Our climate - not your business

Source: Aljazeera English,
Dec 12 2009


Thousands of protesters have gathered in the Danish capital Copenhagen to call on governments at the UN global climate change summit to commit to a deal.

Police detained at least 900 people during demonstrations on Friday in which activists attempted to disrupt meetings between corporations and industry lobby groups, accusing them of being "climate criminals".

Most of the protesters arrested were masked youths dressed in black who threw bricks and firecrackers and smashed windows in the city centre.

Around 50 police in riot gear moved in, forcing the protesters to the ground and bundling them into vans.

Police later followed activists as they wound through the narrow streets of central Copenhagen to the sound of drums, whistles and horns and chants of "Our climate - Not your business".

The procession then split up, with activists fanning out to several locations, including the venue of a business conference.

Lars Borg, a Copenhagen police spokesman, said protesters did not reach the Bella Centre conference facility, where representatives from about 190 governments are negotiating a new global climate agreement.

IN DEPTH


Tania Page, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Copenhagen, said the protests were largely peaceful.
"It has been a largely peaceful demonstration and something of a family affair really hoping to push home to the delegates here that the public won't stand for anything less than a firm concrete commitment and agreement to cut carbon emissions and to fork out the money to help poorer nations because they are the ones who are the front line of this," she said.

"There is still a level of confidence that there will be a political agreement by the end of the week but I don't think that anyone inside the conference believes there will be a legally binding agreement which is what the demonstrators are calling for.

Draft deal

A draft climate pact unveiled at the summit on Friday revived hopes that the UN talks might be able to pin down a deal, but developing nations said they needed more financial commitment from richer nations.

With less than a week until more than 110 world leaders descend on the talks, the proposal that would at least halve global emissions by 2050 sought to bridge some of the long-standing rifts between rich and poor nations.

A European Union offer of $10.8 bn of climate aid over the next three years was welcomed by the UN and the Danish hosts.

Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister presiding over the negotiations, said: "Things are progressing."

Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said the draft text marked a "step change" in the negotiations.

Chinese anger

China, the world's largest carbon emitter ahead of the US, said rich nations needed to provide long-term cash if they wanted poor nations to agree long-term emissions goals.

"I doubt the sincerity of developed countries in their commitment. Why are they not talking about a commitment of providing funds through 2050?" He Yafei, the Chinese vice-foreign minister, said late on Thursday.

"That will make them credible when they are asking for an emissions reduction by 2050."


Protesters were upbeat during the festive season in the Danish capital [AFP]
Todd Stern, US President Barack Obama's special envoy for climate change, said earlier this week that he could not "envision" public funds for climate change going to China.
China's He said that was a dangerous betrayal of a globally agreed principle that rich nations had a responsibility to help poor nations adapt to a warmer world and cut emissions.

"I was shocked, personally, to read the American negotiator's [comment]," he told a news conference.

"I don't want to say the gentleman is ignorant, because he is very well educated, but I think he lacked common sense when he made such a comment vis-a-vis funds for China. Either lack of common sense or he is extremely irresponsible."

"When people mention US and China together, they tend to forget that these two countries belong to totally different categories. The US is part of the developed countries ... China is part of developing countries. You cannot mix the two."

African nations said they were still considering the draft, but also were unhappy about financing.

The draft text covers both an extension of the existing UN Kyoto Protocol, whose first phase ends in 2012, and a parallel track of talks.

The text offers a range for global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, of at least 50 per cent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

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To save the earth and environment, defeat imperialism

World Federation of Democratic Youth

Over the last weeks thousands of news in newspapers, websites, television channels and other media have circulated raising the Conference of Partners (COP15) taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a decisive and crucial moment for a deep change in the environmental policies. Many statements and declarations from political leaders and so called experts on the matter have raised this COP15 as a source of hope for saving Earth from the environmental destruction the last one and half century has brought to our common natural patrimony.

