Gideon Polya, "Developing Nations, Copenhagen & Climate Genocide. Developing Nations must urgently defend themselves from Australia-, US- and First World-imposed climate genocide", MWC News, 18 December 2009.
The following letter has been sent to Island Nation leaders, Developing Nation leaders and global media in the interests of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, Humanity and the Biosphere.
Developing Nations, Copenhagen & Climate Genocide. Developing Nations must urgently defend themselves from Australia-, US- and First World-imposed climate genocide.
Top climate scientists, including the UK Royal Society Coral Working Party, say that we must urgently return the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration from a current, dangerous 390 parts per million (ppm) to a safe and sustainable level of 300-350 ppm for a safe planet for all people and all species. This means doing everything we can immediately to avoid more than a 1.5 degree C temperature rise – rapid implementation of renewable energy, geothermal energy, re-afforestation and return of carbon to the soil as biochar coupled with progressive cessation of fossil fuel burning, deforestation, methanogenic livestock production and population growth. [1, 2].
Fundamental to any international agreement on national rights to pollute our common atmosphere and oceans should be the belief that “all men are created equal”. However reality is otherwise: “annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution” in units of “tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year” (2005-2008 data) is 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), less than 3 (many African and Island countries), 3.2 (the Developing World), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 16 (the Developed World), 27 (the US) and 30 (Australia; or 54 if Australia’s huge Exported CO2 pollution is included). [3, 4].
The fairest plan at Copenhagen has been the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) proposal for "55% of 1990 levels by 2020 for Developed Countries" which means that Developed Countries’ per capita would go from 16 to 6.5 tonnes CO2-e per person per year while Developing Countries would "in aggregate aim to achieve significant deviations from baselines by 2020” i.e. less than a predicted 3.8 for the Developing World by 2020. [5].
The UN Draft Proposal is for a less just Developed 2020 per capita of 7.1- 8.9 from the present 16 but the US has proposed a 2020 per capita for itself of 12.4 from its current 27. [5].
The most unjust plan at Copenhagen comes from world's worst per capita GHG polluter, Australia, which has made a highly conditional best offer of "75% of 2000 value by 2020" which would mean that Australia's domestic per capita would go from 30 to 17.2 in 2020 and its domestic plus exported per capita would INCREASE 15% from 54 to 62 tonnes CO2-e per person per year in 2020. [5].
Both Dr James Lovelock FRS (Gaia hypothesis) and Professor Kevin Anderson ( Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, UK) have recently estimated that fewer than 1 billion people will survive this century due to unaddressed, man-made global warming – these estimates translating to a climate genocide involving deaths of 10 billion people this century, this including 6 billion under-5 year old infants, 3 billion Muslims, 2 billion Indians, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis. [6].
Just as it helped the US sabotage the Kyoto (1997), Bali (2007) and Poznan (2008) Climate Conferences, polluter- and US-beholden Australia, the world’s worst per capita GHG polluter, has done everything it can to sabotage the Copenhagen Conference by participating in a secret US-led cabal; supporting a derisory global $10 billion adaptation package (enough for one ice cream to everyone in the Developing World each year); falsification of its GHG pollution accounts; commitment to dangerous global warming of 2 degrees C; commitment to continuing massive fossil fuel burning (it is the world’s biggest coal exporter and a major LNG exporter); permanent commitment to over 50% of its current huge domestic GHG pollution by permanent exclusion of agriculture from consideration; bullying Island Nations; resolute opposition to any approach to just national targets that must be the core of any agreement; and, as publicly exposed by the African and Chinese negotiators, by simple 2-faced lying.
First World-imposed climate racism, climate injustice, climate terrorism and climate genocide are acute realities already impacting on the Developing World and in particular on Island Nations such as Tuvalu and mega-delta nations such as Bangladesh. [7].
Island Nations, African Nations and indeed all Developing Nations must respond immediately to the Australia- and US-engineered failure of the crucial Copenhagen Summit by immediately targeting Australia and, in general, climate criminal, climate racist, climate terrorist and climate genocidal people, politicians, corporations and countries, with Sanctions, Boycotts, Green Tariffs, Reparations Demands through the International Court of Justice, Climate Genocide prosecutions before the International Criminal Court and exclusion of climate criminal nations from international bodies such as the Commonwealth and the South Pacific Forum – failure to act will make Developing Nations complicit in their own destruction. [8].
Yours sincerely,
Dr Gideon Polya, Convenor 300.org: http://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/Home (Macleod, Melbourne, Victoria 3085, Australia).
[1]. “300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm”: http://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org---return-atmosphere-co2-to-300-ppm .
[2]. Yarra Valley Climate Action Group “Climate Emergency facts & required actions”: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/climate-emergency-facts-and-required-actions .
[3]. “List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhouse_gas_emissions_per_capita .
[4]. “Climate justice & climate injustice: Australia wants a 2020 per capita GHG pollution 15 times greater than Developing World’s”: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/climate-justice .
[5]. “Copenhagen Greenhouse Gas reduction proposals - quantitative comparisons”: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/copenhagen-greenhouse-gas-reduction-proposals---quantitative-comparisons .
[6]. “Climate racism, climate injustice & climate genocide – Australia, US and EU sabotage Copenhagen COP15”: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article19422 .
[7]. “Climate Disruption, Climate Emergency, Climate Genocide & Penultimate Bengali Holocaust through Sea Level Rise”: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/climate-disruption-climate-emergency-climate-genocide-penultimate-bengali-holocaust-through-sea-level-rise .
[8]. Formal complaint to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court re Australian Government involvement in Aboriginal Genocide, Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide and Climate Genocide:http://climateemergency.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html .