Sign the Durban Declaration:

Climate Justice Now!

The Durban Declaration on Carbon Trading

As representatives of people’s movements and independent organisations, we reject the claim that carbon trading will halt the climate crisis. This crisis has been caused more than anything else by the mining of fossil fuels and the release of their carbon to the oceans, air, soil and living things.

This excessive burning of fossil fuels is now jeopardising Earth’s ability to maintain a liveable climate.

Governments, export credit agencies, corporations and international financial institutions continue to support and finance fossil fuel exploration, extraction and other activities that worsen global warming, such as forest degradation and destruction on a massive scale, while dedicating only token sums to renewable energy. It is particularly disturbing that the World Bank has recently defied the recommendation of its own Extractive Industries Review which calls for the phasing out of World Bank financing for coal, oil and gas extraction.

We denounce the further delays in ending fossil fuel extraction that are being caused by corporate, government and United Nations’ attempts to construct a “carbon market”, including a market trading in “carbon sinks”.

History has seen attempts to commodify land, food, labour, forests, water, genes and ideas.

Carbon trading follows in the footsteps of this history and turns the earth’s carbon-cycling capacity into property to be bought or sold in a global market. Through this process of creating a new commodity – carbon – the Earth’s ability and capacity to support a climate conducive to life and human societies is now passing into the same corporate hands that are destroying the climate.

People around the world need to be made aware of this commodification and privatization and actively intervene to ensure the protection of the Earth’s climate.

Carbon trading will not contribute to achieving this protection of the Earth’s climate. It is a false solution which entrenches and magnifies social inequalities in many ways:

The carbon market creates transferable rights to dump carbon in the air, oceans, soil and vegetation far in excess of the capacity of these systems to hold it. Billions of dollars worth of these rights are to be awarded free of charge to the biggest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases in the electric power, iron and steel, cement, pulp and paper, and other sectors in industrialised nations who have caused the climate crisis and already exploit these systems the most. Costs of future reductions in fossil fuel use are likely to fall disproportionately on the public sector, communities, indigenous peoples and individual taxpayers.

The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as well as many private sector trading schemes, encourage industrialised countries and their corporations to finance or create cheap carbon dumps such as large-scale tree plantations in the South as a lucrative alternative to reducing emissions in the North.

Other CDM projects, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC)- reduction schemes, focus on end-of pipe technologies and thus do nothing to reduce the impact of fossil fuel industries’ impacts on local communities. In addition, these projects dwarf the tiny volume of renewable energy projects which constitute the CDM’s sustainable development window-dressing.

Impacts from fossil-fuel industries and other greenhouse-gas producing industries such as displacement, pollution, or climate change, are already disproportionately felt by small island states, coastal peoples, indigenous peoples, local communities, fisherfolk, women, youth, poor people, elderly and marginalized communities. CDM projects intensify these impacts in several ways. First, they sanction continued exploration for, and extraction, refining and burning of fossil fuels. Second, by providing finance for private sector projects such as industrial tree plantations, they appropriate land, water and air already supporting the lives and livelihoods of local communities for new carbon dumps for Northern industries.

The refusal to phase out the use of coal, oil and gas, which is further entrenched by carbon trading, is also causing more and more military conflicts around the world, magnifying social and environmental injustice. This in turn diverts vast resources to military budgets which could otherwise be utilized to support economies based on renewable energies and energy efficiency.

In addition to these injustices, the internal weaknesses and contradictions of carbon trading are in fact likely to make global warming worse rather than “mitigate” it. CDM projects, for instance, cannot be verified to be “neutralizing” any given quantity of fossil fuel extraction and burning. Their claim to be able to do so is increasingly dangerous because it creates the illusion that consumption and production patterns, particularly in the North, can be maintained without harming the climate.

In addition, because of the verification problem, as well as a lack of credible regulation, no one in the CDM market is likely to be sure what they are buying. Without a viable commodity to trade, the CDM market and similar private sector trading schemes are a total waste of time when the world has a critical climate crisis to address.

In an absurd contradiction the World Bank facilitates these false, market-based approaches to climate change through its Prototype Carbon Fund, the BioCarbon Fund and the Community Development Carbon Fund at the same time it is promoting, on a far greater scale, the continued exploration for, and extraction and burning of fossil fuels – many of which are to ensure increased emissions of the North.