Despite the intense propaganda surrounding the COP15 of Copenhagen, WFDY believes that the main issues are still to discuss and will remain untouched by the main characters of the conference in Denmark, for the following reasons:

a) The COP15 rejects to acknowledge that it was the capitalism model of production and limitless consumerism (to achieve limitless profits) that brought mankind and Earth to this situation. Without a clear and deep change of paradigm (not rhetorical, but revolutionary) the attack to the sustainability of the environment will never be truly stopped.

b) It is hypocrite and deceiving the campaign to bring the responsibilities of protecting the environment to the individual level, as if it was a matter of “good will” or “environmental consciousness” of the people. It is in the hands of the governments of each country to prevent the major economic groups from continuing destroying Earth’s resources and sustainability. In a world where energetic costs and production costs are rapidly decreasing, all steps to hand over the responsibility to be “environmental friendly” are maneuvers to keep hiding the real causes of the environmental crisis lived by mankind and increasing the profits of the economic groups with business in the energetic areas (statistics are clear on this).

c) Whilst all attentions are drawn to Copenhagen, the deforestation of earth continues with the support and the silence of the imperialist agenda. Our world has lost half of its original forested area, and it is losing 130,000 square km per year. Among others, it is particularly serious the situation of Amazonia, where the major economic groups keep destroying the natural patrimony and polluting and poisoning native populations and the natural resources.

d) Water, a vital resource for mankind, keeps being polluted and privatized, as a commodity. The growing imperialist interference of water sources, if not stopped, will lead to a situation of deprivation of the masses of access to fresh water.

e) The COP15 of Copenhagen introduces no real news when compared to Kyoto or Bali similar conferences. In fact, it represents a step forward in the implementation of the market regulation of the emission of greenhouse gases. Such strategy will only lead to the transfer of the gases and not its reduction or control, as recent history has proved. The big dispute on this matter is not on the reduction of the gases, but actually in a market which value is estimated to be worth around 700 billion USD in a short period. The current regime of Clean Development Mechanism and carbon trading must be changed, as this trading mechanism has given the room to shift the polluting industries in least developing countries.

f) The US, EU and the major capitalist countries have the first and foremost obligation to reduce carbon emission and they cannot be reluctant to environmental Protocols. The transformation of eco friendly technologies from developed world should be unrestricted in the developing world. The richer countries and people are just re-tracking these resources in name of different project while the poorer and most suffered of climatic change are left neglected. So, this is the right time to evaluate about this mechanism in order to make it more pro-poor and progressive.

g) The World Federation of Democratic Youth bears great concern for the most suffering people and nation like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, and Sub- Sahara Africa etc due to this man made environmental catastrophe.

For all the above mentioned aspects, WFDY firmly defends that only a policy of respect to Earth and that really puts the natural resources in favor of mankind and its development (and not in favor of profits) can save earth.

WFDY calls all its member and friend organizations to denounce the imperialist maneuvers to increase the attack against the rights of the people and youth, putting at stake the survival of mankind and earth itself, and to reinforce their struggle for a world free of imperialism in all its expressions, as only by defeating imperialism mankind can be sure to save itself from destruction and barbarism.

Read the full article »

Unity of anti-imperialist, pro-peace forces

The Young Communist League, a member of the Canadian Peace Congress, is happy to announce that the Peace Congress has, together with the US Peace Council, launched a blog for better coordination of their efforts.

The blog can be viewed here.

The most recent statement of the World Peace Council is as follows:

After less than a year in office, President Barack Obama flew to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

Upon evaluating that Prize, the Greater New Haven Peace Council drew up a list of goals that President Obama should champion to evidence his contributions to Peace:

• The President would not only call for abolition of nuclear weapons at some vague time in the future but lead the Nuclear NonProliferation Review at the United Nations this coming May to agree that the year 2020 would be the target date, as demanded by the Mayors of thousands of the world’s cities (Mayors for Peace ).

• The President would invoke Article 6 of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and begin serious negotiations towards reducing conventional armaments and demilitarization.

• The President would de-escalate the occupation of and war on Afghanistan, end the illegal bombing of Pakistan and ensure the recall of all foreign troops from Iraq.

• The President would sign and urge Senate ratification of thetreaty banning anti-personnel land mines.

• The President would sign and urge Senate ratification of thetreaty banning cluster bombs.

