– President urges climate negotiators in Cancun
–  says ‘Sincerity’ among major players a big test
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo has urged all activists, negotiators, governments, private sector officials and others who have contributed so much to the progress made thus far in the relentless battle against Climate Change to “keep working” and “don’t give up”. “If you care about the future of our planet, you must not give up. The goals we aspire to are too important,” appealed President Jagdeo in a passionate address yesterday at the 16th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

Recognising the genuine dedication and hard work by negotiators, especially over the past two weeks leading up to the current high-level Climate Change meeting in Mexico, President Jagdeo said that, despite the specific differences that are an inevitability of any international endeavour, “the vast majority of our negotiators  – from all countries – have been steadfast in their sincere conviction that we can create a better world for our children and future generations”.

“In this building over the past two weeks, we have seen yet again how hard our negotiators work, and how genuinely dedicated they are to averting human catastrophe on a scale never seen before,” the Guyanese Head-of-State told the meeting.

Quote“…it would be a mistake of profound historical consequence if this test of sincerity was failed by those who pledged to provide the financing. If individual members of the developed world cheat even on the financing commitments of the Copenhagen Accord, they will send a disastrous signal that they are not up to the challenge of defeating climate change.”  – President Jagdeo

“We should be grateful for their work. But we have known for some time that negotiations grounded in rigid country positions can only go so far.

“Our negotiators have helped us to reach a point where we know the issues, we have the analysis we need, and we know each other’s considerations.
“But this is not enough,” President Jagdeo declared.

He said what is long overdue is translating negotiating positions into meaningful collective action. “And we have long known that this can only happen if political leaders make the necessary decisions and stick to them,” Mr. Jagdeo stated.

“We all accept – most of us reluctantly – that we cannot secure a global, legally binding climate agreement here. But what we can secure are decisions to make progress across a number of areas that advance our work towards such an agreement,” President Jagdeo posited.

“We can make progress on addressing deforestation and forest degradation, we can make progress on the mechanics of a green fund to help invest in mitigation and in adaptation to help the most vulnerable, we can make progress on technology transfer and we can make progress on financing. But ultimately, the question at Cancun is more profound than might be implied by simply listing these areas for action.

“Ultimately, the question at Cancun is a question of ‘Sincerity’,” President Jagdeo declared.

The following is the full address by the Guyanese Head-of-State at the UNFCCC meeting in Mexico yesterday:
Madame President
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

In this building over the past two weeks, we have seen yet again how hard our negotiators work, and how genuinely dedicated they are to averting human catastrophe on a scale never seen before.

Despite the specific differences that are an inevitability of any international endeavour, the vast majority of our negotiators  – from all countries – have been steadfast in their sincere conviction that we can create a better world for our children and future generations.

We should be grateful for their work. But we have known for some time that negotiations grounded in rigid country positions can only go so far. Our negotiators have helped us to reach a point where we know the issues, we have the analysis we
need, and we know each other’s considerations.

But this is not enough. What is long overdue is translating negotiating positions into meaningful collective action. And we have long known that this can only happen if political leaders make the necessary decisions and stick to them.

Last year we saw an unprecedented level of high level political attendance at a COP. This year that has dwindled.

If this process of down-grading political leadership on climate change continues, the decisions needed to create a better future for our planet will not be made. Future generations will not forgive us if this happens.

Yet the foundations for making those decisions are in place. Thanks to the excellent work of the Mexican Presidency and others, we once more have the basis for international collective action on climate change.

I wish to express our collective gratitude to the Mexican Government, but especially to you Madame President and President Calderon for the hard work you have done to make this conference a success. Any failure to reach a success here this week will not be because of the lack of effort on the part of Mexico.

Ladies and Gentlemen: We all accept – most of us reluctantly – that we cannot secure a global, legally binding climate agreement here.

But what we can secure are decisions to make progress across a number of areas that advance our work towards such an agreement.

