Proposal of Bolivia to Rio+20
The Rights of Nature
The proposals developed by the Plurinational State of Bolivia bring together and build upon the progress made in the World Charter for Nature (1982), the Rio Declaration (1992), the Earth Charter (2000), and the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (2010):
I. A DEEPER COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY
1. In this century, the central challenges of sustainable development are: on the one hand, to overcome poverty and the tremendous inequalities that exist and, on the other hand, reestablish the equilibrium of the Earth system. Both objectives are intrinsically linked and one cannot be reached independently of the other. Read more…
Submission by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature to Río+20
We urge the organizers of Earth Summit/Rio +20:• to call upon all States, regional bodies, organizations and individuals participating in Rio +20 to adopt the Universal Declaration of the rights of mother earth and to actively support its implementation through law; and
• to include Plenary and working sessions on how to facilitate sustainable development in harmony with Nature by recognizing, implementing and defending the rights of Nature/ Mother Earth. Read more…
Paraguay submission to Rio+20 proposes harmony with nature
Paraguay proposes for the Rio+20 process, among others, Harmony with Nature, Living Well and Green Development as opposed to market-based mechanisms. Some relevant extracts of its submission:
2. 1. GREEN DEVELOPMENT
Paraguay advocates the innovative concept of green development, which is much broader than the concept of a green economy. Green development incorporates economic aspects (green economy), social aspects and ecological/land use aspects in a fully synergistic manner respectful of the interplay between the different aspects. Participation is essential to green development, with workers, women, peasants, indigenous people, young persons, scientists and all sectors of society making their contributions to a new form of social coexistence, with diversity and in harmony with nature, in order to achieve the goal of “buen vivir” (“collective well-being”), respectful of nature of which we are all part and which is vital for our existence. Read more…
Ecuadorian Submission for Rio+20 proposes Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature
The Ecuadorian Submission to the Rio+20 process proposes, among others, an Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature, and living well as an alternative to development. Some relevant extracts:
2. New and urgent issues
17. The Conference should encourage recognition of the rights of nature, that is to say, the right to full respect for its existence, maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structures, functions and evolutionary processes. States should be urged to take precautionary measures and restrict activities that could lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems or permanent changes to natural cycles.
18. We hereby call for a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature, as a response that would ensure that present and future generations can live well.
19. Ecuador proposes living well as an alternative to development, as a new paradigm to replace the prevailing model based on endless economic growth, which has led to overexploitation of natural resources and to poverty, inequality and exclusion of the majority of the population. Living well is a work in progress, borrowed from the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous peoples and nationalities, which involves living in harmony with oneself, nature and others to build democratic, inclusive, plurinational and multicultural States.
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27. The green economy cannot be considered an alternative to sustainable development or a new model. Contemplating a “green economy” without modifying production and consumption patterns is a way of greening protectionism; the speculation that led to the crisis of the capitalist system; disregard of the rights of ancestral peoples; appropriation and privatization of environmental services; and technological dependence of developing countries.
Click here for the complete submission
The Durban Package: “Laisser faire, laisser passer”
Pablo Solón
The Climate Change Conference ended two days later than expected, adopting a set of decisions that were known only a few hours before their adoption. Some decisions were even not complete at the moment of their consideration. Paragraphs were missing and some delegations didn’t even have copies of these drafts. The package of decisions was released by the South African presidency with the ultimatum of “Take it or leave it”. Only the European Union was allowed to make last minute amendments at the plenary.
Several delegations made harsh criticisms to the documents and expressed their opposition to sections of them. However, no delegation explicitly objected the subsequent adoption of these decisions. At the end, the whole package was adopted by consensus without the objection of any delegation. The core elements of the Durban Package can be summarized as follows:
One Year Since Cancun and Just Days Away from Durban: MORE THAN 4°C
Balance sheet and perspectives on the climate change negotiations (Part I)
http://pablosolon.wordpress.com/(*)
Almost a year has gone by since the results of the climate change negotiations in Cancun were imposed with the objection of only Bolivia. It’s time to take stock and see where we are now.
In Cancun, the developed countries listed their greenhouse gas emission reduction pledges for the 2012-2020 period. The United States and Canada said they would reduce emissions by 3% based on 1990 levels, the European Union between 20 and 30%, Japan 25%, and Russia from 15 to 25% [1]. Adding up all the reduction pledges of the developed countries, the total reduction in emissions by 2020 would be 13-17% [2] based on 1990 levels.
These greenhouse gas emission reduction “pledges,” according to the United Nations Environment Programme [3], the Stockholm Environment Institute [4], and even the Executive Secretary of the Climate Change Convention [5], would lead us to an average increase in global temperature of around 4°C or more.[6] That is double the amount they established in Cancun: a maximum temperature increase of just 2°C.With an increase of 2°C, the number of deaths per year attributed to climate change-related natural disasters, which was 350,000 in 2009 [7], could skyrocket into the millions. Some 20-30% of animal and plant species would disappear. Many coastal zones and island states would end up below the ocean, and the glaciers in the Andes – which have already been reduced by one third with a temperature rise of just 0.8°C – would disappear entirely. Read more…
Press Release: Bolivia calls for urgent high level talks on cutting climate pollution
BONN, 17 june 2011 – At the close of UN climate talks in Bonn that failed to address the huge shortfall in emission targets compared to what the science suggests is necessary, Ambassador Pablo Solon of the Plurinational State of Bolivia called for a high-level meeting to discuss how to drastically reduce climate pollution.
“In order to have success at the UN climate conference in Durban in December we need to have a clearer willingness to increase the emissions reduction pledges that are on the table.” Ambassador Solon said. Read more…
Bolivia Proposes Pathway to Solve Climate Talks: Be clear about targets and honour commitments
BONN – Today, Ambassador Pablo Solon of the Plurinational State of Bolivia addressed reporters at the UN climate talks in Germany. Ambassador Solon outlined a clear plan, based on submissions from other countries and civil society, on how to move the talks forward in 2011.
“The key issue at these talks is the gap between how much climate pollution we need to reduce and how much countries are committed to reducing. We call that the “gap” and it’s the difference between 4C of warming and 2C of warming. The Cancun outcome sets us on a path to 4C.” Ambassador Solon Said.
“Some countries want to talk about the ‘rules’ first, instead of this gap in commitment, but we know that rules will not reduce this gap. Fixing rules will simply prevent the gap from increasing, it won’t set about actually reducing emissions. The heart of the matter is the depth of pollution cuts.” Ambassador Solon said. Read more…
Press Briefing of Bolivia: How to close the emission GAP?
Press Briefing of Plurinational State of Boliva,
Amb. Pablo Solón
Bonn, Germany, June 13, 2011
Climate Negotiations Need: Kyoto, a focus on protecctiong forest now
BONN- Today, as UN climate negotiations continued their slow start, Ambassador Pablo Solon of the Plurinational State of Bolivia outlined a clear vision to move negotiations forward.
Ambassador Solon in a press conference addressed :
· Possible outcomes from the annual climate conference, to be held in Durban, South Africa in December;
· the importance of forest protection to negotiations;
· the need to recognize the rights of Mother Earth; and
· proposed an international financial transaction tax. Read more…
Emergency ‘Call to Action to Protect Earth’ by UN, Pope, Scientists and Indigenous
(Suzy Chaffee) Following Bolivia’s passage of their domestic law “Recognizing Mother Earth as a living entity and giving Her the Same Rights as Humans,” the United Nations held a dialogue via an interactive webcast on its “Harmony with Nature” Day, April 20, and it is now working on adopting these rights worldwide. Read more…
