MEMBER STATES ARE URGED TO AFFIRM (AND TO ACT):

(1) THAT given that most states have signed and ratified the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the obligations in the Convention, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve carbon sinks, have to be discharged immediately;

(2) THAT the Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force in 1994, and that climate change is a threat to our future and is thus a legally binding document reflecting international peremptory norms;

(3) THAT there are thus provisions for states to launch cases in the ICJ against the egregious greenhouse gas-producing states that are signatories of the UN Convention on Climate Change;

(4) THAT there is an Environment section of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) set up to address the failure of states to comply with obligations incurred under the UNFCCC;  also National and international courts should evaluate cause in fact and proximate cause, damages, legal duty, and breach of the standard of care for not acting on the risks of climate change. Please note that fault may be found even in the case of unintended harm if it stems from unreasonable conduct.  The lack of intent to harm may not constitute a defence if damage results from conscious acts performed in careless disregard for others: The basis of the evaluations should be that “Everyone is criminally negligent who (a) in doing anything, or (b) in omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons” (where ‘duty’ means a duty imposed by law). In Canadian law, significantly, states that “a person commits homicide when, directly or indirectly, by any means, he causes the death of a human being, by being negligent (emphasis added).” (CITED BY BILL REES IN “ iS CANADA CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT”)

(5) THAT ‘after the fact mitigation” of and “adaptation” to climate change should not be used to justify inaction in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in conserving of carbon sinks and to undermine the resolve to prevent dangerous climate change.

(6) THAT major greenhouse gas-producing states be forced to implement the actions that would discharge the obligations incurred when they signed and ratified the UNFCCC. In addition, historic emissions should be calculated and an assessment made of the degree of dereliction of duty in the implementation of the UNFCC. From these assessments, provisions must be made to compensate the states that have been most damaged by the failure to discharge obligations under the Convention (the climate debt). In such cases, a fund should be set up to assist vulnerable states in taking delinquent states to the International Court of Justice. These resources should be put into a fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC;

(7) THAT there are entrenched immovable national interests that will serve to block serious binding instruments in Copenhagen; these national interests must be prevented from blocking  the adoption, in the General Assembly, of a strong legally binding agreement on climate change. Article 18 of the Charter of the United Nations reads: “Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. These questions shall include recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security.” Undoubtedly, the impact of climate change could be deemed to fall under this category. in Copenhagen, given the urgency of the issue of climate change, and its potential effects on the global population and on the political, economic, ecological and social global systems, the requirement for consensus must be waived, and a binding agreement on all states will be deemed to exist, if 66 % of the states concur. It is possible that a majority of the member states could agree to a strong legally binding “Copenhagen protocol” to the UNFCCC. A strong Protocol to the UNFCCC could then be used against the delinquent states, and a case could be taken to the International Court of Justice under the UNFCCC, which has been signed and ratified by 192 states, Even most of the delinquent states including Canada and the US, have signed and ratified the UNFCCC. 

In addition, the practice of anglocentricity must end, and full translation in the six official languages must be provided, not only in the plenary but also in all working and negotiating groups. In the working groups and in the plenary, the disproportion of interventions and domination by the umbrella group must no longer be permitted.

(8) THAT the need for independence in matters of factual science on this crucial issue for humanity is essential. It is thus critical that the IPCC must be independent of national, economic or political vested interests and that an assessment of the independence of members must be carried out, and any member who has been shown to be currently funded by the fossil fuel, military, nuclear, biofuel industry must step down. Members of the IPCC who do not base their analysis on planetary science and facts must be deemed to be negligent and in dereliction of duty and subject to legal recourse;

(9) THAT scientists, involved with climate change, must move away from the current tendency to be constrained by the political barriers that have delineated the criteria for their research, and return to advocating solutions based on the climate science. That requires agreement that dangerous climate warming levels are below 1 degree and that targets and time frames must follow this pathway;

(10) THAT the mandate of the IPCC must change and IPCC scientists must be permitted to fully acknowledge the urgency and be able to prescribe solutions and proscribe spurious solutions;

(11) THAT there must be a formal acknowledgement from IPCC scientists submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat that the world is beyond dangerous climate interference facing a real and rapidly rising risk of (never ending) global climate catastrophe which is a state of dire planetary emergency – this is required to generate genuine political will to act to address the emergency;

