- A few days before the inauguration of the 20th Conference on Climate Change in Lima, social movement groups are demanding that the government enact environmentally responsible policies.
Telesur, 14November 2014.- With Lima receiving representatives from all over the world for the COP20, set to begin in 17 days, social organizations demanded on Thursday that the Peruvian government set an example of responsible environmental policy.
Groups include NGOs, labor unions, churches, and indigenous, women’s and youth groups. Uniting to form the COP20 Peru Group, they are organizing an alternative event called the People’s Summit, which will run alongside the official COP20.
The COP20 is the 20th official climate change conference of the United Nations, and will be held from December 1 to 12 this year. The People’s Summit will run from December 9 to 12, with organizers planning a large demonstration on December 10 called World March in Defense of Mother Earth.
Representatives of environmental struggles around the world will attend the People’s Summit and participate in the protest, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, world renowned Indian environment leader Vandana Shiva, and actor and environment activist Leonardo Di’ Caprio.
During today’s press conference, representatives of the COP20 Peru Group outlined their demands, “We believe that, in our country, a process of dialogue and consultation with the people affected must be established for all policies that deal with the preservation of the environment, climate change, and massive extraction projects,” asserted Ibis Fernandez Honores, head of the Ecology and Environmental Department of the Peruvian National Workers Confederation (CGTP).
Similarly, Antolin Huascar Flores, President of the National Agrarian Confederation, denounced the way the current administration has been adopting the country’s strategy for climate change. He stated that, “We reject the not very transparent way in which the last version of the official national strategy for climate change has been put together. We have participated, we have contributed from our organizations, but little or nothing is included; our voices are not binding.”
For Flores, the inclusion of community groups and organizations is crucial.
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