Trocaire blogs

Poznan Climate Change conference: the turmoil that we create - by Alice Mary Higgins

08-12-2008

Yesterday saw the long anticipated launch of our Grow Climate Justice Campaign. Representing Trocaire, it felt great to be part of such an extraordinarily collaboration between the 16 European and North American Catholic Development Organizations who form CIDSE and many of the over 150 members of Caritas Internationalis -the biggest network of catholic charities in the world. Together we are calling for real and substantial cuts in industrialized countries emissions along with real financial support for adaptation efforts by developing countries and the recognition of their right to sustainable development.

The international resonance and power of our joint message was particularly evident in a statement signed by over 100 Bishops from both industrialized and developing countries. Indeed the campaign was officially launched by a bishop from one of the countries most directly impacted by climate change.

Bishop Theotonius Gomes is from Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest and most densely populated countries and one of those with most to lose - already much arable land has been lost due to salination while erratic rains and intensifying storms deeply affect the lives and livelihoods of it's 140 million people.

Worst predictions suggest that millions of these could become climate refugees if sea levels continue to rise.

Walk with Some Strength

Yet Bishop Gomes was determined to stress that the people of Bangladesh are "not a miserable humanity, but people who are living courageously". It is they who face poverty "with resilience and inner diginity" while carrying the burden for the actions of others, "carrying this turmoil that we create".

Climate change, he believed, was a question which must be engaged with not simply on a technological but also on a spiritual level - as "a material and moral challenge to us all". To tackle climate change, he emphazised, the world "will need to walk with some strength" - the same strength which the poorest walk with every day.

Stakes are higher for the South

A similar call for ethical as well as technological leadership came from Nafisa Goga D'Souza of the Laya resource Centre, convener of the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change, She highlighted the need for Governments and society to start really engaging with concepts such as the common good- and indeed move towards a "sharing of the global commons equitably between north and south".

However, in terms of the current negotiations, she felt that a certain impasse seemed to have been reached between North and South. This impasse was characterized by tension and blame on both sides but ultimately "the stakes are higher for south" who simply cannot afford the kind of denial which industrialized governments have engaged in while continuing to raise emissions -transport emissions alone increased 28% between 1997-2005. This "Business as usual" attitude, she insisted, simply should and must not be allowed to block progress on "an issue of rights".

Creating a Climate for Change

Later in the morning a colourful banner with the message ''Create a Climate for Justice" was draped across the bright red pos celebrated an overflowing mass to mark the launch of the Campaign. It was a genuinely moving event, covered extensively by the television stations here, even if members of the local Polish congregation certainly seemed better prepared then some of their international guests for the chilly interior of the beautiful church!

We all gathered again for a very warm reception last night, where we were treated to a surprise visit from one of the vice-chairs of the IPCC, who gave a strong personal welcome to the campaign! Talking with colleagues from Sciaf in Scotland to Caritas International in India, there was a sense of something begun - but also a sense of a shared momentum and responsibility to build on in the week and year ahead.

Comments

11-12-2008 by: Deirdre Ní Cheallaigh

I really enjoyed reading the blogs Alice Mary. It's great to hear about the events as they unfold in Poland and the work that Trócaire - along with its colleagues in CIDSE and Caritas - are undertaking.