認定特定非営利活動法人

Climate change is a result of the unsustainable, over-consumption of fossil fuels, particularly in the North. Current responses to this international crisis are gravely inadequate. We have less than ten years to stop global greenhouse gas emissions from rising in order to avoid dangerous climate change for the majority of the world's peoples and ecosystems.

Poor, vulnerable communities in developing countries who are the least responsible for climate change are being hit the hardest by its impacts and by the false solutions being promoted to tackle it. This is an issue of development, human rights and justice. Those countries with the greatest responsibility for historical and continuing greenhouse gas emissions have sufficient wealth to act and must do so. The inequitable consumption of resources by the North and exploitation of resources from the South has led to ecological debt that must be repaid.

Global temperature increases must stay as far as possible below a 2 degrees temperature increase from pre-industrial levels. We can not afford for the Kyoto-Protocol to end in 2012 when its first commitment period expires. The third Meeting of the Parties must result in a Bali Mandate to assure a continuing climate protection process under the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. Negotiations on a post 2012 agreement must end in 2009 to allow for the next phase of commitments to begin in 2013.

Friends of the Earth International believes that the UNFCCC can provide an essential element of the global solution to climate change by implementing a post-2012 international agreement based on principles of equity and climate justice. The post-2012 agreement must provide:

・legally binding burden sharing of emissions reduction based on historical responsibility for climate change and capacity to act

・ obligations for the North to finance for adaptation and mitigation in the South in addition to domestic emissions reduction obligations.

・independent verification that emissions reductions and financing obligations in the North are met, with stringent penalties for non-compliance.

・ sharing of technology & science for capacity building & review of commitment required

・guidelines for mitigation & adaptation that is in keeping with international human rights laws

Friends of the Earth International demands that the failings of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol such as the inadequate emissions reduction obligations, over-reliance on market-based solutions, and false incentives to offset carbon emissions in countries of the South rather than to reduce them domestically in the North, are rectified in the post 2012 agreement. Friends of the Earth International believes that the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol fails to address trade, development and economic barriers to achieving adequate emissions reductions, sharing of technology, building resilience and financing for adaptation.

The post 2012 agreement provide opportunity to address these issues within the international climate regime, and must include the following elements:

・The industrialised world must take responsibility to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reduction pathways that ensure significant reductions in global emissions after peaking by 2015. This should also include the establishment of year on year rolling emissions reduction targets to ensure annual assessment of success or failure to reach commitment

・Emissions must be reduced by at least 40% on 1990 levels by 2020 in the industrialized countries.

・These reductions must be achieved by halting the neo-liberal development model which promotes the transfer of polluting industry from the North to the South including unsustainable production and consumption patterns.

・The CDM fails to achieve necessary emissions reduction targets or promote sustainable development, instead, countries must adopt obligations that are fair, equitable, have ecological integrity and that are additional to national domestic fulfillments of industrial countries emissions reduction obligations.

・The South must have space to achieve energy sovereignty (the ability of peoples and communities to decide their energy sources and energy consumption patterns that will lead them to sustainable societies), financed by the repayment of the ecological debt by the North.

・The post 2012 agreement must include a comprehensive suite of financial obligations for industrialised countries to support adaptation, technology sharing and mitigation actions in the South, such as reducing emissions from deforestation. The attribution of responsibility to finance Southern mitigation and adaptation must be based on an assessment of historical responsibility, capacity (including the impact of neo-liberal trade policies), and ecological debt. Revenue for these funds can be raised by redirecting military spending, the cancellation of debts, 'cap and auction' winnings, levies and taxes.

・Adaptation should be pro-poor and protect ecosystems, livelihoods and human security. Community-based adaptation provides the best opportunity to ensure that adaptation projects are culturally, technically and socially appropriate, and that they increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.

・Forest protection programs must uphold community rights and land rights of Indigenous peoples and other local communities, prohibiting any actions that seek to exclude Indigenous and forest dependent communities from 'conservation' areas. Failure to prohibit such action is an endorsement of environmental racism and threatens the continuation of sophisticated cultural practices of conservation.

・The financial mechanism cannot include trading of deforestation 'certificates' or credits that would create a global off-set for the failure to reduce emissions in industrial and transport sectors - weakening the environmental integrity of the post 2012 agreement.

・Resolute exclusion of false solutions of nuclear, carbon capture and storage, genetic modification, large hydro power and agrofuels from any UNFCCC or post 2012 technological sharing programs in recognition of the unacceptable levels of risk to humanity and the environment

・Enact moratoria on oil, coal, uranium and gas exploration, finance and approval, and implement 'just transition' programs to phase out existing fossil fuel and nuclear activities

・ The impact of these factors combined means that women are likely to suffer greater impacts of environmental shocks such as climatic changes. In recognition of this, both mitigation and adaptation activities must be tailored to ensure women's participation and specific needs.

・Indigenous peoples also have a very specific relationship to the environment. Indigenous land rights and custodianship of land must been protected in all mitigation and adaptation activities.

・Establish a working group to review the barriers in trade policies and agreements, including Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), to sharing of technology that would support sustainable development.

　

If all the above issues are adequately addressed, we can expect more sympathetic policies and behaviour among developing countries to undertake measures from the lens of climate change that will enable pursuit of a lower carbon pathway and sustainable development pathway. We appeal to the leadership of the North to take these necessary measures raised above, and appeal to the Southern governments to begin to prepare steps that are necessary in the post Kyoto framework, knowing that they require complementary polices in the South and fundamental changes in the North.