NGOs Make Emergency Appeal in Doha

Greenpeace, Oxfam, WWF, Christian Aid, Action Aid and Friends of the Earth have issued an emergency appeal for immediate and forceful action by the delegations at the Doha climate summit.

[Their statement warned] the Doha talks were on the brink of disaster and that rich governments had 24 hours to urgently make a deal that reflects the scale of planetary emergency facing humanity.

This deal must include scaled up public climate finance from 2013, deep emissions cuts and a mechanism to address loss and damage.

"Failure is locking in inaction for the next decade. The millions of people already facing floods and famines cannot accept failure. The people of Africa can't accept failure and neither can the people of Europe. We call on all governments to reject an 'agreement' for agreements sake, if it does nothing to stop the planetary emergency,” Asad Rehman, spokesperson for Friends of the Earth International, said.

"How many more glaring reminders, how many more lost lives, how much more suffering is it going to take for rich countries to accept that this is a planetary emergency for the world’s poorest people. The Doha talks are in crisis over climate finance, as in 25 days developing countries do not know how they will be supported to adapt to climate change. Rich countries now have 24 hours to make a collective commitment to increase public climate finance from next year to at least $US60 billion by 2015," Celine Charveriat, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns for Oxfam International said.

"People are dying because of climate change. People are losing their homes, their livelihoods, and their source of food. It is saddening to see rich country negotiators actively blocking progress in order to maintain the profits of their coal, oil and forestry industries. 

Even the executive-director of the U.N. Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, blasted the Doha summit delegations for going backwards.

"Despite all the negotiations, despite all the work and activism in the U.N. system, you are actually moving in the wrong direction, you are disregarding the science, you are disregarding the opportunities, and you are disregarding the responsibility to act collectively."

Face it, people like Steiner aren't pointing a finger at just Harper but at the major opposition parties, the Liberals and the New Democrats, too.   These messages go to every party that advocates exploitation of high-carbon heavy oil and coal and all those who support such parties.  If you're a Liberal or a New Democrat, that includes you.  Like it or not, and I certainly don't, that's the point our world is at.