In conclusion, ‘giving carbon a price’ will not prove to be any more effective, democratic, or conducive to human welfare, than giving genes, forests, biodiversity or clean rivers a price.

We reaffirm that drastic reductions in emissions from fossil fuel use are a pre-requisite if we are to avert the climate crisis. We affirm our responsibility to coming generations to seek real solutions that are viable and truly sustainable and that do not sacrifice marginalized communities. We therefore commit ourselves to help build a global grassroots movement for climate justice, mobilize communities around the world and pledge our solidarity with people opposing carbon trading on the ground.

Signed 10 October 2004

Glenmore Centre, Durban, South Africa

DURBAN MEETING SIGNATORIES

Carbon Trade Watch

Indigenous Environmental Network

Climate & Development Initiatives, Uganda

Coecoceiba-Amigos de la Tierra, Costa Rica

CORE Centre for Organisation Research & Education, Manipur, India

Delhi Forum, India

Earthlife Africa (ELA) eThekwini Branch, South Africa

FERN, EU

FASE-ES/Green Desert Network Brazil

Global Justice Ecology Project, USA

groundwork, South Africa

National Forum of Forest People And Forest Workers (NFFPFW), India

Patrick Bond, Professor, University of KwaZulu Natal School of Development Studies, South Africa

O le Siosiomaga Society, Samoa

South Durban Community Alliance (SDCEA), South Africa

Sustainable Energy & Economy Network, USA

The Corner House, UK

Timberwatch Coalition, South Africa

World Rainforest Movement, Uruguay

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONAL SIGNATORIES

1. 50 Years Is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice, USA

2. The Akwantupa Travel Foundation/ M&J Travel and Tours Limited, Ghana

3. Aficafiles, Canada

4. Africa Groups of Sweden, Sweden

5. Alianza Verde, Honduras

6. Ambiente y Sociedad, Argentina

7. Angikar Bangladesh Foundation, Bangladesh

8. Anisa Colombia, Colombia

9. Asociacion Alternativa Ambiental, Spain

10. Asociacion Amigos Reserva Yaguaroundi, Argentina

11. Asociacion de Guardaparques Argentinos, Argentina

12. Asociación Ecologista Piuke, Argentina

13. Asociacion para la Defensa del Medio Ambiente del Noreste Santafesino, Argentina

14. Asociación San Francisco de Asís, Argentina

15. Association France Amerique Latine, France

16. Associacion Lihue San Carlos de Barloche / Rio Negro, Argentina

17. Association pour un contrat mondial de l’eau, Comité de Seine Saint Denis, France

18. Associação Caeté – Cultura e Natureza, Brasil

19. Athlone Park Residents Association, South Africa

20. Austerville Clinic Committee, South Africa

21. Australian Greens, Australia

22. Aukland Rising Tide, New Zealand

23. BanglaPraxis, Bangladesh

24. Benjamin E. Mays Center, USA

25. Bluff Ridge Conservancy (BRC), South Africa

26. BOA, Venezuela

27. Boulder Environmental Activists Resource, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, USA

28. The Bread of Life Development Foundation, Nigeria

29. Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen LAG Europa, Friedens und Außenpolitik Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

30. Bürgerbewegung für Kryorecycling und Kreislaufwirtschaft, Germany

31. CENSAT-Friends of the Earth Colombia, Colombia

32. Center for Economic Justice, USA

33. Centre for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka

34. Center for Environmental Concerns, Philippines

35. Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc./ Friends of the Earth (PNG), Papua New Guinea

