Copenhagen talks must reflect reality of poor countries

A draft leaked earlier this week is particularly weak on the crunch issues, Oxfam warned, such as long-term financing (including where money to pay for mitigation and adaptation will come from and how much); a binding regime for emissions reductions that has a compliance mechanism and unambitious emission reductions by rich nations.

If there is a hard global cap (2020, 2050 or any other) and rich countries do less than their fair share, poor countries are forced to do far more though with no funding it's likely that the emissions simply won't be cut.

"This flawed process is an important reminder that time is running out and the Danes are preparing a fall back plan. This must be a wakeup call to negotiators to move ahead with far more urgency. It is time for delegates, particularly those from the rich countries, to listen, to negotiate and not just repeat the same old positions," said Oxfam Canada policy coordinator Mark Fried.

There are some positive elements to draw on from the document, including a new fund with equitable governance, predictable financing and direct access for developing countries, all under control of the UN climate convention; funding for developing countries from taxing airline and maritime fuels (bunker fuels) and strong language on gender equality.

'As Canadians, if we were thinking first and foremost about climate change from the perspective of what we read in the newspapers every day, we would think that climate change is a threat that is looming in the horizon some decades away, Oxfam Canada executive director Robert Fox said at an event on Monday night.

Oxfam's work on the ground, however, bears witness to the fact that women in Africa, Asia and the Americas have been dealing with climate change for decades now.

'The impact of climate change is not something you measure in parts per million or degrees centigrade, he said. 'It's actually measured in how many hours per day women are walking in the search for water.

He was concerned about the impact this had on their capacity to survive and to thrive. Young girls are pulled out of school as they are engaged in the daily demands of these rigorous tasks.

Fox referred to a recent trip to Mozambique. 'When you say you are meeting with farmers, he said, 'you are basically saying you are meeting with women, because they do most of the farming there.

The women were concerned that on Oct. 25, which is the day that predictably the rains come, nothing had happened. It had now been several years in sequence in which historical patterns that had not only defined the production cycle but their cycle of life, have been disrupted by the fact that the rains are not coming.

When they do come, they come as cyclones and floods.

'The balance that historically communities have counted upon is completely out of whack and it means that in our response to global climate changes, it cannot just be about...controlling greenhouse gases, but it also has to be realized that severe damage has already happened.

He reiterated the need to commit funds to poor countries to ensure they adapt their lives and modes of livelihood in order to restore balance and sustain their aspirations for a safe and productive environment.

The Copenhagen conference continues again today. Bangladesh has already asked that any climate adaptation fund give the country 15 per cent of the fund.

According to the COP15 website, if the sea levels were to rise by one meter, at least 20 million Bangladeshis would be displaced. The situation would become grave if the glaciers on the Himalayas were also to melt due to global warming.