the next few days, thousands of activists from Europe and the world will converge in Copenhagen at the World Summit on climate. While the media give voice to those who only among governments, businesses and large NGOs are calling for an "ambitious", many of us in the streets of the Danish capital to act against the signing of a new protocol. And we have good reasons! Kyoto 2, the lifeline of capitalism
The Copenhagen summit aims to find an agreement between States on the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The project leaders on the table is very similar to Kyoto, ie it is based on carbon trading and even extends the spheres to which emissions trading can be applied. Under the pretext of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases was begun in 2005, the date of entry into force of Kyoto to the carbon, the most basic of life on earth, a commodity. The Kyoto agreement is just that.
All emission reductions which are committed rich countries since 1997 may be in cash in exchange for the construction of a hydroelectric plant here, an oil palm plantation there. This agreement has enabled it to reduce emissions? No, because since 1990 the issue volume increased by 40%, despite the plummeting economies of the former USSR and the "popular democracies" that have largely contributed to lowering the level of emissions in Europe. Never emissions growth has been faster than that since Kyoto came into force. But what is the protocol So what? To make money of course! And, to be precise, to save global capitalism.
The war for resources has begun
Our economic system needs to survive to produce more. It's the same principle of growth and capital accumulation. For this, it still uses more natural resources, increasingly scarce resources, he must wrest from the rural communities that depend on it. Over the past twenty years there has been an exceptional cornering the world's wealth by a few tens of multinationals to take possession of land, reserves water, minerals and genetic resources (seeds and breeds) on the planet, do not hesitate to kill, to imprison, to terrorize and starve hundreds of millions of people. The Kyoto Protocol contributes to the momentum of expropriation by offering moral legitimacy and financial support.
Large companies have an important need energy to continue to mass produce and transport consumer goods from one end to another planet. The Kyoto Protocol allows rich countries to avoid reducing their emissions by financing energy development so-called "clean" in the South. Monoculture agrofuels, giant dams and mega-projects and wind farms are established. The energy is then channeled to the industrial centers and rich countries. A quasi-systematic, local people are forced from their territory and have no access to energy. The sustainable aspect of these productions is more than doubtful: planting corn or palm oil for ethanol, for example destroy biodiversity, consume enormous amounts of water are sprayed with fertilizers and pesticides and extend most often at the expense of primary forest.
More importantly, these renewables do nothing to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, since the consumption of fossil fuels, rather than being replaced, she also continues to grow. It is expected that world energy consumption increases by 50% by 2030, mainly due to increased production of coal, gas and oil. Despite massive investment, renewable energy will then constitute only 2% of total consumption (1). This perspective, taking reference come by the International Energy Agency, is apocalyptic. It has nevertheless the merit of showing that the rhetoric about renewables longer serve to legitimize widespread growth of energy production to save the climate. In Bali and Poznan, the negotiations were aimed at introducing new sectors into carbon trading: forests (through the mechanism called REDD) and farmland. A
polluting company in Europe may choose not to reduce and offset its emissions by buying carbon credits to a company in Indonesia which has a forest. And sleep already and even though the agreement is not signed yet, investors looking for an investment "sustainable" are beginning to buy whole territories to the detriment of people who lived (2). They then sell the carbon credits on voluntary markets and make double profit by selling the wood. Protecting the environment is in a few years become the most common excuse for evicting communities, and make way for multinationals. While in 2008 40 billion ha of land have already been monopolized by multinationals and some countries (3), Kyoto will further accelerate the expropriation territories of rural populations.
poor and guilty
Climate change and carbon trading not only offer the possibility for large companies to seize the wealth of the world, they also allow workers to justify the return of the rigor . In Poznan summit on the climate of 2008, large signs posted at the main station showed the 10 Commandments in the 21st century. That read "Do not take the plane, Recycle, Use the bike rather than drive, avoid all products with plastic packaging, avoid all products coming from far away, Do not buy unless sure you need this product, produces no more than two children, Do not do anything that requires land or water so far unused, Am command of all these economic and easy way for you and others ".