36. Center for Urban Transformation, USA

37. Centro de Derecho Ambiental y Promoción para el Desarrollo (CEDAPRODE), Nicaragua

38. Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan A.C., Mexico

39. Centro Internazionale per la Cultura e i Diritti dell’Uomo – CICEDU, Italy

40. Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, USA

41. Christ the King Church Group, South Africa

42. Clairwood Ratepayers Association (CRA), South Africa

43. Climate Crisis Coalition of the Twin Cities, USA

44. Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers, USA

45. Colectivo de Proyectos Alternativos de México (COPAL), Mexico

46. Colectivo MadreSelva, Guatemala

47. Comité de Análisis “Ana Silvia Olán” de Sonsonate – CANASO,El Salvador

48. Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, USA

49. Community Health Cell, Bangalore, India

50. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Netherlands

51. C.P.E.M. No29-Ciencias Ambientales, Argentina

52. Del Consejo de Organizaciones de Médicos y Parteras Indígenas Tradicionales de Chiapas, Mexico

53. Delhi Greens, India

54. Enda América Latina, Colombia

55. ECOGRAIN, Spain

56. Ecoisla, Puerto Rica

57. EarthLink e.V.-The People & Nature Network, Germany

58. Ecological Society of the Philippines, Philippines

59. Ecologistas en Acción, Spain

60. Ecoportal.net, Argentina

61. ECOTERRA International

62. Eco Pax Mundi

63. El Centro de Ecología y Excursionismo de la Universidad de Carabobo, Venezuela

64. Els Verds – Alternativa Verda, Spain

65. Environmental Resource Center, USA

66. Environment Desk of Images Asia, Thailand

67. Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF), France

68. FASE Gurupá, Brasil

69. Forest Peoples Programme, UK

70. Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives in Africa, Ghana

71. Friends of Brook Park, South Bronx, USA

72. Friends of the Earth International

73. Friends of the Earth Australia, Australia

74. Friends of the Earth Flanders and Brussels, Belgium

75. Friends of the Siberian Forests, Russia

76. FSC-Brasil, Brasil

77. Fundación Argentina de Etoecología (FAE), Argentina

78. Fundación Los de Tilquiza, proyecto AGUAVERDE, Argentina

79. Gaia Preservation Coalition, Canada

80. Groupe d’Etudes et de Recherche sure les Energies Renouvelables et l’Environnement (GERERE), Morocco

81. Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC-Italia), oficina de Nicaragua, Nicaragua

