Beware of Climate Colonialism at COP27

Beware of Climate Colonialism at COP27
11/4/2022 by Souparna Lahiri, Maureen Santos and Kwami Kpondzo



Khady Camara, president of environmental activist group Vacances Verte, addresses the crowd at a march in Dakar, Senegal, on Oct. 29, 2022, ahead of the 27th annual U.N. climate conference (COP27) scheduled to take place in Egypt to demand world leaders increase their climate ambitions at the local level, and call on the National Designated Authority to better negotiate for the ecological interests of women in Africa and Senegal. (Guy Peterson / AFP via Getty Images)

As U.N. climate negotiators meet for their 27th annual conference in Egypt, sponsored by Coca-Cola (!!!), they are poised to continue leading the world down the path of false “solutions” that put the burden of climate change on marginalized communities in the countries of the global majority (the south). To have any hope of saving the planet, we must arm ourselves with the knowledge to recognize greenwashing, debunk false science and push for real climate solutions.

Fossil fuel emissions need to peak by 2025 to stay under 1.5°C of global warming, and to achieve this, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Based on the pledges and commitments made by countries, not only are we going to overshoot 1.5°C, but current emission pathways point to a rise of over 3°C within this century. The remedial actions are obvious. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take a rights-based, gender-responsive and non-market approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation. This approach should be rooted in a recognition of the traditional knowledge, wisdom and roles of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take a rights-based, gender-responsive and non-market approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Current “solutions” peddled by our so-called political leaders and big business—such as carbon offsetting and burning of biomass for energy—do very little to reduce emissions. Instead, they rely on market-based mechanisms that turn carbon into another tradable commodity, shifting responsibility for implementation to poor communities in the south, while allowing developed nations to continue their emissions-fueled economies. This scenario, as we well know, is an existential threat to the future of life on our planet.

How did we get here? Corporations have captured global climate policy. Led by fossil fuel companies, big agribusiness, their financiers and the technology giants, they are using all their might to resist the systemic and structural changes needed to overcome the climate crisis. They are drowning out the voices of the south and shifting the burden of emissions reductions to vulnerable communities and their territories—the Indigenous homelands, forests, pastures, fertile farmlands and commons that are the lifelines of these communities.

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We cannot underestimate the dangers of the official and corporate proposals and the importance of being informed. We must protect Mother Earth and achieve climate justice and equity by defending the rights of our communities, women, peasants and workers to choose and drive their own climate solutions for real zero.

https://msmagazine.com/2022/11/04/cop-27-united-nations-climate-change-conference/