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Outside of the Copenhagen climate talks: People assemble to ratify Peoples' Protocol on Climate Change |
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Written by Ms. Theresa Lauron
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 18:07 |
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Copenhagen, Denmark - On 9 December 2009, representatives and leaders of grassroots organizations from across the South gather for the Peoples' Assembly on Climate Change to demand a people-centered response to the global climate crisis. The Assembly comes as world leaders meet for the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will decide the fate of the climate and the planet.
Organized by the Peoples' Movement on Climate Change (PMCC), the Peoples' Assembly gives a platform for Southern voices and solutions to climate change.
"Nations of the South especially the poor are bearing the worst impacts of climate change, but we do not have a say in the climate negotiations," says Maria Teresa Lauron, Secretary-General of the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN). "The Peoples' Assembly is an opportunity for us to register our voices and our alternatives. It is a result of two years of international campaigning and grassroots organizing on the issue of climate change," she adds.
One of the highlights of the Peoples' Assembly is the ratification of the "Peoples' Protocol on Climate Change." The document, so named to rival the better-known Kyoto Protocol, outlines the movement's solutions to the climate crisis from a people-centered and Southern perspective.
"The Kyoto Protocol is a testament to UNFCCC's capture by Northern and corporate interests seeking to impose false, business-as-usual solutions to climate change," says Wahu Kaara of Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN). "Knowing the talks wouldn't go anywhere without their lead, they hold out on making good on their obligations, whether it be to cut emission or provide funds for the South. We do not trust the UN climate talks will produce radical results. We believe that global climate action will turn for the better if people came together and demand the end of business-as-usual that is hurting the planet and the poor most especially," adds Kaara.
Contact Persons:
Ms. Maria Theresa Lauron : +63.918.902.8320
Ms. Maitet Ledesma: +31.6.14659558
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