50 months: Dario Kenner
new economics foundation
At the halfway point to a climate gamble, 50 contributor ideas give just a taste of the creativity and innovation available to us
Bolivian Climate Change Platform
People in Bolivia don't need to be told about the potential impacts of runaway climate change in 50 months' time. They already know from the melting glaciers and increasing extreme weather events like droughts, floods and forest fires.
Over the last few years I have witnessed the complete disconnect between the pace of UN climate negotiations and the changing climate in Bolivia. It's vital there is a global deal but we can't just wait for these talks to finish because by then it will be too late.
It's important to start recognising which "solutions" are not going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep warming below 2 degrees and focus our energies on the ones that will. Carbon markets and offsetting allow companies (e.g. via REDD+) and even most developed countries (e.g. via Clean Development Mechanism) to pay someone else so they can keep on polluting at the same rate that has caused climate change. And just as the financial crisis deepens there could be attempts to expand speculation and the logic of carbon markets via certain proposals for a "green economy" to greenwash the current system.
There are alternative ideas emerging in Bolivia based on the values of indigenous peoples that centre on the principle humans are part of nature and nature has rights. While it is unrealistic to expect a return to the pre-industrial era we do need to recognise our link with nature and the urgency to begin the transition to a new model of living.
The proposal for a Law of Mother Earth was put together by Bolivian civil society* and could be approved soon in Bolivia. It attempts to combine these indigenous visions with policy recommendations:
Water cannot be privatised because it's fundamental to life;
Tougher controls on deforestation and promotion of reforestation;
Sentences for crimes against Mother Earth such as the manufacture of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons;
Oil, gas and mining companies must repair environmental damage; mining companies must build treatment plants and recycle water;
Local organic food should be produced without damaging fertilisers;
Banning of biofuels;
Government should support renewable energies through subsidies and incentives;
Increased citizen participation in drafting legislation to protect the environment and monitor their implementation;
Apply right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consultation.
We need to drastically reduce fossil fuel energy use and rampant consumption that is fuelling climate change. It's time to change how we act and think so we can explore ways to live well in harmony with nature.
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