82. House of Worship, South Africa

83. Indigenous Peoples’ Biodiversity Network, Peru

84. Indonesia Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), Indonesia

85. InfoNature, Portugal

86. Information for Action, Australia

87. Infringement Festival, Canada

88. Iniciativa ArcoIris de Ecologia y Sociedad, Argentina

89. Iniciativa Radial, Argentina

90. Institute for Social Ecology Biotechnology Project, USA

91. Instituto Ecoar para Cidadania, Brasil

92. Instituto Igaré, Brasil

93. International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Belgium

94. International Indian Treaty Council

95. Isipingo Environmental Committee (IEC), South Africa

96. Isipingo Ratepayers Association, South Africa

97. Jeunesse Horizon, Camerun

98. JKPP /Indonesian Community Mapping Network, Indonesia

99. Joint Action Committee of Isipingo (JACI), South Africa

100. Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, Philippines

101. Kasela Palu Group, Papua New Guinea

102. KVW Translations, Spain

103. Labor Tribune, Marcus Strom, editor, Austrailia

104. LOKOJ, Bangladesh

105. London Rising Tide, UK

106. MADRE, USA

107. Malvarrosamedia, Spain

108. Mangrove Action Project (MAP), USA

109. Mano Verde, Colombia

110. Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany – MLPD, Germany

111. Mercy International Justice Network, Kenya

112. Merebank Clinic Committee (MCC), South Africa

113. Movimiento por la Paz y el Ambiente, Argentina

114. Movimento por los Derechos y la Consulta Ciudadana, Chile

115. Nicaragua Center for Community Action, USA,

116. Nicaragua Network (US), USA

117. Nicaragua-US Friendship Office, USA

118. NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark, Denmark

119. Núcleo Amigos da Terra, Brasil

120. Ogoni Rescue Patriotic Fund, Nigeria

121. Oilwatch International, Ecuador

122. Oilwatch Africa, Nigeria

123. Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace (OMJP), USA

124. Organizacion Fraternal Negra Honduirena, Honduras

125. Parque Provincial Ernesto Tornquist, Argentina

126. Pacific Indigenous Peoples Environment Coalition (PIPEC),Aotearoa/New Zealand

127. Pesticides Action Network Latin America, Uruguay

128. Piedad Espinoza Trópico Verde, Guatemala

129. PovoAção, Brasil

130. Prideaux Consulting, USA

131. Projeto tudo Sobre Plantas – Jornal SOS Verde, Brasil

132. Public Citizen, USA

133. Rainforest Action Network, USA

134. Rainy River First Nations, Canada

135. Reclaim the Commons, USA

136. Red de Agricultura Orgánica de Misiones, Argentina

137. REDES-Amigos de la Tierra, Uruguay

138. Red Verde, Spain

139. Rettet den Regenwald, Germany

140. Rising Tide, UK

141. Sahabat Alam Malaysia /FOE-Malaysia, Malaysia

142. San Francisco Bay Area Jubilee Debt Cancellation Coalition, USA

143. Scottish Education and Action for Development, UK

144. S.G.Fiber, Pakistan

145. Silverglen Civic Association (SCA), South Africa

146. Sisters of the Holy Cross – Congregation Justice Committee, USA

147. Sobrevivencia, Friends of the Earth Paraguay, Paraguay

148. Society of Democratic Reforms (DIUC), Azerbaijan

149. Sociedad Civil, Mexico

150. SOLJUSPAX, Philippines

151. Stichting GAST, The Netherlands

152. Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines

153. The Sawmill River Watershed Alliance, USA

154. TRAPESE – Take Radical Action Through Popular Education and Sustainable Everything, UK / Spain

155. Treasure Beach Environmental Forum (TBEF), South Africa

156. Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development, Uganda

157. Ujamaa Community Resource Trust (UCRT), Tanzania

158. UNICA, Nicaragua

159. Union Chrétienne pour l’Education et Développement des Déshérités (UCEDD), Burundi

160. Union Mexicana de Emprendedores Inios, A. C., Mexico

161. VALL DE CAN MASDEU, Spain

162. wallings nursery ltd, David Dunn,UK

163. Wentworth Development Forum (WDF), South Africa

164. Western Nebraska Resources Council, USA

165. World Bank Boycott/Center for Economic Justice, USA

166. worldforests, UK

167. World Peace Prayer Society, USA

168. YASHADA, Pune, India

Individual Signatories

169. Aarran Thomson, USA

170. Adelaide Chichorro Ferreira, Portugal

171. Adelheid Gruber, Germany

172. Amanda Carter, USA

173. Ángeles Leonardo, Argentina

174. Arief Wicaksono, Indonesia

175. Arlex González Herrera, Colombia

176. Beth Burrows, USA

177. Dr. Bob de Laborde, South Africa

