Three ways the 2011 UN climate summit in Durban let us down...

climate activist Roger Rashi of Quebec, Canada, explains how the deal that came out of Durban in December dealt a triple defeat to the Kyoto process, in terms of emission targets, carbon markets, and the Green Climate Fund.

First, the emissions targets were watered down from a binding treaty to `voluntary'and aspirational ones. Not only that, the urgently needed second action phase has been postponed until 2020. While the scientists tell us that urgent action is necessary, the voluntary targets of Durban involve major delays. Deaths due to climate chaos are already occurring; and the rich nations hold the smoking gun.

Second, carbon markets remain unstable, unregulated, and without safeguards for peasants and indigenous populations. Under Kyoto, there were three types of offsets: those purchased from cap-and-trade, and those invested in clean tech, or mitigation projects in the poor countries. The latter two, as part of the Kyoto treaty, are now relegated to a sort of limbo, from which they may (or may not) be resuscitated. Carbon offsets remain as unregulated as the infamous subprime mortgages, and European experience shows that financiers swallow up any profits, not the poor countries. The result is a flood of cheap offsets that does little to finance renewables or climate action, and allows major polluters to buy cheap licenses to continue their harmful activities. Protests of the global south against these schemes has been mounting steadily and loudly for the past two years.

Third, the World Bank retains its "temporary" control of the Green Climate Fund (and other climate funds). The Bank's environmental record has been abysmal; along with regional development banks, it continues to finance coal-burning electricity plants, mining and oil extraction, and infrastructure projects with major impacts on climate and biodiversity.

According to the UN's preparatory documents for Rio+20, financing is to come from carbon markets, and leveraging "private" funds—a point on which the US and Canada have been particularly insistent. We should not be surprised, since the $100 billion "quick start" aid pledged to the Copenhagen Accord turned out to have a $70 billion shortfall, and even then much of the aid was from existing envelopes (i.e. double counted) or in the form of loans (i.e. simply increasing Third World debt). Basically, this saddles the poor countries with the costs of climate action.

—David Millar
Montreal (Quebec) Friends Meeting

Some enlightening on-line resources for the UN's "Rio+20" Earth summit in 2012

From the Canadian Earth Summit Coalition—

http://earthsummit.ca/earth_summit_resources

From the African Biodiversity Network—

http://vimeo.com/channels/gaia

From the Third World Network—

http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/sdc2012/sdc2012.111002.htm

From Payal Parekh, Climate and Energy Expert—

http://www.climate-consulting.org/2011/12/07/no-to dirty-cdm/

From the ETC Action Group--

http://www.etcgroup.org/en/node/5296

--Also from David Millar

Your gift can help QEW plan its 2012 Earthcare programs

Last November we set ourselves a fundraising goal to raise $25,000 by the end of December.

I am pleased to report to you that at the time this issue went to press we had raised more than $25,000. Grateful thanks go to all of you who helped us near that goal.

We have big plans for 2012: We will continue Earthcare education around our theme of Food and Biodiversity; we are planning a Young Adult Friends Gathering with Pendle Hill in June; we will host the Earthcare Center at the FGC Gathering in July; we are planning two face-to-face QEW gatherings, one in June and one in October.

We hope that many of you will see this as an opportunity to plan a special Earthcare event with your Monthly Meeting or your Yearly Meeting to join our celebration of 25 years of Friends' witness for Earthcare as a spiritual concern.

We have enclosed a return envelope in this issue of BeFriending Creation. Please consider making a gift now now to help with our plans for 2012, particularly the Young Adult Friends Gathering and our 25th anniversary celebration.

—Anne Mitchell
QEW General Secretary