(12) That if governmental and non-governmental organizations fail to take bold and adequate action and if they undermine efforts to address the issue of climate change they should face the appropriate charges under national and internal law;

Committing to substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and to socially equitable and environmentally sound and safe energy

 (13) THAT states must support at a less than the minimum of the recommendation of the President of the Maldives:

1. Developed nations must acknowledge their historic responsibility for global warming and they must accept ambitious and binding emission reduction targets consistent with an average temperature increase of below 1.5  [as stated the minimum must be BELOW 1 DEGREE] degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

2. If developed countries do act decisively, we in the developing world must be ready to jump, by accepting binding emission reduction targets under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility – - providing that the rich world give us the tools to do so, namely the technology and finance to help us reform our economic base and pursue carbon-neutral development;

(14) THAT there must be a formal acknowledgement from a group of climate scientists submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat that the world is beyond dangerous climate interference facing a real and rapidly rising risk of (never ending) global climate catastrophe which is a state of dire planetary emergency – otherwise it will be a barrier to instigating the political will for any genuine response;

(15) THAT the mandate of the IPCC must change and IPCC scientists must be permitted to fully acknowledge the urgency and be able not only to prescribe solutions and projects that are integrated into the local ecosystems, working within the structure of the natural environment and  but also to proscribe actions that could be socially inequitable and environmentally unsound;

(16) THAT all states should follow the lead of the Tuvalu in making firm commitments;

It is reported that “the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has set a target of having all its energy needs provided by renewable sources by 2020. (“Tiny Tuvalu to be wholly powered by sun and wind by 2020”; 2009, Yvonne Chan, Business Green); 

(17) THAT rather than descending to the lowest common denominator in assessing climate targets in all international negotiating arenas, the strongest percentage target advocated to best address the crisis be adopted.

Because of the global urgency, there must be the political will to strive to contain the rise in temperature to less than 1°C above pre-industrial levels. and strict time frames must be imposed, so that overall global emissions will begin to be reversed as of 2010. There must be a global target of 30% below 1990 levels by 2015, 50% below by 2020, 75% by 2030, 85% by 2040 and 100% below by 2050, while adhering to the precautionary principle, the differentiated responsibility principle, and the fair and just transition principle. Under the Framework Convention, every state signatory incurred the obligation to conserve carbon sinks; thus the destruction of sinks, including deforestation and elimination of bogs must end.

Most scientific work today has become tied to the failing negotiations and is based on keeping the risk of a rise in temperature above 2 °C at about 5-40%. The proposal submitted, here, by the Global Compliance Research Project is based on trying to avoid a rise in temperature above 1 °C and returning atmospheric CO₂ back to 278ppm in line with the obligations outlined in the UNFCCC by 2050 and bringing risk down to a minimum.

If the dangerous level is to be avoided, emission pathways to eliminate CO₂ must arrive at the pre-industrial level of 278 ppm at least by 2050.

Currently under consideration as a target in brackets

[Only if the CO₂ levels are not beyond 278 ppm will the rise in temperature be maintained below 1°C which has been assessed by many scientists as being the danger level. To succeed in being below the dangerous 1°c, member states of the United Nations must commit to  remove  between 1105.62GTCO₂ and 1842GT CO₂ from the atmosphere (see tables 1 and 2). The initial removal phase should start in 2010 and run to 2020, with a research program to determine the required GT GHG to be removed to achieve 278ppm of CO₂ by 2050 and socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound methods of CO₂ reduction. By the latest in 2020, between 36.85 GT CO₂ yr^-1 and 61.42 GT CO₂ yr^-1 must be removed. In the period 2010-2020 natural carbon sinks must be restored.