Everyone knows that famous people do not visit the station, this message was not them so obviously not intended. While we strives to convince people to change their light bulbs and turning off the tap for brushing teeth, others may quietly continue their work of plunder of the planet. And we do the lesson to accept a small pay cut, a few hours of extra work on behalf of voluntary simplicity and solidarity with the polar bears. This massive hoarding of wealth and the dismantling of social policies have led to an explosion of poverty in the world. One third of urban dwellers live in slums and now a billion people are hungry (one billion!). Never has the gap between the richest and poorest has been so huge. The term "developing country" hides a truth far more modestly flood: poverty increases. In the South, but in our supposedly prosperous country.
Still more profits for a disaster ever closer for once, let's be clear: the climate crisis is only part of the global environmental crisis, which itself is the result of hoarding and overexploitation of natural resources by a handful of multinational companies for the sole purpose of making profit. Overconsumption of natural resources, including fossil fuels, are not intended to power, heat, shelter the people, in short, to meet the needs of people, but to produce cars, gadgets, transgenic soybean, trips to the islands Balearic Islands, to fuel growth World. We are plundering the planet to produce useless! And that even one person in six does not eat his fill! The world is full of enough wealth to provide 9 billion human beings live in dignity, but not always to produce more goods unnecessary for the sole purpose of ensuring the sustainability of economic and financial system based on compensation capital (interest rates are the first link that justifies economic growth).
The question posed by climate change is that of sharing wealth. Kyoto, as well as the proposed agreement for signature Copenhagen, increase inequality in access to natural resources by accelerating the privatization of the world. That's why these agreements are unacceptable.
's change the system, not the climate!
It was under this slogan that manifest December 12 supporters of the "climate justice". A demonstration to say NO to false solutions presented in the official summit - no to carbon trading, agrofuels not, no nukes ,...-, but mainly to offer real solutions. December 16, Climate Justice Action4 attempt to capture the conference to give voice to those, indigenous peoples, peasant-ne-s, rural women, artisan fishermen, who for millennia by contributing their work to store carbon in soils, biodiversity to renew, to take care of water, while producing what communities need to live well. The solutions to the climate crisis does not require high-technology nor the amounts of money and they require the will and political courage. Instead of carbon trading, four priorities should be required to address the current serious crisis:
- Land reform, ie redistribution of natural resources such as land, water and seeds for the benefit of the people. In 2006, during the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, 92 countries have agreed on the need to revive the land reform process in the world. However, fierce opposition from the European Union and the United States has blocked progress in this direction since then.
- The relocation of production, including food production, using the food and energy sovereignty. Freight transportation plays an important role in gas emissions greenhouse effect should therefore support local production, national and regional permit market protection. The WTO should be disbanded and bilateral free trade stopped.
- The cancellation of the debt of poor countries, forcing them to encourage production of exports at the expense of well-being of their populations.
- The total reform of the financial system including a ban on banks create money through credit.
Our current governments, mired in corruption, are not those by which the change occurs. They play just the role of docile puppet in the hands of economic and financial power. The major issue mobilizations in Copenhagen is to upset the balance of power between multinationals and populations to return to power (The name of the action of 16 December is "Reclaim Power!"), To highlight the deception that is monstrous and the Kyoto carbon market for thousands, millions of people join the struggle for the recovery of territories of knowledge, for solidarity and dignified lives.
December 2009 is one step in the process of strengthening this movement. An agreement is signed or not in Copenhagen we are now running.
a World Energy Outlook 2009, November 2009
two peasants victims of carbon trading on Forests, December 11, 2008, press release from Via Campesina. Available on FSSA: Farmers victims of carbon trading on Forests
3 Attacks on agricultural land for food and financial report from GRAIN, October 2008
