“The U.S. is acting like a bully, strong-arming the most vulnerable countries to get them to sign onto an ineffective and unfair deal that will not move the world closer to a just climate agreement”, said Friends of the Earth US Policy Analyst, Kate Horner, according to a press statement issued Monday.

“In particular, the Obama administration is punishing Bolivia for being a true climate champion. Bolivia challenges the business-as-usual approach promoted by rich industrialized countries by demanding fair compensation for developing countries and communities that face impacts from a climate crisis that they did not cause”, she added.

In the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Copenhagen in December, 2009, there were several negotiations held “under the table”, in an antidemocratic way. The industrialized countries tried to “kill” the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which binds them to reduce their pollutant emissions.

The rich countries should also finance adaptation and mitigation projects in the Global South, and transfer technology so that the South can have a sustainable development. The industrialized world does not want to comply with these commitments. That´s why the US is promoting the Copenhagen Accord, which does not set specific emission reduction goals.

In fact, 82 countries are rejecting the Accord because it lacks proposals, important emission reduction goals and financial aid support to put an end to climate change. Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, for instance, rejected it formally, just as Bolivia. So far, there are 110 countries which signed the accord or announced that they will.

Although the US parliament has not made it official yet, the Obama´s administration decided to deny Bolivia and Ecuador financial aid.

“There’s funding that was agreed to as part of the Copenhagen accord, the US is going to use its funds to go to countries that have indicated an interest to be part of the accord," the state department envoy, Todd Stern, told the Washington Post.

Horner said “Developed countries like the U.S. should be following the example set by Bolivia and working to rebuild the trust that was shattered in Copenhagen. The Obama administration’s bullying is especially galling given how little money the U.S. has actually put on the table to help developing countries address climate change, not to mention that our country’s own greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated.”

Photo: Real World Radio