Emission reductions should be based on global caps for emissions of GHG and must follow a smooth path as shown in Graphs 1, 2 and 3. Carbon elimination must not be used to offset reduction targets, and must be done through socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound methods. Greenhouse Gas Emissions resulting from Destructive land use practices including in the rural, the urban and peri-urban environment must end. Deforestation must end and developing nations whose development will be affected must be compensated. There must be caps on yearly emissions of GHG as per table 1 and graphs 2 and 3 and as required for the 1°C target. Current research only shows cumulative emission budgets for a 2 °C target, the targets in this submission are based on trying to not be above a 1 °C target. ]

(18) AND THAT, based on current knowledge and current changes happening to practically all ice masses, especially the Arctic, the goal as defined in the UNFCCC as dangerous should be to get the global temperature back down, below a 1C rise in temperature (Bill Hare, State of the World, Worldwatch 2009); Since this is the point at which global systems, on land, water and air will be so affected as to destabilise societies; 

(19) THAT time frames should be imposed to exclude any risk of global climate catastrophe from Arctic methane carbon and other feedback triggered mechanisms that will cause runaway global heating. This today means nothing less that an all-out global emergency response to reduce global emissions at the greatest possible speed to return to 280 ppm CO₂ And that All states must embark immediately on time-bound phasing out of fossil fuels and of subsidies for fossil fuel. The unconventional extraction of oil from Bitumen, such as in the process in the tar/oil sands, is a major contribution to greenhouse gas. and must be prohibited. In addition there must be a phase-out of biofuel and nuclear energy and an end to the subsidizing of biofuel and of nuclear energy, and a time-bound commitment to conservation, and to subsidizing and investing in socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc. options, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

(20) THAT the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol or any other policy agreement/legal instrument directed towards reducing climate change related emissions should move towards an equitable international system that protects not prejudices the world’s poor or politically disadvantaged men, women and children at risk;

(21) THAT emissions budgets should use a context of the carbon footprint of a nation and THAT all emissions should be linked to the country where the goods or services are used. Exporter manufacturing imports and overseas based business enterprises should all be linked to the originator countries’ greenhouse gas emissions.

Committing to instituting support for socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.  

(22) THAT all states must embark immediately on time-bound phasing out of subsidies for fossil fuel, for biofuel, for nuclear energy and other non sustainable energy sources, and a time-bound commitment to conservation, and to subsidizing and investing in socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc. options, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These funds should flow into and out of the Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC. AND THAT The United Nations should establish by the end of 2010 transparent mechanisms to ensure the disclosure of detailed and accurate national GHG emissions data, including data related of greenhouse gas emissions from military activities. This data should be collected by independent UN appointed scientists, who should determine whether full disclosure has taken place. Where there has not been full disclosure then enforcement mechanism should be in place.

(23) THAT governments and international organizations must adopt at the national level, policies leading to timetables for progressively disclosing and phasing out the energy subsidies that inhibit sustainable development. And to establish by the end of 2010 transparent mechanisms within the United Nations system to receive and publicize annual reports from all governments and intergovernmental bodies, that would detail:
a.  data on all energy-related governmental and intergovernmental subsidies, and
b. data on the phasing out of harmful subsidies to reflect their environmental impacts; and calls upon governments at the national level to establish transparent national mechanisms for collecting and reporting data on energy-related subsidies provided by all levels of government in that country;

c. Data related to national greenhouse gas emissions including data related to greenhouse gas emissions from military activities must be disclosed, by 2010 and assessed by the United Nations. This data should be collected by independent UN appointed scientists, who should determine whether full disclosure has taken place. Where full transparency and disclosure have not occurred, enforcement mechanisms must be invoked.

(24) THAT the member states should institute a fair and just transition program for workers and communities affected by the sunsetting of fossil fuel, biofuel and nuclear industries. This program would involve re-training and compensation for workers; 

(25) THAT there is need for action on the part of members negotiating at the UNFCCC to agree to measures that overcome the International Intellectual property barriers and facilitate transfer of technology as well as associated skills and know-how; AND nothing should prevent governments from taking steps to deal with climate change, this includes intellectual property rights that pose an unconscionable barrier to the implementation of the UNFCCC; 

