Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Climate justice to guide global deal?

EurActiv.com: Parliamentarians, business and civil society representatives have called for a "human dimension" based on justice and dignity to be taken into account during upcoming climate change negotiations in Poznań this December.

Meeting in Brussels last week (6 November) at the invitation of Commission Vice President Margot Wallström, the Club of Madrid, Globe Europe and Respect Table, stakeholders and experts taking part in the 'Road to Copenhagen 2009' conference called for more "climate justice" during the Poznań talks, which are expected to culminate in a new international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

"Now that we have the scientific evidence on climate change, we have to cope with the justice dimension," said former Irish President Mary Robinson, a member of the Global Humanitarian Forum founded recently by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. "Clean energy technologies must be developed not only for use on a large scale in industrialised economies, but also on an appropriate scale for least-developed countries based on their needs," she noted.

Technology transfer and better adaptation funds can create the right framework to address climate justice, stressed a panel of activists and parliamentarians. A lack of early warning systems, efficient response mechanisms and global solidarity is also preventing help from being delivered where and when it is needed most.

…Economist Claudia Kemfert, a member of Commission President José Manuel Barroso's advisory group on energy and climate change, underlined that investment in climate protection would strengthen the economy. "We are running out of time. Allowing too many exceptions is not an option," she said, proposing the establishment of a mechanism that would allow auctions to be reimbursed a posteriori to those sectors experiencing greater difficulties….

Did I choose Rafael's "School of Athens" to illustrate this story out of sarcasm, hope, or something else?

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