Were America’s Hands in the France-Ethiopia Deal?
Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by Ben Jervey in U.S.A., bits
My colleague Florent Baarsch, working with the good folks at 350.org, has done some good old-fashioned reporting and turned up some unsavory facts about the new French/Ethiopian proposal that appeared suddenly in the COP15 reality today.
The appeal by France and “Ethiopia, representing Africa” is calling for a so-called “Copenhagen Accord,” and has some good on the surface: it would be binding on all parties immediately upon signature, it would lead to a “legal international instrument” “as early as possible in 2010,” and the finance numbers and timeline are actually encouraging.
But the overall lack of ambition completely ignores the scientific reality, and the modest mitigation targets would–to be blunt–allow for utter devastation throughout the African continent that Ethiopia claims to be representing.
Here’s where things get sketchy: the announcement by French President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Zenawi of Ethiopia comes the same week as some calls from U.S. President Obama to the African leader. Coincidence? It seems unlikely.
“The ugly and overt pressure on developing countries to sign an agreement that will put their very survival in jeopardy has begun,” said Bill McKibben. “It’s very tough to stand up to the Americans, especially Barack Obama. But even the U.S. president can’t protect nations against rising waters, withering droughts, and dried-up glaciers. This is the moment for Africa, for island nations, for the developing world to insist on a future.”
The proposal would allow for 2 degrees Celcius in global temperature rise. “The IPCC science is clear,” offered said Mithika Mwenda of Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance. “2 degrees is 3.5 degrees in Africa – this is death to millions of Africans…If Prime Minister Meles wants to sell out the lives and hopes of Africans for a pittance – he is welcome to – but that is not Africa’s position.”
“You cannot say you are proposing a ’solution’ to climate change,” said Augustine Njamnshi of Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, “if your solution will see millions of Africans die and if the poor not the polluters keep paying for climate change.”
The big questions is: how involved was the U.S. in launching his weak-willed text? And if Ethiopia took the bate, are we to think that the rest of Africa will eventually stand behind it?
The Adopter - Ben Jervey
Ben Jervey comes from New York City. He works to better communicate climate, energy, and environmental issues to mainstream audiences. His reporting and work on climate change and clean energy have brought him from the streets of New York to the glaciers of eastern Greenland, to the mountain villages of Vietnam. read more»
The Adopted - Meet the US Delegation
The US delegation from Bonn through Copenhagen is being lead by Jonathan Pershing, longtime veteran of climate negotiations with 30 years under his belt working on climate and energy issues on the domestic and international levels. read more»
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