(26) THAT all members of society, and institutions must be called upon to invest in socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc. that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And that the concept of ‘due diligence’ has to be reversed so that rather than financial managers, of pensions and other funds, being deemed guilty for not exercising due diligence if they invest in socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy and transportation and transportation, the financial managers will in the future be guilty of failure to exercise due diligence if they invest funds in the fossil fuel, nuclear, biofuel, and large hydro industries; AND there could be a new global transport system; in this system the use of roads for cars for individuals would be phased out, the roads would be replaced by natural habitats and much smaller surface areas used for communal transport mechanisms as far as is possible, these would be able to cater for all human needs . This would create a major carbon sink, considerably increase quality of life, protect biodiversity, increase the spread of transport from A to B and create major cost and efficiency benefits for nations and business, as well as having a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

(27) THAT “market based” or “market centre approaches. which are being proposed by developed states must be opposed because they will not serve the needs of developing states. (Third World Network, 2009);

Acknowledging and addressing the impact of militarism on climate change

(28) THAT the advocating of nuclear energy, along with large-scale hydro, biofuel, carbon capture as a solution to climate change must be condemned – no proposed course of action should either continue or exacerbate serious environmental or health problems, and/or contribute to global destabilization by undermining disarmament;

(29) THAT Overseas Development Aid (ODA) must not be linked to military purchases, or to the acceptance of socially inequitable and environmentally unsound practices or technologies, and THAT foreign military bases must be converted; 

(30) THAT the following is drawn from the Declaration that was prepared by members of the Peace Caucus and the Anti-militarisation Caucus at the DPI-NGO 2007 Conference on Climate Change:

- the member states of the United Nations must act on the commitment in Chapter 33 of Agenda 21, to reallocate military expenses.

- States must implement the commitment made in Agenda 21 to “the reallocation of resources committed to military purposes” (33.18), and to transfer the peace dividend to seriously address the urgent issue of climate change and other serious sustainable development issues

- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change must investigate and estimate the full impact on greenhouse gas emissions by the military and demand that each state release information related to the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of all weapon systems, military exercises, from war games, weapons testing, military aviation, environmental warfare, troop transfer, military operations, waste generation, and reconstruction after acts of violent interventions etc.

- NATO, whose collective activities have contributed to not only the perpetuation of the scourge of war and the violation of international peremptory norms, but also the substantial release of greenhouse gas emissions, must be disbanded.

- the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must discontinue its promotion of nuclear energy – the most hazardous and expensive form of energy known – as the solution to climate change

(31)  THAT the agreement, of silence, between WHO and IAEA must end, and the World Health Organization (WHO) must acknowledge and address the short and long-term impacts on health of nuclear power generation.

Committing to the conserving of carbon sinks

(33) THAT spurious arguments that, in the name of climate change, attempt to legitimize the replacement of old-growth forests by advancing the argument that there is a point where and when old-growth forests are no longer efficient sinks and that they should be replaced with fast-growing young trees end.

Releasing new source of funding;

(34) THAT a Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC be established and financed by funds as suggested in this submission.

(35) That this fund would take an holistic and scientific approach to tackling climate change. It would have as its core an ideology of participatory planning, by local people, of locally adapted projects within an overarching framework of principles to undergird the implementation of the UNFCCC legal obligations “to protect the climate system for present and future generations”. The fund would also have as a final objective of stabilizing emissions, within mandatory. time frames. to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interferences, while most importantly protecting the worlds poor and the global ecosystem. The Fund will be governed NOT by market demands but by scientific facts which will dictate what needs to be done to achieve the implementation of these objectives;

(36) THAT funds must be redirected nationally from the subsidising of unsustainable practices, to supporting conservation and subsidising socially equitable environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.;

(37) THAT funds from the subsidising of  unsustainable energy generation practices, must be redirected internationally to the fund for the implementation of the UNFCCC for the purpose of assisting in the conservation of energy, and of subsidising socially equitable environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.;

(38) THAT the Global Environmental Facility funding should be transferred into the proposed fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC, whose purpose is to fund socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy; this fund would never be used to fund nuclear, biofuels or crop (genetic) engineering, or large corporate hydro projects. The UNFCCC fund with the ultimate aims of the UNFCCC in mind would not base its philosophy on the markets but on planetary science and social needs of current and future generations;

(39) THAT funds from the IMF, World Bank, including the World Bank Climate Investment Fund, and FROM all bilateral and multilateral funds for climate change such as the German Fund for International Climate Initiative should be transferred into the proposed fund for implementation of the UNFCC, Fund, whose purpose is to fund socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy; this fund would never be used to fund nuclear, biofuels or crop (genetic) engineering, or large scale corporate hydro projects;

