Fossil-PressRelease_-_June14.pdf

At the opening of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development the United States of America was awarded the inaugural Rio Fossil of the Day. The Rio Fossil Awards will be presented daily throughout the negotiations highlighting the country or countries who do the least to support progress (or the most to block it) on issues relevant to climate change, such as energy, forests, and the green economy.

Today’s award was given to the United States for the overall strength of their commitment...to not having any real commitments. This fossil recognizes the United States' (once the considered the only remaining superpower) efforts to delete meaningful commitments from various parts of the negotiation text all through the day yesterday.

The Rio Fossil as presented read:

"This first recipient of the Rio Fossil has consistently refused to commit new funding to sustainable development initiatives in the Rio+20 process, despite handing out upwards of $521 billion to big polluters - more than enough to invest in a just and sustainable future at home and abroad.

The US has actually been deleting meaningful action across the board, such as disregarding the Rio Principle on Equity (Principle 3) - asking for its deletion from the entire text to be replaced by the term ‘inclusiveness’, rejecting the urgent need to work towards advancing sustainable consumption and production patterns , and blocking the launch of a High Seas Biodiversity Agreement to protect marine life in the high seas, which cover 64% of our oceans.

The first Rio Fossil goes to the United States of America!

The United States may have taken the first Fossil, but the field of candidates is opening up, and there are plenty of chances to get on, and off the Fossil podium. The U.S. has a real shot at not being a Fossil if they can become a champion on strengthening commitments and setting an ambitious timeline on ending fossil fuel subsidies in Rio.”

The presentation of the award took place at the RioCentro conference center at the Rio Fossil award ceremony. Organized by youth and NGO’s from across the globe the award was presented in a mock ceremony and accepted on the United States' behalf by Brendan Schoenman from the United States.

“As a young person representing the United States I regret-fully accept this award on behalf of my government" said Brendan. "Although I hope that I never have to stand up and accept this award again and that US steps up to be a champion here in Rio."

The First place Fossil of the Day goes to Saudi Arabia. The oil-rich Arab countries are in for a big test this year. They are all over the process. Not only is Qatar the Presidency of COP18, but also Saudi Arabia is chairing the LCA, and Algeria is heading G77+China. It is great to see the Arab region taking on big roles in the process, but as Spiderman says ‘with power, comes responsibility’. It is an important year for the Arab World, and failure in achieving a successful political outcome in COP18 would be a disgrace to the region. Therefore, one would expect that all Arab countries would be supportive of Qatar, not take extreme positions, not alienate Parties, and definitely not play obstructive roles in the process. Unfortunately, we still see Saudi Arabia trying its best to push its own short-term agenda forward, and getting a whole bunch of countries angry consequently blocking progress in different areas. What is upsetting is that this will not only reflect badly on their LCA chairmanship, but it will also send negative signals on the nature of the influence Saudi Arabia will have on their Qatari neighbors. CAN cautions Saudi Arabia, and advises it to take a progressive role. Countries are already calling COP18 the Saudi COP. So, Saudi Arabia, CAN’s message to you: “Stop undermining Qatar!”

The Second Place Fossil goes to Poland to Poland, for blocking the European Union to increase its pledge to 30% reductions by 2020, much less the 30% solely through domestic action or 40% overall that NGOs and some vulnerable countries would dearly love to see. The Polish government is taking 26 other countries hostage to increase their level of ambition, and thus driving the European emissions trading to collapse. The Polish position is also undermining the EU’s overall credibility in their call for real progress under the ADP workplan to increase near-term ambition until 2020.  Poland, notably, has also been instrumental in blocking the European Union to adopt a position on the issue of AAU carry-over.  Without Poland, the EU would have been able to move forward on AAUs ages ago.

Photo Credit: Matthew Keys

Photo Credit: Matthew Keys