The Other Conference of the Parties: The South-South Summit
We all know that last year’s Conference of the Parties (COP15) failed to produce an agreement among developed nations. Less publicized was the similar experience of nations of the Global South—in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Pacific Islands. Upon their arrival in Copenhagen, delegates from these regions realized that their demands and agendas were as diverse as their own countries. Their lack of common ground, and common language, proved to be a stumbling block.
This year, with funding from Global Greengrants Fund and other organizations, grassroots group from the Global South have organized the South-South Summit on Climate Justice and Finance as a prelude to the official U.N. conference in Cancún. It is an effort to strengthen the voices of those not welcome behind closed doors at COP16. In their own words:
With the general aim of advancing unities and collective campaigning efforts, the South-South Summit on Climate Justice and Finance will be a venue for forging common demands in relation to:
- The rights of peoples and of nature
- The responsibilities and obligations of industrialized country (Northern) governments
- The role and policies of international financial institutions, transnational corporations, and other relevant global players
- The responsibilities and obligations of South governments
- Advancing common strategies and initiatives related to the COP16 and beyond
A Greengrants Grantee at the South-South Summit in Cancún: Citizens Against Corruption (CAC)
Citizens Against Corruption focuses on human rights in Kyrgyzstan. In this former Soviet nation, human rights are deeply tied to environmental sustainability and international finance: international financial institutions have funded energy and transit infrastructure projects (like the massive CASA-1000 electric project) across the nation, increasing pollution and ignoring local concerns about the impacts. Today, with funding from Greengrants to cover travel costs, Citizens Against Corruption representative Mahabat Murzakanova is in Cancún. She’s blogging from the South-South Summit on Climate Justice and Finance, highlighting the role of international financial institutions in climate change and developing strategies for Southern nations’ response. She writes:
Some participants shared the view that northern states owe a historical climate debt to developing states, at whose expense and exploitation they pursued a path of economic development.
Read more about Climate Debt in this run-down from Third World Network, Greengrants’ West Africa Board coordinator.
Greengrants West Africa Advisor Nnimmo Bassey was a strong advocate for climate debt at last year’s COP15. Check out his column in today’s Nigerian Next: “Can Cancún?”