Antolín Huáscar: “The decisions made at COP20 are political, not environmental”

- Social organizations call to participate in the People's March on 10th December.

By Arnold Rodríguez

8th December, 2014.- The President of the National Agrarian Confederation (CNA) and spokesman for the People's Summit on Climate Change, Antolin Huascar, said that the decisions made at the COP20 are more political than environmental.

“The decisions made at COP20 are political and promote a green economy, they do not take into account the thousands of peoples who suffer from climate change, that is why we articulated the People's Summit, a space where everyone is invited" he said.

At a press conference carried out at the COP20 in the the pentagonito, Huascar stressed that the People's Summit was conceived as an interactive space where all voices will be heard.

“This event is not an anti-summit, is an alternative summit where people can express themselves and talk about themes that are not taken into account in the official COP20. For example: civilization and global warming, sustainable agriculture, ecosystem management and green jobs, among others", he stressed.

The work of indigenous peoples

Along with Huascar, Ibis Fernandez, National Coordinator of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP), and Gladis Vila Pihue, representative of the National Organization for Andean and Amazonian Women of Peru (ONAMIAP), who unveiled the program, presented the People's Summit.

The women leaders explained that they seek to strengthen a common agenda and to lobby decision makers in the official climate summit.

Vila highlighted the participation of indigenous Andean and Amazonian communities directly affected by the consequences of climate change.

"The work of indigenous women about these issues is essential; we defend the life of our Mother Earth. Beyond mitigation, the people that produce the world´s food need legal protection and adaptation plans" he said.

Vila also invited the whole society to participate in the People's March: "This 10th December is an important day, not only because is the Human Rights Day, the whole society is invited to the march to tell the world that we need concrete proposals addressing climate change", she concluded.

The People's Summit against Climate Change will be held in the Parque de la Exposición (Av. 28 de Julio S/N) on the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of December, with more than 200 registered conferences, presentations and other activities.

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Translated from Spanish by Luis Manuel Claps for SERVINDI and IWGIA.