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Warsaw,
Poland - TODAY - Civil society groups across Africa demanded that
developed countries fulfil and implement their commitments under the UN
climate convention, in order to fairly share a necessary 'emissions
budget', and avoid catastrophic climate change.
At a press conference held
immediately after the opening session of the 19th session of the UN
Warsaw Climate Conference, the group said that Africa is in the
frontline for climate change impacts.
"We
watch with horror what has happened in the Philippines, and know that
it is happening in our homes too." Mithika Mwenda, the Secretary General
of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), said.
"I
don't know how rich countries can ignore the facts being screamed by
mother nature, nor the cries being made by the world's poor - the time
has come to cut climate changing causing emissions and to cut them
deep," Mwende said .
"Africans
expect our governments to stand firm on setting an emissions budget, as
recommended by the IPCC. They must then share this budget fairly, based
on historical responsibility and capacities." Said Dr. Habtemariam
Abate, from Ethiopian Civil Society Network on Climate Change.
"These
negotiations are about the emissions budget, whether governments admit
it or not, they either negotiate to share that budget fairly, or they
plan to exceed it," Dr Abate added.
"African
civil society has strong and clear proposals for how to deliver energy
to those who do not have it whilst avoiding the trap of dirty fossil
fuels and therefore allowing us to live within the emissions budget.
Proposals include a globally funded feed in tariff - we expect such a
measure to be adopted here in Warsaw," Azeb Girmai, from LDC Watch,
said.
"Warsaw can be the moment the world chooses clean over dirty energy and Africa will be leading in that choice," Girmai, said.
"African
people need an international mechanism to address loss and damage from
climate change. That's the reality. We see it everyday. Perhaps the rich
only see it on television - well they need to turn it on, watch it,
learn, and then take responsibility for the suffering their emissions
have caused." Robert Chimambo, from Zambia Climate Change Network, said.
"The
best agreement on Earth won't make a difference without implementation
in the real world. That's why a clear outcome in Warsaw must be
drastically scaled up climate finance and technology transfer. Only if
those commitments are met can African governments really believe that
the rich world plans to act in good faith on any future agreement." Said
Agnes Banda from Malawi, one of the most vulnerable countries.
The
Pan African Climate Justice Alliance released several briefs outlining
their analysis, shared with other civil society observers, on the issues
of:
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