Fwd: [climate justice now!] SIGN-ON: Tell the EU to tackle vested interests at UN climate talks
Kjell Kühne
From: Pascoe Sabido <pas...@corporateeurope.org>
Date: Mon, Mar 26, 2018 at 7:34 AM
Subject: [climate justice now!] SIGN-ON: Tell the EU to tackle vested interests at UN climate talks
To: Climate Justice Network <c...@lists.riseup.net>
***Apologies for cross-posting***
Dear friends,
Please see if your organisation can sign-on to the letter we are sending to the EU as they decide their positions for the upcoming UN climate talks intercessionals in Bonn this April-May. We are calling on Commissioner Cañete, lead EU negotiator, to stop blocking and start supporting efforts to tackle vested interests at the talks. The influence of the fossil fuel industry on climate policymaking is one of the main reasons we've failed to adequately address the problem.
The letter has been drafted by six Brussels-based organisations,
but we want to have as many groups as possible sign-on, not just
from Brussels or the EU, but from all those countries affected by
EU climate policies (which means everyone everywhere). see
below for background info.
Add your organisation to the letter here: https://goo.gl/forms/8U32Pj7LtG3BjvUE2
The deadline is Friday April 6th.
Please also feel free to send this around your networks.
Cheers,
Pascoe
Background:
The fossil fuel industry is not just one of the greatest
contributors to climate change, but also one of the biggest
blockers of ambitious and effective climate action through its
influence over policy making. Rather than recognising this, the UN
climate talks have increasingly involved those same industries in
the process, despite their vested interest in trying to weaken and
delay it. But over the past two years countries representing
almost 70% of the world's population have
been calling for guidelines dealing with conflicts of
interest and lobbying, like the World Health Organisation introduced
for the tobacco industry.
The European Union, alongside the USA and Australia, has consistently
obstructed attempts to address conflicts of interest at the
UN climate talks. However, the latest round of preparatory
negotiations takes place in Bonn at the end of April and one of
the key issues being negotiated will be conflicts of interest of
participants (it will be under the heading "non-Party stakeholder
engagement", be part of AIM under SBI in the UNFCCC).
The letter has been drafted by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), European Environmental Bureau (EEB), European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), Friends of the Earth Europe (FOEE), Greenpeace and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL).
Text of the letter:
To: European Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete
Cc: European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič
Cc: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
Dear Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete
Subject: EU must support tackling vested interests at UN climate talks
For the world to reach the necessary ambition to achieve our climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, which would keep average global temperature rises well below 2°C and even 1.5°C, the EU, led by the European Commission, must start supporting efforts to tackle vested interests within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
We, XX civil society organisations working in Brussels and in countries affected by EU climate policies, are therefore deeply concerned that the same polluting corporations whose actions largely contribute to climate change - chief among them fossil fuel companies and their lobby groups - are using their involvement in the UNFCCC talks to delay action and hold back the needed ambition.[1] We are also concerned at the frequent privileged access they enjoy.
You have a great deal of responsibility in deciding whether the EU aligns itself with the interests of polluters or all those working for a just transformation of our energy system and economy. We call on you to show leadership and to ensure the integrity of the UNFCCC, one of the only democratic international spaces where climate change can be addressed, by supporting an effective conflict of interest policy at the upcoming UNFCCC negotiations this April-May in Bonn.
For the past two years, countries representing nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population have consistently called upon the UNFCCC to address this problem, calling for the adoption of a definition of a conflict of interest as well as the introduction of a rigorous conflict of interest policy framework. They have been joined by numerous civil society organisations in the global South and North representing youth, indigenous people, women, and those on the frontlines of climate change.[2]
All recognise the importance of increasing engagement with ‘non-party stakeholders’, but an effective conflict of interest policy would do so without undermining strong climate action. Such an approach is commonplace and was also adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (UNFCTC), which the European Commission is a signatory of, in order to protect public health policymaking from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.[3]
The European Parliament passed a resolution in October 2017 calling for “the issue of vested or conflicting interests be addressed” and for “guidelines”,[4] but the European Union has continued to block progress, alongside historic polluters like the USA and Australia.
We call on you to listen to the European Parliament, to align yourself with those governments fighting for greater ambition on behalf of populations already feeling the impact, and not with President Trump and the same Big Oil, Gas and Coal corporations who are profiting from destroying the climate.
Yours sincerely,
Genon Jensen, Executive Director, Health and Environment Alliance
Jagoda Munic, Director, Friends of the Earth Europe
Jeremy Wates, Secretary General, European Environment Bureau
Jorgo Riss, Director, Greenpeace European Unit
Nina Renshaw, Secretary General, European Public Health Alliance
Pascoe Sabido, Researcher, Corporate Europe Observatory
On behalf of:
XXXX
-- Pascoe Sabido Researcher and Campaigner Corporate Europe Observatory *Please note that I don't work on Fridays* London: +44 (0) 7969 665 189 Brussels: +32 (0) 486 857 416 Twitter: @PascoeSabido Skype: PascoeSabido http://corporateeurope.org/ EU Transparency Register ID Number: 5353162366-85
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