• The President would immediately negotiate agreement with Russia to take nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert.

• The President would act to end the illegal embargo against Cuba.

• The President would call not only for ending torture by U.S. operatives but also for prosecuting those who condone and are complicit in torture.

• The President would close secret and brutal prisons in Afghanistan, such as Bagram, and wherever else they exist.

• The President would close the thousand U.S. military bases on foreign soil whose presence threatens peace and the sovereignty of nations and reverse the decision to build military bases in Colombia.

• The President would end economic, diplomatic and military support for the coup leaders and their lieutenants in Honduras.

• The President would pursue a treaty ensuring demilitarization beyond earth’s atmosphere.

• The President would state that since NATO no longer fulfills its mission of protecting Europe he will work toward abolishing NATO.

• The President would end the U.S.’s one-sided treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pursue action on UN resolutions to justly end the conflict.

• The President would join members of Congress to dramaticallycut the one trillion dollar U.S. military budget.

• The President would rebuke and end the nuclear materials agreement with India, which violates U.S. Obligations under the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty.

• The President would press the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and work to amend it to include the banning of virtual testing.

• The President would instruct his Ambassador to the United Nations to end U.S. obstructionism and work on and vote for disarmament resolutions .

• The President would support strong international environmental treaties, such as Kyoto.

• The President would submit to and urge the Senate to ratify the International Covenant On 
Economic, Social And Cultural Rights; also the Convention on the Rights of the Child; also the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Using his authority on these and other issues the President could make great strides toward peace worthy not only of a Nobel Prize but to gain the enthusiastic approval and support of the world’s peoples.

Read the full article »

Canadian Youth makes plea to Michael Martin about Climate Change

Check this out. We share her shame of our country, and note that global warming will destroy homes and food in our country too -- especially for Aboriginal peoples but also working class and racialized communities.

Read the full article »

To save Earth and the Environment, defeat imperialism!

Over the last weeks thousands of news in newspapers, websites, television channels and other media have circulated raising the Conference of Partners (COP15) taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a decisive and crucial moment for a deep change in the environmental policies. Many statements and declarations from political leaders and so called experts on the matter have raised this COP15 as a source of hope for saving Earth from the environmental destruction the last one and half century has brought to our common natural patrimony.

Despite the intense propaganda surrounding the COP15 of Copenhagen, WFDY believes that the main issues are still to discuss and will remain untouched by the main characters of the conference in Denmark, for the following reasons:

a) The COP15 rejects to acknowledge that it was the capitalism model of production and limitless consumerism (to achieve limitless profits) that brought mankind and Earth to this situation. Without a clear and deep change of paradigm (not rhetorical, but revolutionary) the attack to the sustainability of the environment will never be truly stopped.

b) It is hypocrite and deceiving the campaign to bring the responsibilities of protecting the environment to the individual level, as if it was a matter of “good will” or “environmental consciousness” of the people. It is in the hands of the governments of each country to prevent the major economic groups from continuing destroying Earth’s resources and sustainability. In a world where energetic costs and production costs are rapidly decreasing, all steps to hand over the responsibility to be “environmental friendly” are maneuvers to keep hiding the real causes of the environmental crisis lived by mankind and increasing the profits of the economic groups with business in the energetic areas (statistics are clear on this).

c) Whilst all attentions are drawn to Copenhagen, the deforestation of earth continues with the support and the silence of the imperialist agenda. Our world has lost half of its original forested area, and it is losing 130,000 square km per year. Among others, it is particularly serious the situation of Amazonia, where the major economic groups keep destroying the natural patrimony and polluting and poisoning native populations and the natural resources.

d) Water, a vital resource for mankind, keeps being polluted and privatized, as a commodity. The growing imperialist interference of water sources, if not stopped, will lead to a situation of deprivation of the masses of access to fresh water.

e) The COP15 of Copenhagen introduces no real news when compared to Kyoto or Bali similar conferences. In fact, it represents a step forward in the implementation of the market regulation of the emission of greenhouse gases. Such strategy will only lead to the transfer of the gases and not its reduction or control, as recent history has proved. The big dispute on this matter is not on the reduction of the gases, but actually in a market which value is estimated to be worth around 700 billion USD in a short period. The current regime of Clean Development Mechanism and carbon trading must be changed, as this trading mechanism has given the room to shift the polluting industries in least developing countries.

