As negotiators wrestled with contentious issues in the outcome draft text of the Paris agreement on Thursday, global NGOs raised the pressure with a joint demand that the final pact spell out the roadmap to achieving the goal of 1.5°C rise in temperature. They deplored 'US and European Union moves to avoid any commitments on compensation' in the deal, for countries that were already experiencing climate disasters, although they had not contributed to the problem.
Oxfam, Greenpeace, the WWF, the International Trade Union Confederation, ActionAid, and CIDSE, a Catholic network, said the leaders at the Paris climate conference should catch up with the world and meet the demands of people and communities who wanted them to move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy access for all.
They said the voluntary pledges made by countries, called INDCs, were totally inadequate for the task of cutting carbon emissions significantly. The level of ambition in these pledges should be raised before 2020 by the rich countries, which had the capacity to do so.
The draft that is currently being intensely discussed should include provisions for grant of finance to the developing world, without it having to bear the burden of the carbon debt of the rich, the NGOs demanded. "Justice must be ensured for the people who suffer the impact of the historic problem," said Adriano Campolina, the executive director of ActionAid at a press conference addressed by these organisations jointly.
Kumi Naidoo, the executive director for Greenpeace said unless the big emitters do more, the entire carbon budget, which is the amount of carbon that can still be burnt without dangerously warming the atmosphere, would be used up by them. Moreover, developing countries are not seeking charity, and have a right to assistance to move to clean energy.
The ITUC spokesperson, Anabella Rosemberg said Article 2 of the agreement on its 'Purpose' should explicitly contain text respecting human rights, gender equality and decent work. Without these, it would be a deal "for the one per cent."
The Paris agreement must ensure that international development finance should stop subsidising fossil fuel companies, and instead flow into renewable energy. All the NGOs vowed to continue their struggle around the world until these objectives were met.
