COP 21: it could have been worse, it should have been better!

The climate summit COP 21 was held in Paris from November 29 to December 12, 2015. It brought together delegates from 195 countries who have finally signed an agreement to the great satisfaction of Laurent Fabius, french Minister of Foreign Affairs, organizer of this UN conference. According to many observers, this agreement has the merit of having at least forced all the countries to negotiate and to take stock of the issues; but for others, particularly the members of 130 organizations of the Climate 21 Coalition, this agreement is not satisfactory with regards to the climate emergency.

“This “universal agreement” signed at the Bourget is not the one we wanted: it is a modest seedy arrangement between selfish nations who want to negotiate with the climate,” denounces the Economist Geneviève Azam, Member of Attac France, which has been very involved since 2008 in the climate negotiations (see the analysis by Jean Gadrey: COP 21: in comparison to what it could have been, the agreement is a miracle. In comparison to what it should have been, it is a disaster).

On the other hand, the Climate 21 coalition won its wager. A strong mobilization took place despite the protest ban and draconian security measures linked to the terrorist attacks of November 13.

In Montreuil, a Citizen Summit on climate took place bringing together a Farmers market, the Global alternatives village and a Forum on the climate which was held with 196 chairs confiscated from banks that have favoured tax evasion. Such event was held on December 4 and 5 and was attended by 30000 people (see the illustrated report: http://coalitionclimat21.org/fr/contenu/la-chronique-de-tommy-dessine-0).

The ZAC (Zone of climate action) hosted numerous conferences, workshops and cultural events. Naomi Klein in particular denounced the danger posed by the signing of the treaties such as TAFTA and TTIP, which would leave ample space to multinationals for their extraction and land-grabbing activities.

“The last word” claimed by the Coalition took the form of a human chain made by citizens wearing red clothes or accessory to mean “red line” not to cross, i.e. the 1,5°C global warming, in particular by ceasing the extraction of fossile energies.

What was particularly striking within these citizen assemblies was the presence of many foreigners who had made the trip to witness the climate emergency and damage already underway in their countries and the massive presence of young people concerned primarily with issues of climate degradation.

For the Coalition, the 12^th of December is not the end but the beginning of mobilizations; in particular a large rally is planned in Berlin during the first quarter of 2016.

[JC]