Lima, Peru, 05 December 2014 (UNECA) - Some civil society organizations present in Lima are accusing developed countries of not wanting an agreement on climate change, through a statement published as part of the proceedings of the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP20), which has been taking place in Lima since Monday.
As part of this global climate meeting organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the civil society organizations present in the Peruvian capital have denounced the delay, which, according to them, has been orchestrated to prevent the achievement of a binding agreement for developing countries during COP21 in Paris in 2015.
"Although the negotiations on a post-2020 climate agreement have been underway for three years, there is concern that these negotiations are not based on real texts", lamented these organizations, pointing out that this is not an accident, but rather a strategy of those who do not want Paris to end in a complete and effective climate agreement.
The civil society organizations claim that developed countries want to combat climate change without shouldering the burden and costs, and to do so they are trying to change the climate regime to shift the burden and costs on to developing countries.
According to these organizations, the objective of developed countries is to try to impose in Paris a new mitigation agreement that is less binding for developed countries than the Kyoto Protocol and more binding for developing countries.
This agreement will exclude significant commitments in terms of adaption, funding and technology, and could shift the burden of fighting climate change to poor countries.
They are therefore calling for more vigilance in order to save the most vulnerable from the "conspiracy" that is underway.
COP20 is based on the "Durban Platform" of 2011, which should conclude during the United Nations climate summit in Paris in December 2015.
The negotiations under the Durban Platform had two objectives: increasing climate action, including strong targets and the provision of climate funding, during the pre-2020 period; and the development of a new agreement "with legal force" to apply to all countries from 2020.
Throughout COP20, which ends on 12 December, ClimDev-Africa, an initiative of the African Union, the African Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Africa will be actively working on the ground in order to make the voice of Africa stronger and ensure that Africa can insist upon its priorities during this key global climate change meeting.
Many events are planned, including a dinner debate and an African day, to launch the continent's position on climate change.
Issued by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
