PRESS RELEASE: – Paris, 1st December 2015
UN CLIMATE TALKS ARE “A RIGGED GAME”, CLIMATE JUSTICE GROUPS SAY IN ACTION
Today, December 1st, Young Friends of the Earth Europe together with other climate justice youth groups, organised an action at the UN climate talks in Paris criticising developed countries for their attempts to remove historical responsibility from a potential global agreement. The groups urged developed countries to recognise their role in causing and fueling climate change, and to do their “fair share” in tackling it.
Maruška Mileta of Young Friends of the Earth Europe, said: “This is an utter betrayal of the Convention. What we need is a binding, fair, and ambitious agreement, that recognises how much the North has disproportionately trashed the atmosphere. That recognises that some countries have weights around their ankles.That gives the necessary tools and finance for countries to ensure the transformation we so desperately require. Anything less will be a false promise to billions of young people around the world, a gamble on their future.”
During the action, activists presented the COP21 talks as a casino, with rich countries using principles such as adaptation and loss & damage as gambling chips. A banner was unfurled with the message “Don’t Gamble with our Future”.
Parallel to this action, in the French suburb of Montreuil, youth activists echoed the message on the inside, casting loaded dice to represent the inequities of the COP21 negotiations. Placards displayed at the action stated: “The COP is a rigged game for rich countries.”
Clemence Hutin, from Young Friends of the Earth France, explained that: “In 2015, we’ve seen the many faces of climate violence brought upon poorer countries by the Global North, from rewriting founding principles of the UN climate convention to closing borders. Rich countries are only deepening inequalities stemming from a crisis they are responsible for.”
The actions highlight the fact that developed countries are falling short of their fair shares in their Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) and are still not taking up their historical responsibility. Meanwhile, most of the developing countries have met or even exceeded their mitigation pledges.
Contact:
Maruška Mileta, Young Friends of the Earth Europe, marus.mileta@gmail.com, +33642694732
Clemence Hutin, Young Friends of the Earth France/Young Friends of the Earth Europe, clemencehutin@gmail.com +33669482197
For photo inquiries, contact: Živilė Mantrimaitė, zivile@zvejone.lt, +33754510878
ENDS
NOTES:
The ‘Fair Shares: A Civil Society Equity Review of INDCs’ report, from climate justice organisations, social movements, faith groups, trade unions, environmental and development organisations, shows that many developing countries are pledging to do more than their ‘fair share’ to cut emissions while rich countries are dangerously failing to pull their weight:http://civilsocietyreview.org/
MORE PICTURES:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/youngfoee/22816309864/in/album-72157661270819760/