We can make progress on addressing deforestation and forest degradation, we can make progress on the mechanics of a green fund to help invest in mitigation and in adaptation to help the most vulnerable, we can make progress on technology transfer and we can make progress on financing.

But ultimately, the question at Cancun is more profound than might be implied by simply listing these areas for action.

Ultimately, the question at Cancun is a question of ‘Sincerity’. And I think that there are 3 ways in which that sincerity is being tested today.

One, even if we accept we cannot secure a legally binding agreement here, are we sincere in our commitment to securing one as soon as possible?  Can we find a way through our differences on the form of that agreement, and can we leave here having set out a specific path to achieve a legally binding agreement?

Two, is the developed world sincere in its commitment to provide immediate action on financing for the developing world?  In many ways, this is the defining test of international sincerity.  I recognise that not every country here supports the Copenhagen Accord, and that many associated themselves with the accord reluctantly.

But even those that chose for their own legitimate reasons not to support the Accord can welcome some of its elements, especially those that relate to financing.

Therefore, it would be a mistake of profound historical consequence if this test of sincerity was failed by those who pledged to provide the financing. If individual members of the developed world cheat even on the financing commitments of the Copenhagen Accord, they will send a disastrous signal that they are not up to the challenge of defeating climate change.

The potential for progress will rapidly dwindle, and those of us who have expended extensive political capital in trying to mobilise public support for action on climate change will see that support retreat.

Specifically, and most immediately, we must see a stop to the repackaging
of existing aid commitments as part of the US$30 billion that was promised for the period 2010-2012.

The glossy brochures and propaganda, implying progress where there is none, are corrosive to progress.

We have not even collectively defined the eligibility criteria that are consistent with the Copenhagen Accord for how this money will be invested – if we do not know something as basic as that, how can we pretend that the money is being disbursed?

This is very, very serious. If the US$30 billion promised at Copenhagen for the period 2010 to 2012 starts to resemble the kind of dubious accounting that created the financial crisis, then it will worsen, not help solve, the climate crisis.

The third test of international sincerity is whether we reassert our commitment to being driven by science – and specifically by the analysis contained in the IPCC reports.

As things stand, we are a long way off delivering against a set of commitments that are aligned with any meaningful reading of the scientific facts.

The recent gap report by the United Nations Environment Programme showed that
even with the upper end of the commitments in the Copenhagen Accord, annual emissions by 2020 will still be between 5Gt and 9Gt short of the Accord’s goal of getting onto a 2 degree trajectory.

Let us think about this – and think about how history looks at previous generations who ignored science.

Will history judge us as the stupid generation that ignored the unassailable facts about climate change, because we caved in to ignorance and political expedience?
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we do not need to be the stupid generation.

We do not need to destroy the wonderful vision of international action that we can deliver together.

Instead, through the political resolve of the world’s leaders, we can turn climate change from being a catastrophic threat to our way of life into the biggest opportunity for collective human advancement in history.

The low carbon revolution that a fair, balanced global deal will create can be of benefit to all, it can lift billions in the developing world out of poverty by enabling them to participate in a new, global economy, and it can create a better future for our children and future generations.

In South America, our countries are leading the way towards this low carbon future.

At the summit of South American Presidents in Guyana two weeks ago at which Guyana assumed the Pro Tem Presidency of UNASUR, we highlighted that industries in our continent are the world’s leaders in clean transportation and sustainable forms of agriculture.

And through our stewardship of the Amazon and other forests, we provide the world with its largest climate utility. It would be a disgrace if the leadership shown by South American countries was not supported by meaningful international action.

We in Guyana are already implementing our Low Carbon Development Strategy, which combines the preservation of our 16 million hectare forest with a re-orientation of our economy onto a low carbon trajectory.

We are seeing that it is possible to make combating climate change and securing national development complementary, not competing, objectives.

So I urge all the activists, the negotiators, the governments, the private sector and others who have contributed so much to the progress we have made thus far, to keep working.

If you care about the future of our planet, you must not give up. The goals we aspire to are too important.
Thank You.