178. Brian Tokar, USA

179. Brook Goldzwig, USA

180. Caroline Ward, New Zealand

181. Cesar Antonio Sanchez Asian, Peru

182. Christopher Keene, UK

183. Christoph Christoforou, UK

184. Cláudia Sofia Pereira Henriques, Portugal

185. Claudio Capanema, Brasil

186. Daniel Tietzer, USA

187. Dany Mahecha Rubio, The Netherlands

188. Dora Fernandes, Portugal

189. Dulce Delgado, Portugal

190. Eduardo Rojas Hidalgo, Ecuador

191. Edwin S. Wilson, USA

192. Eileen Wttewaal, Canada

193. Elisa Marques, Portugal

194. El-Sayed El-Hammamy, China

195. Emmanuel Moutondo, Kenya

196. Erica Chung, USA

197. Fabry Saavedra, Bolivia

198. Federico Ivanissevich, Argentina

199. Florencia T. Cuesta, Argentina

200. Florian Salazar-Martin, France

201. Fernando Moran, Spain

202. Fernando Guzmán, Peru

203. Frederick Cichocki, USA

204. Gar W. Lipow, USA

205. George Winston, Australia

206. German A. Parra Bustamente, Colombia

207. Günther Bittel, Germany

208. Hannes Buckle, South Africa

209. Hansel Tietzer, USA

210. Heather Gibbs, Australia

211. Helena Pinheiro, Brasil

212. Dr. Hugh Sanborn, USA

213. Hylton Alcock, South Africa

214. Hsun-Yi Hsieh, Taiwan

215. Ian Angus, Editor, Climate and Capitalism, Canada

216. Inês Vaz Rute da Conceição, Portugal

217. Irina Maya, Portugal

218. Dr. J. Gabriel Lopez,, USA

219. James Mabbitt, UK

220. Jane Hendley, USA

221. Janet Weyker,USA

222. Javier Lizarraga, Uruguay

223. Javier Sethness, USA

224. Jeff Purcell, USA

225. Jelena Ilic, Serbia & Montenegro

226. Jenny Biem, Canada

227. Joana Gois, Portugal

228. Joao Forte, Portugal

229. John Brabant, USA

230. Jonathan Derouchie, Canada

231. Jonathan Stocks, UK

232. Joris Leemans, Belgium

233. Josep Puig, Spain

234. Joseph Herman, USA

235. Judith Amanthis, UK

236. Judith Vélez, Isla Verde, Puerto Rico

237. Karen Roothaan, USA

238. Karlee Rockey, USA

239. Karen Noble, AUstralia

240. Kevin Shumway, USA

241. Kevin Shaw, Australia

242. Kiki Goldzwig, USA

243. Laura Carlsen, IRC

244. Leonardo Ornella, Argentina

245. Lina Hällström, Sweden

246. Lorna Salzman, USA

247. Luis E. Silvestre, Puerto Rico

248. Luis Edoardo Sonzini Meroi, Nicaragua

249. Ing. Mabel Vullioud, Argentina

250. Manuel Pereira, Portugal

251. Matt Lappé, USA

252. Marcelo Bosi de Almeida, Brasil

253. Maria Benedetti, Cayey, Puerto Rico

254. Maria de Fátima Marques, Portugal

255. Maria Fernanda Pereira, Colombia

256. María Jesús Conde, Spain

257. Marie Wadman, USA

258. Dra. María Luisa Pfeiffer, Argentina

259. Martha L. Downs, USA

260. Dr. Martin Mowforth, UK

261. Martin Pedersen, UK

262. Mary Galvin, South Africa

263. Matheus Ferreira Matos Lima, Brasil

264. Maurice Tsalefac, Professor, Université de Yaoundé, Camerun

265. Michaeline Falvey, USA

266. Michael Scott Cooper, New Zealand

267. Miguel Parra Olave, Chile

268. Mike Ballard, Australia

269. Mike Berry, UK

270. Natacha Devie, France

271. Nick Gotts, Scotland

272. Nina Isabella Moeller, UK

273. Norbert Suchanek, Germany

274. Nuno Miguel O. P. Matos Sequeira, Portugal

275. Ophir Mayer, Israel

276. Oya Akin, North Cyprus

277. Pablo Alarcón-Cháires, Mexico

278. Patrícia Angelo Batista, Portugal

279. Patricia Raynor, USA

280. Paulo Cesar Scarim, Brasil

281. Pedro Ribeiro, Portugal

282. Peter Boddenberg, Australia

283. Peter Rachleff, Professor, Macalester College, USA

284. Peter Sills, USA

285. Dr. Philip Gasper, USA

286. Philip Mancus, USA

287. Prakash Deshmukh, India

288. Priscila Lins P. F. do Amaral, Brasil

289. Rafael Arturo Acuña Coaquira, Bolivia

290. Rafael Chumbimune Zanabria, Peru

291. Rafael Renteria, USA

292. Raj Patel, South Africa

293. Ray Hajat, Malawi

294. Robert E. Sanders, USA

295. Robin Clanahan, South Africa

296. Roger de Andrade, France

297. Rogerio M Mauricio, Brasil

298. Roxana Mastronardi, Argentina

299. Ruth Zenger, Canada

300. Rufino Vivar Miranda, Mexico

301. Sajida Khan, South Africa

302. Sandra C. Carrillo, USA

303. Sara Hayes, USA

304. Saul Landau, USA

305. Shaleka Lemma, Ethipoia

306. Shaun Chamberlin, UK

307. Sheila Goldner, USA

308. Sister Aloysia Zellmann, South Africa

309. Stephen Black, UK

310. Steve Wheeler, UK

311. Tobias Schmitt, Germany

312. Tyrell Haberkorn, USA

313. Usman Majeed, Canada

314. Wak Kalola, Canada

315. Yolanda Gomez, Colombia

316. Zoraida Crespo Feliciano, Puerto Rico

Sign the Durban Declaration: