By Vishal Gulati
Madrid, Dec 12 (IANS) Environmentalists and observers have been barred from the ongoing UN climate talks in Madrid after protests inside the conference venue, it was reported.
The United Nations for Climate Change on Thursday warned non-governmental observers to refrain from using its venues for unauthorised demonstrations.
Just hours after Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg delivered a powerful speech at the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or COP25 on Wednesday, around 200 young campaigners staged a noisy demonstration in front of the main halls where UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was due to update the conference on the progress of the talks.
They were expressing a rising sense of disappointment with the slow progress of the conference, which is in marked contrast to the urgency of scientists and the clamour for action from school strikers.
As the group banged pots and pans and chanted slogans, UN security staff intervened to move the protesters outside “abruptly and roughly”, from the building, the demonstrators said, adding that they also had their badges removed, preventing them from returning to the talks.
After consultations with observer groups, the UN has agreed to allow those barred after the protest to return for the rest of the conference.
Meanwhile, the UN has also released more details about the scale of the challenge, the BBC reported.
All countries who signed the Paris agreement are due to put new climate pledges on the table by the end of next year.
So far, 84 countries have promised to enhance their national plans by then. Some 73 have said they will set a long-term target of net zero by the middle of the century.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, the UNFCCC secretariat said the security incident took place within the facilities of COP25 during an unplanned protest by some non-governmental observers, which made it necessary to take actions intended to ensure the safety of COP participants and to allow for the continuation of the conference proceedings.
The secretariat underlined the importance of participation of observers in the climate change conferences.
Since the early days of the UNFCCC, non-governmental organisations have been actively involved, attending sessions and exchanging views with other participants, including with party delegations.
The secretariat also recognises that this involvement allows vital experience, expertise, information and perspectives from civil society to be brought into the process to generate new insights and approaches.
As COP25 negotiations are veering close to an end, the civil society organisations in a statement said instead of kicking out these polluters, the COP25 kicked out the people.
“Instead of listening to our voices, they attempted to silence us. We were pushed, bullied, and touched without our consent. We were driven out of the negotiating halls, told that we can take our action outside as they raised an enormous metal door and herded us out,” they said.
“This has never happened before in 25 years of negotiations. Yet, there could be no better symbol of this crisis we face. People around the world are crying out for justice, and fighting oppression, while those in power attempt to shut us out,” they added.
CARE, a leading humanitarian organisation, said COP25 negotiations head towards outcomes inadequate to address the climate emergency.
CARE’s Global Policy Lead on Climate Change and Resilience Sven Harmeling told IANS: “The world’s most vulnerable people — those on the front lines of the climate crisis — are relying on world leaders at COP25 to mobilise new and additional finance to protect them from the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis.”
“CARE calls on the EU, Canada, Norway, and others to stand by the vulnerable and resist pressure by those seeking to obstruct the prospect of support, such as the United States,” Harmeling said.
Hoda Baraka, Chief Communications Officer at 350.org, added: “Unless there are strong commitments to start phasing out fossil fuels immediately, including finance flows that continue to expand fossil fuel production, politicians risk the backlash of an entire generation that is terrified for their future and outraged by the influence that the fossil fuel industry has on the political process.”
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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