Earth Equity News

Morales Advocates for the Cochabamba Declaration. By John Heilprin, AP, May 7, 2010. "Bolivia's president pressed for a greater role on May 7 for developing nations in global climate talks and deep cuts in rich nations' greenhouse gases, presenting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with an alternative climate declaration. The Cochabamba declaration was the fruit of an alternative climate conference uniting 35,000 people including indigenous, environmental and social leaders in Bolivia last month. At a news conference at U.N. headquarters, Morales bitterly complained that the voluntary emissions-cutting pledges of the U.S.-brokered Copenhagen Accord are inadequate. Morales said 'we are talking about decolonizing the atmosphere' because rich nations are using more than their share of the atmosphere by emitting too much carbon pollution that leads to global warming. Morales' position is in line with that of China and India, who complain the United States is using too much 'carbon space' by emitting about a fifth of all the world's greenhouse gases... The self-styled Bolivian climate conference was born out of opposition to the Copenhagen Accord, which pledged to raise about $30 billion over three years to help poor countries combat the effects of climate change... The Cochabamba declaration instead demands $300 billion a year to deal with global warming, emissions cuts of 50% by 2020 in developed nations and an international climate court for enforcement."