As I sat in my Comparative Labor Movements class last Thursday, I felt that we could not have had a better and more relevant discussion in relation to my travels to Durban for COP17. The topic was focused around United Nations framework of Human Rights, the struggles of indigenous populations and peasants, within this context, and some historical reference to La Via Campesina, an international worker organization that advocates for the rights of agricultural workers. We discussed various U.N. processes and meetings, and really tried to get a deeper understanding of why it is even relevant to embark on the creation “Declaration of Human Rights” documents and to continue to hold conferences and conventions as a method of establishing this documents.
There were some in my class who were very cynical of such processes and believed that nothing could be achieved through United Nation negotiations. As a participant of the People’s World Conference on Climate Change, I have seen how people power can produce something great, the Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, a document that came out of these discussions is one evidence of this. Although this conference was in many ways directly tied to the UN process, that wasn’t what necessarily made it important or pivotal. The collective action, the sincere display of democratic participation and the declaration of rights and justice in such a bold way is what made the moment historical. The United Nations process was simply a context in which all of these actions would take place.
I just traveled from New York to D.C, to Amsterdam and then to Cape Town. Yesterday morning I arrived in Durban, for the COP17 Conference. When I came into the airport, there was a large poster welcoming the participants who are coming to South Africa for the COP17 Meeting. There seems to be a lot of excitement locally for this event. I picked up a local paper and there was an article that was dedicated to explaining a brief history of the event and what some of the work has been locally to prepare for the discussions.
In “The Times”, which looks very familiar to a smaller version of the New York Times (www.timeslive.co.za) there was an entire page spread that reviewed some of the local initiatives related to climate change. The Gauteng Province(where Johannesburg is located), particularly the Agriculture and Rural Development sector of government has created a “Gauteng Climate Change Response Strategy (GCCRS) and Action Plan”. As you can imagine it is made of all the great things that you could possibly ask for in a Climate Action Plan. I was impressed by its attention to both the environmental and social needs of people. Several of the recommendations were specific to low income populations. Some of the progressive policies included “Gauteng government and municipalities require that all new subsidized housing incorporate basic passive energy features, such as north-facing house orientation and ceiling insulation. Support and develop waste collection cooperatives so that informal waste collectors can integrate, improve and regularize their operations. GDARD and GDLG &H to promote research in design, thermal efficiency and emission performance of domestic stoves in terms of improving indoor air quality, especially in low income housing. Promulgate building regulations to require all new buildings over a certain value to install solar (or equivalent green technologies) for the supply of water heating”. (The Times, December 5th 2011)
In addition to these particular recommendations that caught my eye, the action plan listed a series of other measures that are critical to any climate action plan, including an aggressive attempt to integrate energy efficiency principles into green building design, construction, and maintenance, a complete makeover of the waste management systems, with efforts to increase reuse of materials and pump up recycling efforts.
There was an entire section devoted to water conservation and I was impressed that the Agriculture Plan included projections for job creation in this particular sector and a commitment to using land (in high and low income areas) for food production and local food security measures.
2011, is officially the year of the Cooperative for the United Nations (http://social.un.org/coopsyear/), and as a board member of a local cooperative, I am always keeping my eyes and ears open when I hear about various developments to promote cooperative business models and to educate the general public on what these models look like.
I was so glad to see this show up in a official climate change planning document, it is something that I believe should receive more promotion and support in the U.S. and is a great way to diversify economic opportunities and to go beyond the traditional “employer” and “employee” labor management structure to create a more dynamic and fluid economic environment.
I am eager to engage in dialogue around all the topics mentioned here, not to mention to understand the different roles organizations plan on planning through out the negotiations. Besides affiliations with Green for All, I am also present at the negotiations on behalf of my employer, The Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College, I am a part of the SustainUs network and I am also an Oxfam International Youth Partner and plan to connect with Oxfam representatives and other OIYP members who will be doing work in Durban. If you haven’t check out all the awesome work that Oxfam engages in around environmental and poverty related issues, I suggest you check them out (www.oxfam.org).
As an educator and activist, I find it critical to take in as much relevant and inspiring information, applicable to local projects back at home. And I feel the responsibility to be a consistent voice in the climate justice dialogue, pushing for these talks to have a greater responsibility and accountability to creating policies and initiatives to move the world along the pathway of more sustainable development, while we create concrete changes in our communities
Thank you for weaving so many strands of the climate justice web together in this post and in your life, Jameelah. I do think it is important to point out, however, that the UN did not provide the context for the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, at least not any more than Apartheid provided the context for Nelson Mandela. It was precisely the lack of democratic space and disinterest in true solutions to climate change that provoked Bolivia to convoke a separate conference that would actually engage the masses and prioritize harmony with Mother Earth. The UN has fought the documents and points of view generated by this conference ever since.
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