Our Response to TckTckTck (GCCA) – February 26th, 2010

Dear tcktcktck.org – GCCA,

We appreciate your agreeing to circulate our response. We reply as follows;

Tcktcktck monopolizing the dialogue at COP15 and undermining COP15

At COP15 the tcktcktck.org campaign monopolized the NGO response to climate change, and either intentionally or unintentionally, undermined other NGOs, and the developing countries that were demanding more.  Tcktcktck.org, through its listing of NGOs as partners, some of which now claim they had never agreed to be listed as partners, gave a skewed sense of support for the weak demands of the tcktcktck.org campaign. The tcktcktck.org dominance, either intentionally or unintentionally, eviscerated NGO activism and consequently influenced the weak outcome of COP15. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, the organizers of the tcktcktck.org campaign were grossly negligent.

Targets

AT COP15, one of the major demands of the developing states was to call upon the developed states to both commit to strong reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, and to stabilize the rise in temperature. Many developing states called for the rise in temperature to be well below 1.5°C, and a number of developing states were calling for the temperature to not exceed 1°C from pre-industrial levels. Furthermore, most developing states called for the ppm to return to below 350ppm, and a number of developing states called for ppm to 300ppm. The tcktcktck.org campaign that dominated the discussion was completely out of sync with the strong demands of most developing states.

On the www.tcktcktck.org/partners website, there was a list of over 200 NGOs who were described as partners. A survey was initiated (ANNEX-attached in word) and sent to some of the NGO partners. The purpose of the survey was to determine whether the partners were aware of the tcktcktck.org campaign’s corporate connections, and whether the partners were also aware of the inadequate targets advanced by the tcktcktck.org campaign. In the survey, it was pointed out that tcktcktck.org had failed to use a baseline when they called for developed states to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020. The spokesperson for tcktcktck.org, Ben Margolis, Campaign Director for ‘Global Campaign for Climate Action’ wrote a letter to the authors of the survey and acknowledged the following;

“You also note that the policy positions stated on the www.tcktcktck.org web site failed to mention a baseline year for emissions reductions. We would like to thank you for pointing out this omission. There has always been an implicit recognition that we were referring to 1990 levels (as can be seen in the more detailed publications of our partner organizations). We have now amended the clause explicitly to read reduce developed country emissions by at least 40% on 1990 levels by 2020.”

The spokesperson for tcktcktck.org now intimates that the listed partner NGOs and the global community should have been able to understand that, even though 1990 was left out, it was meant to be included. However, the question remains, how could over 200 NGOs listed on the tcktcktck.org website have agreed to exclude the 1990 baseline, because everyone was supposed to know that it was understood [even though the US was using 2005, and Canada was using 2006 as baselines].  Or, was a baseline excluded without the knowledge and consent of the partners, and thus, were they unaware of the absence of a baseline? Even worse, were the partners aware and complicit in omitting the baseline?  Were the partners involved in building a consensus of necessary targets based on the current science, or was the omission of the baseline decided on their behalf?  It seems unbelievable that all NGOs partners listed on the tcktcktck.org website would have been supportive of such weak demands.

Furthermore, on the tcktcktck.org site it states;

“TckTckTck is an unprecedented global alliance, representing hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life, who are united by a desire to see a strong global deal on climate change.”

Surely the leaders of a campaign which presents itself as representing hundreds of millions of people, and which thereby also sees itself as speaking for hundreds of millions of people must recognize the incredible responsibility such a statement implies. In assuming their self-appointed role, the leaders of tcktcktck.org demonstrated dereliction of duty in not advancing the targets necessary to ensure survival; the moral imperative to demand that the temperature not exceed 1°C.

Corporate Ties

In your response, you did not indicate whether the NGO partners of tcktcktck.org were made aware that they would be promoting a logo which was copywritten by PR firms Havas and Euro and, if the NGOs were made aware of the implications of being associated with PR firm clients such as those in the nuclear, biotech, biofuel, oil, etc. industries.

We still have grave concerns about the tcktcktck.org campaign / campaigns, as now being presented under the parent coalition name, the GCCA, and the Global Humanitarian Forum.  We would like to, at this time, direct your attention to the following items below. The items refer to The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change – presently listed on your website as a partner. http://tcktcktck.org/partners/our-partners/more-partners

The attachments are as follows; if you open them in the order as they appear below, you can follow the links as they appear on the tcktcktck.org website;

• Tcktcktckpartnersfebruary25th2010 – the partner (The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change) is found on your site (screenshot – February 25th, 2010)

http://tcktcktck.org/partners/our-partners/more-partners

• Tcktcktcklistedpartner-thecorporateleadersgrouponclimatechange
• Tcktcktckcorporateleadersonclimatechangemembers
• Tcktcktckcorporateleadersgrouponclimatechangesignatories (including Royal Dutch Shell)
• Tcktcktck-current-copenhagen-communique-signatories-clq (using the tcktcktck post COP15 slogan ‘Not Done Yet!’)

A way forward

To rectify the irreversible damage caused by the undermining of the strong resolve of many NGOs and developing states to seriously maintain the rise in temperature below 1°C and the ppm to return to 300 ppm, the tcktcktck.org campaign must apologize to the partner NGOs that may not have wished to be listed as partners, or may not have wished to be associated with weak demands.

Regards,

Cory Morningstar | Canadians for Action on Climate Change
Joan Russow – PhD | | Global Compliance Research Project

“Our objective is to save humanity and not just half of humanity. We are here to save mother earth. Our objective is to reduce climate change to [under] 1°C. [above this] many islands will disappear and Africa will suffer a holocaust. The real cause of climate change is the capitalist system. If we want to save the earth then we must end that economic model. Capitalism wants to address climate change with carbon markets. We denounce those markets and the countries which [promote them]. It’s time to stop making money from the disgrace that they have perpetrated.”

Evo Morales, December 16th, 2010, Copenhagen Climate Summit

tcktcktck-current-copenhagen-communique-signatories-clg

To partners and allies of the TckTckTck Campaign