After the press conference called by la Via Campesina at the luxurious resort of the COP, a Bolivian and a Paraguayan representative met with the movements. Around 5000 people participated in the march also called by la Via Campesina and at the end of this mass mobilization they carried out an “assembly of the peoples”. UN Bolivian Ambassador, Pablo Solon, and Paraguayan President Advisor on Climate Change Miguel Lovera participated.

In an interview with Real World, Paraguay´s representative said that his goal in the assembly was to ensure the social movements that his country is defending “the same cause that they are protecting”. He also said that justice is necessary, in addition to an agreement in Cancun that implies a reduction of emissions by developed countries since they are the “countries responsible for the climate debt”.

Lovera said that “very little has been negotiated so far at the COP”. “Decisions that will change the lives of many are being dangerously left to a few. We believe this is not the right approach. The legitimate representatives of 190 countries are present here and we can reach reasonable agreements”. The Paraguayan representative highlighted that we need “realist” solutions to climate change, and not the “false solutions that only imply trade and profits for some companies and countries”.

Meanwhile, Pablo Solon was one of the many people who addressed the Peoples´ Assembly. In his speech he stated that “the struggles in the streets are the same than the struggles inside the Moon Palace”. “The proposals to recognize the rights of nature if we are to solve climate change have reached the inside negotiations”.

In his opinion, the climate crisis is the result of a “lack of respect towards nature, towards our Mother Earth”, it is the result of “treating nature as if it was a thing”. He believes that this crisis will be solved if we “restore a relationship of balance and harmony with nature”, recognizing that “nature also has rights”.

“Just like the process to recognize human rights was started more than 100 years ago, we are proposing the beginning of a process to recognize the rights of nature, of Mother Earth, to change the relationship imposed by capitalism”.

Solon stated that new carbon markets are being promoted at the COP and that the Bolivian government has strongly rejected them, “according to what was agreed in Cochabamba” by the World Peoples´ Conference which took place in April, 2010. The Bolivian delegate explained that carbon markets allow industrialized countries to buy emission reduction certificates generated in the Global South and avoid, this way, their domestic reductions.

“This is unacceptable, because through these market mechanisms, developed countries are transferring the responsibility to developing countries”, said Solon. “So, at the end of the day, who is financing who? With these mechanisms, we are financing them”, he stated.

With reference to the market mechanisms, Solon rejected especially the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) mechanism and said that he is “extremely worried” about this. “A mechanism to turn natural resources into commodities and begin a process of purchase and sale of these resources was never raised before”, he said. “With REDD they aim to estimate how much carbon a certain forest captures, to sale emission reduction credits according to that amount” he added.

He said that of course a finance mechanism is necessary to “preserve” forests, “not to commodify them”. He said that developing countries are being pressured to approve of REDD and that it is a challenge to avoid them in the negotiations.

The central issue at the COP is reducing emissions, which is related to an agreement on a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol (2013-2017). The Northern countries, responsible for 75 % of polluting emissions to the atmosphere, are not taking on any binding commitment. Bolivian representative highlighted that the average global temperature increased 0.8 C and that even with these small figure, the natural consequences are extremely negative. He warned about the seriousness of the situation with an even higher increase in world temperature.

“They want to avoid emission reduction commitments and continue the discussions next year. This is unacceptable because human lives are at stake”, said Solon. “Each year, 300.000 people died due to climate change and the natural disasters it causes. It is irresponsible to say in Cancun that they can´t commit to an effective reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions”, he said.

Finally, Solon made reference to the proposal to create an International Climate Justice Tribunal by the Peoples´ Agreement of Cochabamba to try the main drivers of climate change. “This is what scares rich countries the most”. “The ones who know that they are responsible for the loss of human lives, the loss of nature, don´t want to be tried, and they especially don´t want to be punished”, he concluded.

Photo: Real World Radio