Tag: Fossil of the Day

       
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  13 June 2011
Contact:
Kyle Gracey
kylegracey@gmail.com
+1 814 659 2405

Saudi Arabia Take First Place, Qatar Earns Second
Bonn, Germany – It was a neighborly Fossil awards ceremony the second Monday of
the Bonn climate negotiations, as “next door” countries Saudi Arabia and Qatar swept
the nominations. Saudi Arabia took first for trying to delay discussions on addressing
losses and damages from climate change impacts in developing countries. Close
behind them in the voting, Qatar earned second place for trying to direct oil taxes
away from low-carbon transport development and toward their own coffers.

The Fossils as presented read:

“The Second place Fossil goes to Qatar for suggesting that they should be
compensated for the tax that developed countries add onto Qatari oil.
At the Joint SBSTA/SBI Meeting on impact of the implementation of response
measure, Qatar presented a graph and emphasised that taxes in developed countries
add more to the selling price of oil than their wholesale price. For example, in the UK
oil's initial price is $200 and the tax is $850; that sums to $1,050. Then Qatar had the
gall to suggest that if developed countries were to give the tax amount to Qatar, then
Qatar is happy to provide the oil for free. This tax money should clearly be spent on
developing green alternatives to carbon based transport and to deal with the problems
that carbon based transport creates – health, environmental, etc. – not to compensate
oil producing countries. Any potential future COP host would know that (hint hint).”

“The First place Fossil is awarded to Saudi Arabia. In discussions on the loss and
damage work programme, Saudi Arabia argued that the Parties did not need to agree
on activities until COP18 – 18 months from now! The Cancun Agreements
established a work programme to enable Parties to take a decision on loss and damage
itself – not the work programme. Debating the activities of a work programme for 18
months is akin to debating an agenda for 18 months…and we’ve seen enough debates
on agendas.”
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About CAN: The Climate Action Network is a worldwide network of roughly 500
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working to promote government and
individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable
levels. www.climatenetwork.org
About the fossils: The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate
talks in 1999  in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations
climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action
Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress
in the negotiations in the last days of talks.
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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              11 June 2011
Bonn, Germany
 
Contact:
David Turnbull
dturnbull@climatenetwork.org
USA: +12023163499
Germany: +49(0)2523657307
 
Japan wins first place fossil and the second place fossil goes to, Well, We Aren’t
Sure.
 
First Place Fossil is awarded to Japan. Today Japan reiterated their position of
supporting the inclusion of nuclear facilities to CDM. Today, June 11th, the three-
month anniversary since the tragic earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster,
saw thousands of Japanese people demonstrating against nuclear energy in more than
100 cities all across Japan.  It is hard to believe that Japan has not changed its position
of including nuclear facilities into CDM, even after this tragic event. We urge Japan
to listen to its own people and come up with a new position right away. Japan can
actually lead the discussion and persuade others to exclude nuclear from the CDM!
 
The second placed fossil goes to...well we aren't exactly sure.  Flying in the face of
enhanced NGO participation, an important focus of this session, and the mantra of
transparency, 'an unknown Party or group of Parties' approached the Chair to block
the valiant efforts of Ambassador De Alba to open the LCA informal on legal issues
on Friday afternoon.  Not only do we need fair, ambitious and legally binding efforts
to save our dear planet, those discussions should take place in an open and transparent
manner.  Just as we have supported the call for Parties not intending to commit to a
second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to come clean with their intentions,
we expect the same level of transparency with respect to legally binding intentions
under the LCA - and that starts with opening the informal to observers.  For your non-
transparent ways, this Party or group of Parties gets an Anonymous Fossil. Is anyone
willing to accept the award?
 
 
About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of roughly
700 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working to promote government and
individual action to limit human0induced climate change to ecologically sustainable
levels. www.climatenetwork.org   
 
About the fossils: The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate
talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations
climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action
Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress
in the negotiations in the last days of talks.  
 
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