CAFOD at key Cancun climate change talks

Monday 29 November sees the start of a fortnight of United Nations Climate Change Conference talks in Cancun, Mexico. The talks – attended by CAFOD – represent the sixteenth annual meeting of the Conferences of Parties (COP). The Conferences of Parties represent countries across the globe and non-governmental organisations that first convened at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

One of CAFOD’s representatives at the talks, Dr Jasber Singh reiterates the realistic goals we have in the light of the disappointment in Copenhagen:

“We hope that what happens at Cancun will represent incremental steps towards a global climate change deal. Cancun will primarily be about restoring much-needed trust in the United Nations Climate Change Conference process so that there will be meaningful action in the next talks in South Africa in 2011. The significance of this cannot be understated. Building trust between developed and developing nations is the stepping stone to climate action next year.”

The actions CAFOD wants to see are:

• Establishment of a Climate Change Fund under the authority of the Conference of Parties. Importantly, this new fund should ensure inclusive representation of poor men and women which is regionally balanced. This fund should address the needs and hear the voices of the most vulnerable to climate change such as women and indigenous people.
• Developed countries to provide long-term public finance of at least $100 billion a year in total by 2020. This would be additional to aid targets.
• A clear plan for delivering these new funds to ensure they don’t come from existing budgets that are overstretched. New funds could come from financial transaction taxes or a pro-developing countries taxing system on aviation and shipping.

Dr Singh comments further:

“Key for us in the talks is justice. That is, justice in where these funds go. They should help poor women and men to not only deal with current climate crises, but also to adapt for future problems. It is also about justice in getting the voices of men and women and vulnerable countries at the decision-making table.”

For a blow-by-blow account of the conference, please see our blog.

To find out more about the talks, go to the Cancun official site.