SCI as an observer: what does it mean?

A week before United Nations Framework on Climate Change, SCI is preparing itself to observe the negotiations. There is a lot of information on the subject. Figures concerning the reduction of greenhouse effect gases are rushing but maybe won’t have any limiting legal value, as it happened in Kyoto. The never-ending text is full of thousands of incomprehensible acronyms… as if everything was done to discourage people and cut their interest.
Though, the subject of climate change has so important environmental and social issues that it can’t stay in the hands of politics only. To employ the biggest means and to gather people together around a table doesn’t mean bringing out significant measures, all the more so as regarding negotiations, many solutions leaves us unconvinced. So the SCI delegation which has received the status of an observer wants to look at the conference and to relay these observations to the outside with a citizen eye.

Democratic political measures?
This observation must go through a particular attention on the dialog between north and south. Indeed as most of greenhouse effect gases emissions come from the north, the majority of damage is in the south (desertification, climate refugees…). Although the United Nations is the decisional organ which allows every single country to be represented on the principal of one country=one vote, the most affected countries only have minor power in negotiations. So, in the name of climate justice, it is important to see in which proportions the north admits its ecological debt on the countries of the south and what is the place of the less developed countries in Copenhagen. To illustrate this subject the SCI will organize an action in the corridors of the conference. But unfortunately, all meetings where important political decisions are made remain closed to observers.

Fair financial measures?
In Copenhagen, we must stay careful about the help which will be attributed to NAPA (National Adaptation Programs of Action). These plans are the measures that the less developed countries have implemented but that receive very little financial support or deducted in great part off the public foreign aid. Since the Kyoto draft agreement, many doubtful financial measures are implemented by the World Bank. The development of the carbon market allowed industrial countries to buy emission rights off the countries of the south, the REDD mechanism for deforestation reduction enabled to reward people who work in forestry plantation and not more global projects of forest save and reforestation… Unfortunately, all meetings concerning finance are closed to observers.

Commercial and technological measures?
We also know today the impact of wrong solutions in climate change: biofuels, nuclear energy… solutions treated in the Copenhagen summit are once again related to industrial and commercial development, in part responsible of climate change: intensive “green” cars production and other crazy propositions: injection of sulfur in the stratosphere, salted clouds, space mirrors… it can also be interesting to see the importance of lobbies in this area. However if these measures are exposed in press conferences, observers won’t be able to fallow them either.

Environmental and citizen measures?
The role of NGO is therefore limited and is based on the democratic problem of the UN. It is also necessary to increase the time spent on real environmental measures (solar energy, geothermal science, biomass, relocation of economy, resources control, production reduction, forest control, public transport development…). On its side, SCI organizes an event about environment education within the conference. However these questions seem to be more tackled at the climate forum, open to all citizens. SCI organizes a workshop and will widely take part in discussions and citizen events. We will keep you informed.