(40) THAT the dominant greenhouse gas-producing states should be compelled to finance The Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC. This international fund should be used for socially equitable environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc. and for supporting energy conservation and projects in low-income areas of developing countries and economies in transition;

(41) THAT developed nations must act on the minimal long-standing commitment of 0.7% of GDP being transferred to Overseas Development (ODA), a part of these funds should go to the Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC. Any shortfall in funding should be bolstered by increased ODA by developed nations;

(42) THAT to alleviate the impacts of targets and time frames on developing nations the outstanding debts of developing states must be cancelled immediately;

(43) THAT Developed countries have an environmental debt to the world since they are responsible for 70% of historical carbon emissions into the atmosphere since 1750. Developed countries should pay off their debt through payments to the Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC;

(44) THAT at the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, all agreed to the reallocation of military expenses. At the Copenhagen Conference, member states should agree to transfer at least 50% of the current over $1.5 trillion/€1,024 trillion global military budget. This reduction in military expenses. will release over $750/€507 billion per annum. These funds will be transferred to establish a fund for sustainable development, most importantly part of the resources should be directed to The Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC that will fund socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc.

(45) THAT funds for ODA should not be administered by World Bank-type organisations, instead these should be managed by independently-minded bodies whose sole aim is to succeed in implementing a sustainable and equitable world social system. The basis of aid should be properly evaluated and be socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound, and be sustainability-need based;

(46) THAT the polluter pay principle must be enforced against dominant greenhouse gas-producing states and their “overseas” operations (military and corporate) and that charters and licences of transnational corporations that have contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, must be revoked to prevent further pollution. This principle should be retrospective. The polluter pays principle is one of the most significant environmental legal instruments used in developed countries, on that basis these countries cannot hide from the implementation of this same principle in their relations with the developing world.

(49) THAT the human right to water must be guaranteed, which would involve the mandatory conservation of water, the prohibition of the privatization of the water supply, and the ending of the depletion of water resources especially those linked to the fossil fuel industries and the spurious climate change solutions such as nuclear and biofuel.

(50) THAT the current trend for public/private partnerships in United Nations sustainable development policy be reversed since it inherently compromises participants and for these funds to be channelled into their appropriate international arenas. In terms of energy directed to The Fund for the Implementation of the UNFCCC.

(51) THAT the Anchorage Declaration that calls upon the Parties to the  UNFCCC to recognize the importance of Traditional Knowledge and practices shared by Indigenous Peoples in developing strategies to address climate change, must be respected.

Changing the Commission on Sustainable Development

(52) “We recommend that the Commission on Sustainable Development, in light of the failure in negotiations of CSD15 to produce a negotiated outcome on climate change and other issues, be upgraded to a Council, that would be able to convene at any time to deal with new or emerging environmental threats. This Council should be based outside the US, for example in Switzerland, and governments must send mandated experts to negotiate real solutions to the issues.” It should be an umbrella organisation that overseas the sustainability debate monitoring and intervening where and when international negotiations are failing. In terms of climate change this is now a crisis issue requiring intervention. International agreements should be designed within the context of a prevailing philosophy that should be outlined within the context of a CSD umbrella agreement on all the major issues. This document should be the basis of future negotiations at CSD, and should build on UNCED agreements and others pre-WSSD, which was a step backwards; 

(53) THAT there should be no privileges and immunities for individuals serving on constituted bodies established under the Kyoto Protocol or any other protocols and GO or NGO bodies, in regards to dispensing their duties to society under the law. (Please refer to SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION, Thirtieth Session, Bonn, 1–10 June, 2009, Thirtieth Session, Item 14 (d) of the provisional agenda);

(54) THAT there should be set up an International Court of Compliance, linked to the International Court of Justice, where citizens could take evidence of state and corporate non-compliance.

AT THE 2009 COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY MUST BE BOLD AND MOVE BEYOND NATIONAL STATE AND CORPORATE VESTED INTERESTS TO PROVIDE A BINDING AGREEMENT WITH EFFECTIVE ENFORCEABLE MECHANISMS.

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