I am so disappointed and frustrated with the United States and President Obama who spoke a short time ago. To me his talk was arrogant and bullying and the world community sitting here seems to feel the same. He proposed:
- Mitigation to reduce emissions of 17% of 2005 levels by 2020 while even Europe is proposing 20 percent reduction of 1990 levels and 30 percent if the world would join together.
- Transparency and a way to evaluate this by all nations
- Financing meaning 10 billion dollars by 2012 for fast financing and 100 billion dollars by 2020 joining with other industrialized nations.
President Obama proposed action to words. Here in the NGO hall there was no applause, but a pall.
President Morales of Bolivia and Chavez of Venezuela were given the floor to speak before the closing of the informal session.
They spoke words that many were feeling. They said the time had come to respect all and that President Obama offered nothing, has not been here with the other presidents for negotiations and then he came in a small door and left after his speech by a small door.
They said that they are leaving the meeting and that they cannot support what has happened in the proceedings that the hope is in the people and that the people worldwide must be polled to come up with an agreement because the people of the world want strong action.
President Chavez said that Obama received the Nobel Prize of War and that if the US was serious they would offer commit to real reductions and real money like the billions to bail the banks and the 700 billion a year for war. If Mother Earth was a bank she would have been bailed out.
Although these leaders leave, they leave with the hope of the people of the world organizing around saving lives and the earth. The fault that the conference has failed lies at the feet of the US and the capitalist system of greed and capitalism.
President Chavez said they support the Kyoto Protocol until there is a real agreement. While his words were very strong saying ultimately that in the world the US empire will leave the world as the President did through a very small back door and in an undignified way.
Âfter these speeches almost everyone here applauded out of relief of truths that had been spoken about inequality at a UN gathering of this magnitude where the future of the planet is at stake and greed continues to hold power
over the majority of the world.
Forgive the numerous communications this day, but it is such a grave turning
point for the planet.
More later.
Your sister in hope and reality,
Joan