After Durban: It must be created a Supranational Democratic Climate Authority

Josep Xercavins i Valls

06/01/2012

Opinión

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One more year, Durban 2011, adds even a bigger failure to the one already accumulated since Copenhagen where, analyzed from the current perspective, it makes clear that more than a battle against the climatic crisis was lost.

The Kyoto Protocol, entering into force late (in 2005) and in extremis (strategic interstate exchanges forced the Ratification of Russia), now, one year before its first period of compromises finishes - the very close 2012 end -, it has been frozen, if not completely murdered. The only multilateral instrument proposed that had as a goal a quantified mitigation of the emissions (absolutely insufficient, why not to say), will stop having goals and any objectives and will hibernate (maybe, sorry for the irony, in order to not contribute anymore to the global warming of the planetary tensions' sum).

In state a supposed new Durban Platform will begin the elaboration of... it is better if we read literally the text, because it is not to be missed:

2. Also decides to launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or a legal outcome under the Convention applicable to all Parties, through a subsidiary body under the Convention hereby established and to be known as the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action;

To which the article 4 of the same document is added:

4. Decides that the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action shall complete its work as early as possible but no later than 2015 in order to Adopt this protocol, legal instrument or a legal outcome at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the parties and for it to come into effect and be Implemented from 2020!

Which leads us, inevitably, to total and absolute desperation.

Why? What the background of all these can be? What are the interpretations and main conclusions that we can obtain from it?

It is clear, legally, the Kyoto Protocol, taking in consideration the international treaties law cannot easily disappear, but replaced for another one. It cannot disappear, so they froze it without any consideration: it has been extended without any new objective, goal or mission, etc. And even some states are cheek enough to get out of it, explicitly, in order to avoid the low "penalty" that would obtain, now, by not achieving its reduction goals. Result: outrageous!

And frozen until when?, so until 2015, year that taking the article 4, just literally cited, from the Durban Platform a new one will be approved; because the calculations are a fact: the 21st COP (Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) will take place in 2015 (no more no less, and taking in consideration the previous experiences, it can be much more, isn't it?).

And is it for sure that the result will be another treaty? The final negotiation, even represented as another business show, leads to a drawn up of article 2, also previously cited, from what we can obtain any strange thing (another legal instrument or one legal outcome) in which case the existence of similarities with a serious and rigorous international treaty would be only a "coincidence".

But wait for it!: According to the article 4 from this Durban Platform, whatever that ends up being obtained in 2015 or in..., it will not enter into force before 2020.

Then, if in order to ensure, according to the IPCC, that the average surface temperature in the earth would not increase more than 2 ◦ C more, it would have to and it has to be reduced, at least, by the developed countries, a reduction of from 20% to 40% of the emissions of 1990; so now nothing will be reduced, except of what a conscious and decent state would reduce by its own convictions.

The 2 o 4 ◦ C more, are serves; and the fact that our grandsons will live in a planet very different of the current one is now for sure!

And taking all these in consideration what should be done, what should be set out, what should be mobilize from the world citizens with historical conscience (past and above all future) of humanity?

So bringing to the world a Worldwide Climate Democratic Governance System (and most important, supranational) that once analyzed the crisis based on the IPCC reports, and taking in consideration the different state situations and the Rio principles accepted by everybody in theory, takes, as a new Supranational Democratic Climate Authority, the mandatory decisions of mitigation and monitoring that each state of the world, depending of their levels of responsibility and capacities, should start achieving already, as soon as possible.

Apart of the climate crisis we would be finally facing the main current problem of multilateralism: its inability of taking decision. Legitimate and even reasonable interests, analyzed from each country's perspective, are nowadays incompatible with the humanity interests as a whole that lives and would like to keep living in the earth planet that we know.

Shouldn't we take advantage of the celebration of Rio +20 in order to begin all this?

- Josep Xercavins i Valls

Senior Lecturer in BarcelonaTech (Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya). President of the "project association World Democratic Governance, WDGpa": "Catalan aplicating Organization to the World Federalist Movement WFM"

https://www.alainet.org/es/node/155160