linked text of the draft Copenhagen 'Agreement' that an African leader on CBC Radio 8 am news stated 'Condemned 80% of the world's population to Suffering'. He was a good speaker. Each word sank in well because it was said slowly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/08/copenhagen-climate-change
i'm going to go through this, bit by bit.
First concern in this document -the targets are insufficient, and not to be achieved until 2020 or 2050. toast.
Second - [hm, can't cut and paste from the draft there, willhave to type out quotes]
"technical assistance including for risk reduction and provide financial risk transfer such as insurance."
!!! GREAT!!! Solve the Climate Crisis with an Insurance company !!! !@%*)!@
[breathing deeply before next paragraph]
Next- the developed countries are to use the "purchase of international offset credits" - ie. They will use electronic financial 0's and 1's to mystify their way out of making any real change.
Next - the section 12 on forest cover "enhancing removals by increasing forest cover" is a greenwash way of saying "clearcut and replace with genetically engineered monoculture replants courtesy of global biotech", or make sure the cutting is done in some places and bought off with monoculture replants.
Next - the "broad and liquid carbon market" will be the rising seas.
Next-All Parties, including "those in need", are to "purchase essential energy services...adopting domestic policies aiming at payment for actual consumption of energy". Gone is any sense that essential services are a public trust and human right.
[i have to get the fire going again, it's getting cold in this house with the blizzard. maybe someone else can review too. i'm hoping to get back also]
All that "puchasing" of essential services in the context of WTO, EU, NAFTA, and Canadian interprovincial 'trade' deals means that procurement of essential services will be forcibly provided by profiteering global bankers/corporations over domestic suppliers and public employees.
Next- "transparency concerning consumption and cost of energy should be increased." They should add to this, "and transparency and full public auditing of all public or private banking, insurance, or other financial transactions."
Skimming to the Appendices titles (full of text of which aren't available online at the guardian) the entire process - with charts for countries to fill in how much they're going to pledge to this process -is looking like another huge public giveaway to private banking/insurance/and other corporations.
The 'Response' measures call for "structured" response and link to Appendices reiterating the market mechanisms, and relating as well to technology, communications, and governance of the Climate Fund.
nb. Notice all the war terminology- the "Bunker" section, or to "develop, diffuse, deploy" technology. So troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere will now have a mandate to protect the corporate public-private 'partnership'-owned/run water dams and electrical infrastructure. eg. of SNC Lavalin infrastructure and its 'proprietary rights' under free trade intellectual property rights and other provisions. 'Green' tech will be securitized. The optics will look great for the big corporations- they'll be able to call any resident who tries to regain control over their own environmental assets a 'terrorist' and have legal grounds for more war.
And not just in Afghanistan, but on this continent too. Our so-called 'green' regulations - eg. the Ontario FIT program regs, are handing over the rights to source environmental attributes to the infrastructure profiteers.
[a few pages to go, i need a coffee.]
Well,there it is in the "Technology" section- public-private investments triggering the rigged 'trade' deals, "transfers"- I wonder if that includes water transfers..."protecting the legitimate interests of public and private innovators." code for banker rights over human rights and Earth's rights, as spelled out in the rigged 'free trade' deals.
It would be nice to see the details of that "Technology Mechanism".
Under the financing section of the Draft," Developed country parties commit to deliver upfront public financing for 2010-201[2] corresponding on average to [10] billion USD annually for early action, capacity building, technology and strengthening adaptation and mitigation readiness in developing countries as set forth in Attachment C". It is important to see who, exactly, in developed countries has the financial wherewithal to put up this money- A Fully Public and Independent Audit of all Financiers/Insurers/ and financial and speculative transactions is necessary to determine who can pay. Those specifically who have profitted in the past from climate change owe the most debt.
Section 22: Governance: A "Climate Fund" is to be set up as an entity of a "Financial Mechanism of the Convention", under the COP (which means? Conference of Parties to the Convention?) who elect the Climate Fund board in a "balanced" way. This sounds like the "balance" clauses in WTO deals which give legal power to private players, regardless of who sits on the board. The Parties are also to set up an "International Climate Financing Board", same deal. Lots of nice new names for same-old transfer of funds to private profiteers. Noticeably, the details on further financing mechanisms are yet-to-be-revealed. Ditto for the proposed "Registry" pt.29, and its "professional secretariat...to prepare and propose the accounting standards for MRV of specific mitigation action and of financing. [further tasks]".
Section VI: sure there will be lots of measurement, reporting and verification of the public monies handed over, we just won't have a clue of what the private players who get all our money actually do with it, other than a few showcase projects likely.
Point 27: Ultimately the measurement, reporting and verification is to be translated into "emissions reductions" as calculated in the mystical O's and 1's of the carbon market. I can see the leveraged numbers spinning off into the stratosphere. A climate market bubble burst will coincide with meltdown, economically and ecologically.
It is beginning to be very clear that any linkage to markets and existing trade regimes is going to simply disappear not only public funds given, but also any actual physical reduction of emissions at source. Mysteriously, though, the 'carbon market' 0's and 1's and greenwash projects will tell us, through the "communication mechanism" that 'we are achieving goals' (translate- a very few will make a hell of a lot of money while the planet burns.)
Section: Communications; lots of focus on the [future public] regs which will detail [consumer] "pricing", [public] "provision of finance" for "potential" [Banker Profits].
"Financial flows from the international carbon market should be monitored and recognized separately." [NOT IN THIS DOC, LATER, NEVER].
Last Section: The Copenhagen Process; keep talking, drag this out, make it sound good, make sure all countries get the banker noose tied around their necks.
The African leader pretty much summed it up. Maybe up it to 99% of the world's population will suffer from the Copenhagen Draft here.