Prelude to Paris: Four Tragic Tactics by President Obama and Four Climate Justice Proposals He Must Support

The President is the main obstacle to progress in Paris. Contrary to his view that he is “dragging the world behind me to Paris” (as he told Rolling Stone) most U.N. delegates see the President and the U.S. as the main obstacles to a strong agreement in Paris. The UNFCCC has been working for a year to reach an agreement on the final text of a document – The Durban Platform. This, while not binding, could possibly set a high moral and scientific standard for emission reductions and, like the Pope Francis’ Climate Encyclical, create a moral pressure on governments. Third World governments are proposing language based on what is called “common but differentiated responsibilities” that calls on the primary polluters to make the largest cuts. There is proposed language for what is called “loss and damages” that would require the large polluters – U.S., Canada, E.U – to make massive payments, specifically $100 billion a year, into a Green Climate Fund to “developing countries.” This would be used to facilitate their transition to less polluting and zero emission development and to give “technology transfers” from the “developed nations” to the “developing nations.” And yet, at every daily debate of the governments, the U.S., the E.U., and JUSCANZ, have blocked any language in the document in that direction. The last preparatory conference in Bonn, October 19-24, was marked by bitter denunciations from many Third World nations of “powerful forces” who were blocking any strong statements.

This battle is not over, as many representatives of the G77 and China served notice there would be very contested negotiations in Paris, to prevent a cover up masked as a coronation. And yet, many seasoned delegates from governments and NGOs told me they fear that President Obama will recreate his power play at the 2009 Copenhagen COP, where he came in at the last minute and pushed through a draft agreement that undermined all the work that others had done – and undermined what was left of the Kyoto agreements. In their view, President Obama shifted the burden from the U.S. and the E.U. to China and India. From President Obama’s point of view, as he boasted to Jeff Goodell of Rolling Stone, in Copenhagen, he “crashed” a meeting of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, China, India) because he felt that the work they were doing was “a disorganized mess.” He felt he had to “rescue” all the parties by “strong arming” them to agree that “it wasn’t enough just for the advanced countries to act – that China, India, and others, despite having much lower per-capita carbon footprints, given the sheer size of their populations and how rapidly they were developing, were going to have to put some skin in the game as well.”

An alternative view, from the most militant climate organizers with whom I have spoken, in both India and China, is that President Obama, in fact, did not lead with addressing the U.S.’ historical responsibilities, but rather, resorted to what they called, “India and China bashing.” And his “strong arming” was little more than Great Power Bullying. While it was a public relations victory for the president, in their view, his heavy handed behavior, in fact, set back the world climate movement immeasurably.

I have spoken with representatives of the Small Island States at the U.N. – Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Samoa – who have begged the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to stop the floods and destruction of their islands and cultures. They observed, “The President has refused, telling us he can’t get a strong commitment through a Republican Congress. But we feel it is he who does not really want to do it – for all he has to do is make the case and make the Republicans look bad. But the U.S. is too powerful for us to challenge them directly. That is your job.”

Four Climate Justice Proposals for Paris

My organization is going to Paris with four action proposals that we are asking the president to endorse and for which we will be organizing international support.