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When I hear net zero 2050 I always remember Ambassador Lumumba (the Chair of the G77) at the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009 when he said 2c “certain death for Africa”, & a type of “climate fascism”. The UK, EU, Obama’s US supported by big northern NGOs opposed 1/1.5c target. 1/
He sat silently, tears rolling down his face, put his head in his hands & said “We have been asked to sign a suicide pact.” & that Africa is being asked to “celebrate” this deal for $10 billion. “$10 billion is not enough to buy us coffins”. This is a colonisation of the sky 2/
The global North want to ignore historical emissions & allow their citizens to carry on emitting & prevent African countries from lifting their people out of poverty. “It is unfortunate that after 500 years-plus of interaction with the West we are still considered disposables“.
“I would rather die with my dignity than sign a deal that will channel my people into a furnace.” He called for “One Africa, One degree” & “Two degrees is suicide”. It was clear then that rich country govts & big NGOs were more than happy to sacrifice the global South. 4/
Now despite the science, the urgency, the devastating impacts we are told that 2030 targets are radical & we should be pragmatic. Anti-racists & #climate justice activists should not accept ‘channeling the people of the global South into the furnace’ by supporting net zero 2050
In 2009 global South countries were calling for cuts of 80% by 2030 by rich countries & to pay their climate debt because even then the IPCC said 2c globally means 3.5c across every region of Africa. Since then the science is even clearer that preventing a breach of 1.5c is key
Today the UK is 16th highest global emitter, 6th highest historically, responsible for 3.5% of global emissions. Just to meet it’s fairshare of emissions cuts for the 1.5c budget - it would be -200% by 2030 so it would need to be at zero by 2030 & transfer £1 trillion to the poor
Some folks are asking for more details about what happened at COP15. So here goes: 1/ After years of the UNFCCC negotiating a binding treaty based on the Climate Convention & 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that said rich countries who were most responsible for the
2/ crises had to have legally binding targets & provide support for poorer countries. The US, UK & Danes drew up a secret text - that would effectively derail the climate talks, ignore historical responsibility, allow rich countries to have no legally binding targets,
3/ them to continue to pollute & hand over climate finance into the hands of the undemocratic World Bank that rich countries controlled. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/dec/08/copenhagen-climate-summit-disarray-danish-text?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
4/ Big philanthropy, big US & northern NGOs, the EU were locked into the ‘Obama will save the planet’, & empty pleas to ‘seal the deal’ & ‘act on climate’ with the primary goal no criticism of Obama irrespective if it action was unfair or ignored the science.
5/ And as countries of the global South refused to accept the UN talks - rich countries bullied & bribed poorer countries. Lead negotiators from the global South were recalled to capitals, the Ethiopian PM was summoned to Paris & offered a bribe to break the African group unity.
6/ Civil society were barred from the talks so poorer countries would not have critical support. And the US spied on developing country delegations https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/30/snowden-nsa-spying-copenhagen-climate-talks?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
7/ global South countries would not allow global North govts from gavelling through this illegitimate text. Ian Fry the negotiator from Tuvalu pleaded to govts not to accept the text ‘I woke up this morning crying, the fate of my country is in your hands’
8/ Over the next 6 years to the Paris talks - the US backed by the EU & mainstream NGOs finally got what they wanted with the Paris Agreement - no binding targets, weakening of equity, weakening of finance pledges - & a world heading to 3.4c warming https://worldat1c.org/a-brief-history-of-the-united-states-and-the-un-climate-change-negotiations-bf7525d4ef13
9/ IMHO Obama’s legacy on climate was dismantling of science & equity based action. So when folks say Trump was the climate wrecker - he was simply carrying on Obamas policy of US exceptionalism. Biden will be no different unless US NGOs & philanthropy stop sacrificing the poor.
For more details about COP15 please see https://www.twn.my/title2/climate/fullpdf/copenhagen01.pdf https://adamwelz.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/emotional-scenes-at-copenhagen-lumumba-di-aping-africa-civil-society-meeting-8-dec-2009/ https://climatejusticenow.org/cjn-final-statement-in-copenhagen/ https://foe.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/FoEI-cop15-update-4.pdf
