, and highlighted climate change impacts in India, including floods, droughts and mass migrations.
Amit Srivastava, Corporate Watch, noted the deaths of children resulting from drought in India, and stressed that South Asia is one of the most impacted regions of the world from climate change. He said the international climate change process excludes the majority of the world’s population, including those who are most affected by climate change, and underscored that the process has been “hijacked” by special interest groups. He highlighted that a Climate Justice Forum was organized in parallel to COP-8 and was well attended.
Kate Hampton, Friends of the Earth International, said by ignoring the views of the marginalized, the climate change process is missing an opportunity to find solutions to climate change adaptation and mitigation problems.
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