Date Published: 12/24/09

Copenhagen: There was no accord, says FoEI

FRIENDS of the Earth International (FoEI), a global federation of environmental rights advocacy groups, says the United Nations (UN) Climate Conference did not adopt any 'Copenhagen Accord'.

The Copenhagen Accord which was announced on December 18 by U.S. President Barack Obama, according to the group, was not adopted by delegates to the United Nations climate conference. 

''Instead, delegates merely Œnoted¹ the agreement's existence, giving it no force whatsoever'', says Nigeria's Nnimmo Bassey who chairs the global body in an interview on Thursday.

Bassey who was speaking for the FoEI said, ''rich countries led by the United States were pressuring poorer nations to ditch the UN process and sign onto the Copenhagen Accord. They were threatening poor nations that refuse to sign on with the loss of their share of the $100 billion that rich countries have pledged to compensate for climate impacts the rich countries themselves have caused''.

Continuing, he claimed that UN officials were struggling to figure out what the Accord even meant and how it was related to the UN process, but what was clear was that it was not
approved by the 192 countries that are members of the UNFCCC.

''By signing onto the Accord, poor countries risk displacing the legitimate negotiation process taking place under the auspices of the UN'', he said, pointing out that the US was so desperate to claim a Copenhagen success that it is now attempting to destroy the existing climate process and sideline 20 years of real multilateral negotiation'', FoEI said

"First the US came to Copenhagen with nothing new to offer, and was trying to package the weak, flawed, unjust 'Copenhagen Accord' as a replacement for the UN process -- and armtwist poor countries into signing on.

"President Bush ignored the UN process, now President Obama  risks to torpedo it. Countries seeking a just and effective solution to climate change should not sign the illegitimate and distracting 'Copenhagen Accord'. They should instead ensure a rapid return to the formal UN process to achieve a fair, strong and legally binding agreement as soon as possible within the next year.

"Developing countries have shown real leadership in Copenhagen and must not give up the UNFCCC for the 'Copenhagen Accord'', FoEI insisted.