PRESS STATEMENT

Warsaw talks: Amidst Frustration, African Team Mulls Pull-out

 

Warsaw: 14/11/13: In the face of low commitment to implementation on the part of polluter-countries, the African team at the ongoing climate talks comprising key continental negotiators and civil society organisations has hinted at the possibility of staging a walkout.

 

This came to fore today at a strategic meeting between a team of African negotiators, Government delegates and the civil society organisations led by the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). In the build-up to 2015, Government Delegates from Africa who craved anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter,  decried the non-committal posture of the developed nations on key issues as they relate to loss and damage, means of implementation and Green Climate Fund (GCF).

 

Expressing fears on a possible fruitless exercise in Warsaw, Mithika Mwenda of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance called on the African team to explore every viable means of accentuating the African position at the conference without ruling out the possibility of a walk-out at as “Äfricans cannot afford to go back home with peanuts after suffering under Warsaw’s extremely cold weather.

 

African civil society leaders present also hinted at a possible backlash of disenchantment and discontinuity with the entire UNFCCC process if concrete implementation terms and financing models are not arrived at this conference.

 

Note to Editors: The Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), a continental coalition of Civil Society Organizations from diverse backgrounds in Africa, has emerged as the most vibrant and largest Civil Society platform on climate change and sustainable development. With a membership of more than 500 organizations and networks, the Alliance brings together Faith-based Organizations, Farmers and Pastoralists` Groups, Community-based organizations, Non-Governmental organizations, Trusts, Foundations, among other sectors with a common goal of promoting and advocating for Pro-poor, climate-friendly and equity-based responses to climate change.