COP15: Another reason to organize for change

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Come to the
African People's Solidarity Committee
Annual National Conference
January 10-12 in St. Petersburg, FL

• Keynote by Uhuru Movement leader Omali Yeshitela - A New Day: Beyond Protest to a Genuine Anti-Imperialist Movement Struggling for Power
  


• Presentations by African People's Socialist Party leaders Gaida Kambon and Ironiff Ifoma
  


• African People's Solidarity Committee Chairwoman Penny Hess speaks on solidarity with national liberation struggles.

Discuss the critical questions of today, including oppressed nations demanding trillions of dollars for climate change, slavery, genocide and colonialism from the U.S. and Europe.

Climate Conference in Copenhagen

This past Sunday our radio show focused on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) which took place in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18. In case you missed it, here are some highlights:

Background: The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Adopted in 1997, put in force in 2005.

• Calls for cutting carbon emissions so global temperatures will not rise more than 1.5° Celsius.
  


• Calls for $ trillions from wealthy nations to clean up the environment especially in formerly colonized countries.
  


• Protocols are binding for imperialist countries and wealthy countries, but not for impoverished, formerly colonized countries.
  


• Has been signed by a majority of the world's countries; U.S. is only country to say it has no intention of signing.

Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP15) marked by reparations demand

Lumumba Di-Aping, leader of the G-77

• A follow up conference to Kyoto, COP15 was marked by the strong voice of oppressed and colonized people demanding reparations from Europe and North America, recognizing that the environmental crisis is a byproduct of colonialism.
  


• The G-77 (130 formerly colonized or economically dependent countries) was represented by Lumumba Di-Aping of Sudan who led a five-day walk out of the conference and raised that any more than a 1° increase means total genocide in Africa.
  


• Angelica Navarro, Bolivian ambassador to the UN: "We think that 20% of the population have created a crisis for humanity. They have a historic responsibility for more than 2/3 of emissions and more than 90% of the increase in temperature. We think that there is a climate debt they owe to all humanity and to mother earth."
  

G-77 leaders criticize U.S. proposal. Prior to the conference, U.S., Britain, Denmark and other European nations held secret talks to develop a "climate fund" proposal that betrays all provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.

Bolivian President
Evo Morales

• Obama presents proposal on last day of Copenhagen conference, offering only a 3% reduction in U.S. carbon emissions and $10 billion/year to poor countries for climate issues, but only if they vote to adopt the proposal that day.
  


• The proposal was not adopted; it was criticized by several leaders as being completely unacceptable. Obama's delivery itself was criticized as being arrogant and deceitful.
  


• Bolivian President Evo Morales especially criticized the pitiful offer of $10 billion considering the $2.6 trillion that has gone to the war in Iraq.

Listen to the entire show on the UhuruRadio archives

Reparations demand important for white people to hear

For white people, it's important for us to hear the reparations demand made at COP15. It ties U.S. and European wealth to the enslavement, plunder and theft of resources and labor of African and Indigenous people. We have their resources.

It requires us to look at the environmental crisis in the context of colonialism. And if we are serious about solving the problem, we have to join the struggle being led by African and other colonized people.