World leaders gather in Paris Nov. 30-Dec. 11 for the COP21 climate talks. Activists and civil society hope the result is not another 'COP out' like the nonbinding, watered down agreement which came out of the 2009 Copenhagen talks.
As ALBA countries pointed out in a joint statement after the Copenhagen conference, the climate crisis is the result of the “imposition of an absolutely predatory model of development on the rest of the world” and that developing nations are “victims of a problem that we didn’t cause.” That’s why social movements and global south governments are also pushing for a deal that recognizes historically unequal contributions to climate change through the framework of climate justice.
By Marion Deschamps and Cyril Mychalejko
“What they have done in terms of (Saturday’s) agreement is really signed what we are calling a death warrant for the planet,” Cindy Weisner, national coordinator for Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, told teleSUR English. “I think for people it's a slow death that they are prescribing.” READ MORE
By Max Ajl
A meaningful and just climate agreement must address climate debt, differentiated responsibility, and the right to development for developing nations. The Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Delcy Rodriguez, explains that there is a “historic debt and ecological debt from the rich countries, to the poor ones.” READ MORE
By Gladys Vila Pihue
Although common sense indicates that it is no longer possible to address climate change only from an environmental approach, separated from human rights, women's rights are facing the same exclusion, even within our own national Indigenous organizations. READ MORE
By Betsy Hartmann and Jan Selby
The climate war drums first started beating loudly in 2007 and environmentalists have proven too eager to turn climate change into a national security threat. READ MORE
As world leaders gather in Paris for the two-week COP21 climate summit, here are five things you should know about the talks and what they mean for the climate. READ MORE
By Nate Singham
While corporate influence looks to undermine COP21 climate talks, Latin American leaders put forth grassroots, radical solutions to climate change. READ MORE
World leaders are one step closer to reaching a final climate deal at COP21, but critics say the text is still weak on key issues. “This is not near what we had hoped for,” Alyssa Johl, Senior Attorney with the Washington-based Center for International Environmental Law, told teleSUR.
teleSUR speaks to Manuel Criollo, the director of organizing at the U.S.-based Labor rights and environmental campaign group The Strategy Center about the possible failure of nations to reach an agreement in COP21 climate change talks and what any forthcoming pact could mean for Latin America. READ MORE
by Heather Gies
As world leaders try to reach a climate agreement at the Paris COP21 talks, teleSUR unmasks the dirty, unsustainable truth about oil palm plantations. READ MORE
According to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the U.S. agency spied on foreign climate negotiators at the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks and funneled the information to U.S. delegates. READ MORE
By Harsha Walia
A proposal to support climate refugees was dropped from the U.N. COP21 climate talks in Paris. Meanwhile, millions of people are treated as expendable as the land, air and water that elites and their corporate friends are digging up and polluting. READ MORE
“Paris must mark a decisive turning point,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon Monday as the COP21 climate summit kicked off. “We need to go much faster, much further if we are to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.” READ MORE
Ahead of the COP21, environmental and human rights groups have warned against the country’s state-of-emergency, arguing that the recent Paris terror attacks are being used to repress the actions of environmentalists due to fears that mass-mobilizations could disturb the summit. READ MORE
The TPP free trade deal is “a panoply of threats to our climate and environment.” It could also undermine climate change agreements made at the Paris COP21 talks. READ MORE
By Preeti Kaur
If we continue on our current path of consumption and production without control, we face mass species extinction, famine, displacement, and conflict over basic resources. We’re in this danger as a result of an economic system that has prioritized profit and economic growth over people and the environment. READ MORE
By Robert Jensen
Grieving is not surrender but an acceptance of what can’t be changed and a commitment to what can be accomplished, within limits the ecosphere sets. READ MORE
At least 640 land and environmental defenders have been killed for their activism in the past six years since the 2009 world climate negotiations in Copenhagen. READ MORE
While the oil company acknowledged the rise of global warming since the 1980s, it launched a multimillion dollar campaign in the 1990s to "emphasize the uncertainty." READ MORE
Venezuela Climate Negotiator Pays Tribute to Hugo Chavez Legacy
COP21: US is 'Major Obstacle' to Climate Change, Says Manuel Criollo
Indigenous Leaders Canoe for Climate Justice at Paris COP21
Latin America and Caribbean Fight for Climate Justice at COP21
Social Organizations Demand ‘1.5’ in Paris
Climate Inequality: Elite 10 Percent Guilty of 50 Percent of Carbon Emissions
teleSUR Interview: 'Paris Deal Is A Death Warrant For Africa'
Brazilian Indigenous Movement Receives UN Environmental Prize
UN: Climate Disaster Certain without 'Tranformative' COP21 Deal
Activist: COP 21 Gathers Corporations, Murderers and Thieves
Via Campesina Defies Ban, Holds Protest in Paris Against Danone