21 November 2013
Today, 21st November, civil society groups in Warsaw staged a walk out from the UN climate negotiations. The walk out included international organisations such as Friends of the Earth International, Oxfam, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, World Wildlife Foundation, Action Aid and many more.
In what has been described by Oxfam as an unprecedented display of solidarity amongst global civil society, a very clear message was sent to the COP.
An estimated 800 people congregated on the stairs to the main entrance of the COP this afternoon wearing white t-shirts displaying the slogan “Polluters talk, We walk”. They were met by even more members of the climate movement outside where Assad of Friends of the Earth International gave a statement.
He explained that the walk out was a result of the frustration felt by organisations in the face of disingenuous statements and a lack of ambition by developed countries. He added that the walk out does not mean that civil society is removing itself from the UNFCCC process or that organisations who walked out this afternoon will not be present at COP 20 in Peru 2014 or COP 21 in Paris 2015. Rather the walk out symbolised the shared realisation amongst organisations that the negotiations have not fulfilled their purpose, that developed countries have not come to the talks in good faith, and that progressive decisions on the issues at hand have not been made.
Young Friends of the Earth Ireland shares this position. We feel that during our time here at COP 19 we have discovered that the UNFCCC is not doing enough to combat the effects of climate change. We have found that governments, our own included, are not showing any real commitment to climate justice. We have felt that these negotiations have not been in the best interest of humanity and that the signatories to the UNFCCC are not taking climate change seriously.
Within a matter of minutes of the walk out representatives of the three COP presidencies Poland, Peru and France made contact with civil society leaders and requested a meeting which will take place outside of the COP tomorrow. This may be a positive sign and certainly brings with it hope to civil society and those fighting for climate justice, but now is the time for action and for long-term capacity building so that future COPs can address climate change in a meaningful way.
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