f) The US, EU and the major capitalist countries have the first and foremost obligation to reduce carbon emission and they cannot be reluctant to environmental Protocols. The transformation of eco friendly technologies from developed world should be unrestricted in the developing world. The richer countries and people are just re-tracking these resources in name of different project while the poorer and most suffered of climatic change are left neglected. So, this is the right time to evaluate about this mechanism in order to make it more pro-poor and progressive.

g) The World Federation of Democratic Youth bears great concern for the most suffering people and nation like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, and Sub- Sahara Africa etc due to this man made environmental catastrophe.

For all the above mentioned aspects, WFDY firmly defends that only a policy of respect to Earth and that really puts the natural resources in favor of mankind and its development (and not in favor of profits) can save earth.

WFDY calls all its member and friend organizations to denounce the imperialist maneuvers to increase the attack against the rights of the people and youth, putting at stake the survival of mankind and earth itself, and to reinforce their struggle for a world free of imperialism in all its expressions, as only by defeating imperialism mankind can be sure to save itself from destruction and barbarism.

Read the full article »

NO to the persecution of communists in Poland!

WFDY has received with great concern the news of the ban of the communist symbols (hammer and sickle and red star) in Poland, by initiative of the Polish Government.

This measure, approved and promoted by all European Union structures, is a new evidence of the anti-communist cruzade that the imperialist forces have embraced as their mission, with similar results in different Eastern European countries.

The persecution of communists and communist organizations is one of grim faces of imperialism. Beyond the empty and rethorical speeches about “freedom” and “democracy” the imperialist structures and governments’ actions clearly show that imperialism cannot cope with the possibility of others thinking differently.

In a framework in which the historical limits of capitalism were so clear to the peoples and youth of the world, following the international crisis of capitalism, there is no other way for the imperialist structures than banning and persecuting all those who struggle against its domination.

It is a dark coincidence that such act took place in the exact same week when, against the will of the peoples, the European Union and the governments of its member states impose the so called Lisbon Treaty (declaring its implementation from December 1) and when NATO decides to increase its military presence occupying Afghanistan, also in name of “freedom” and “democracy”.

As before, WFDY reaffirms that this is not a matter that concerns communists only, as it is part of an anti-democratic strategy that aims a gradual attack to all levels of democratic freedoms.

Therefore, WFDY calls upon all its member and friend organizations to join its solidarity message to the Polish communists and take action to denounce among the youth of the world this ongoing attack and organize actions to demonstrate its condemnation of this anti-democratic measure.

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Statement on the U.S. and NATO Troop Expansion in Afghanistan

The last week witnessed a new decision by the U.S. administration to send 30.000 more troops to boost the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, other allies in NATO agreed to send 7000 additional troops mainly from European countries.

It is important to mention that the same president who leads the wars in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, won a Nobel Prize for Peace few weeks ago, in a glowing sign that the interests of imperialism are the only criteria used by the world’s main leaders, away from the advertising slogans of democracy and human rights. Democratic rights of the
people of Iraq and Afghanistan start from their right to live in independence and sovereignty without the death squads and the occupation armies used by imperialism.

WFDY strongly condemns those moves by USA and its allies in NATO and EU governments because they will only bring more death and misery to the people of Afghanistan and also to all the people of the world.

WFDY demands USA, EU and NATO to immediately halt their military actions in Afghanistan and withdraw their troops out so that the people of their own path of governance. WFDY also supports the democratic and secular forces of Afghanistan which are fighting against the occupation armies and against Taliban and religious extremists at the same time.

WFDY expresses its deep solidarity with the innocent youth and people of Afghanistan being victims of imperialism and extremism, and call them to escalate their struggle for their free independent future.

No army has been able to defeat the will of the people when the people are united in their struggles, and the future of the youth and the people in the world shall only be prosperous and safe in a world with no occupation and war, in a world where imperialism is defeated.

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