BALI (INDONESIA), 14 December 2007 - Peoples from social organizations and
movements from across the globe brought the fight for social, ecological
and gender justice into the negotiating rooms and onto the streets during
the UN climate summit in Bali. [1]
Inside and outside the convention centre, activists demanded alternative
policies and practices that protect livelihoods and the environment.
In dozens of side events, reports, impromptu protests and press
conferences, the false solutions to climate change - such as carbon
offsetting, carbon trading for forests, agrofuels, trade liberalization and
privatization pushed by governments, financial institutions and
multinational corporations - have been exposed.
Affected communities, Indigenous Peoples, women and peasant farmers called
for real solutions to the climate crisis, solutions which have failed to
capture the attention of political leaders. These genuine solutions include:
* reduced consumption.
* huge financial transfers from North to South based on historical
responsibility and ecological debt for adaptation and mitigation costs paid
for by redirecting military budgets, innovative taxes and debt
cancellation.
* leaving fossil fuels in the ground and investing in appropriate
energy-efficiency and safe, clean and community-led renewable energy.
* rights based resource conservation that enforces Indigenous land rights
and promotes peoples’ sovereignty over energy, forests, land and water.
* sustainable family farming and peoples’ food sovereignty.
Inside the negotiations, the rich industrialized countries have put
unjustifiable pressure on Southern governments to commit to emissions’
reductions. At the same time, they have refused to live up to their own
legal and moral obligations to radically cut emissions and support
developing countries’ efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate
impacts. Once again, the majority world is being forced to pay for the
excesses of the minority.
Compared to the outcomes of the official negotiations, the major success of
Bali is the momentum that has been built towards creating a diverse, global
movement for climate justice.
We will take our struggle forward not just in the talks, but on the ground
and in the streets - Climate Justice Now!
Members of this coalition include: Carbon Trade Watch, Transnational
Institute; Center for Environmental Concerns; Focus on the Global South;
Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines; Friends of the Earth
International; Gendercc - Women for Climate Justice, Global Forest
Coalition; Global Justice Ecology Project; International Forum on
Globalization; Kalikasan-Peoples Network for the Environment
(Kalikasan-PNE); La Via Campesina; Members of the Durban Group for Climate
Justice; Oilwatch; Pacific Indigenous Peoples Environment Coalition,
Aotearoa/New Zealand; Sustainable Energy and Economy Network; The
Indigenous Environmental Network; Third World Network; WALHI/ Friends of
the Earth Indonesia; World Rainforest Movement
International press contacts:
Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South. Mobile: +62 852 387 14793 or +66
81 935 0633
Henry Saragih, La Via Campesina. Mobile: +62 816344441
Joseph Zacune, Friends of the Earth International. Mobile: +62 81 338969955
Tamra Gilbertson, TNI +62 8174779110
Sandy Gauntlett, Global Forest Coalition. Mobile: +62 81 338938574
Janet Redmann, Sustainable Energy and Economy Network. Mobile +81 338984882
Dr. Michael Dorsey. Mobile +62 81 338 950482 or +1734 945 6424
Indonesian press contacts:
Farah Sofa, WALHI/ Friends of the Earth Indonesia. Mobile: +62 81 1194773