PRESS RELEASE
ACTIONAID INTERNATIONAL
Doha Climate Negotiations Fail the Planet and World’s Poor
Negotiators moved backward on climate justice and forward towards the climate cliff
(Doha, Qatar, December 8, 2012) – The annual negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have just closed in Doha, Qatar, with an agreement that neither significantly reduces emissions nor provides poor countries with the funding they need to adapt to and mitigate climate change. Despite the climate-related wake-up calls that the world faced this year – extended droughts, deadly hurricanes, rapid Arctic melt – developed country governments appeared to feel no urgency in Doha to lead the world towards a solution to the climate crisis.
Harjeet Singh, the International Coordinator for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation at ActionAid International says:
“The only word to describe this deal is �?unacceptable’ – the Doha outcome does not sufficiently reduce emissions nor provide resources for poor countries to deal with increasingly frequent and severe droughts, floods and storms. Rich nations will say important progress has been made, but at this point they are nothing more than snake oil salesmen. They have done too little, too late to protect the world’s poor from the harsh realities of climate change.
“As a result, we’ve already experienced costly loss and damage from climate change – just look at New York City after Hurricane Sandy, or the Philippines after Typhoon Bopha – and this was our opportunity to show we can take on this challenge. Some progress has been made towards setting up an institution to help the poor and vulnerable cope with loss and damage. Much more work is required in the coming year to finalize the institutional arrangements, and we expect all parties will conduct this work with the interests of the poor and vulnerable in mind.”
Brandon Wu, Senior Policy Analyst at ActionAid USA says:
“At the Doha climate negotiations, rich countries failed to deliver for the people living in poverty who are most vulnerable to climate impacts. These countries, including the U.S., have committed to deliver funds to help developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change, but they aren’t delivering what is needed.
“Climate finance is not charity or foreign aid; it's an obligation of developed countries, whose accumulated emissions have caused the climate crisis. Rich countries have pledged to mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020, yet the Doha outcome pushed by rich countries completely fails to provide clarity on how these countries will meet this obligation. Without adequate climate finance, people living in
poverty who are the most vulnerable to climate impacts will continue suffering from their effects.”
ENDS
Note to Editors:
Who is ActionAid?
ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in 50 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together. Together with more than 2,000 civil society partners worldwide, ActionAid works with and supports the poorest and most vulnerable people to fight for and gain their rights to food, shelter, work, basic healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. View our website at www.actionaid.org.
For more information and interviews contact:
Patricia Brooks, ActionAid International, [email protected], +1 202-351-1757