Why Does 350.org Not Fight for the People of Africa & Small Island States? 350.org Cop15 video shows Africans Demand that the World Not Exceed 1C

350.org claims to ‘be building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis – the solutions that science and justice demand’ yet, their organization, sister organizations, partners and ‘green friends’ continue to fight for and support grossly inadequate legislation that condemns Africans and those on Small Island States to certain death. How is this climate justice?

They do not educate nor support the core cause of climate change, that of our current economic system. This system is absolutely dependent on economic growth, overconsumption and cheap energy in the Global North.  System change, massive reduction and conservation are absolutely essential, yet these most critical issues are conspicuously absent.

Why does Bill McKibben give accolades to NRDC, who under their USCAP partnership supports 450-550ppm? Referring to the failed cap & trade bill (cap & trade – a known false solution) McKibben stated: “The Washington environmental community did absolutely everything they possibly could,” “All the rest of us owe them a great debt of gratitude.” See article: http://bit.ly/a2jhWe

Why does 350.org not promote and stand behind The People’s Agreement, from Cochabamba, Bolivia, April, 2010 which demands 1C not be exceeded and a return to 300 ppm down to pre-industrial levels? (read agreement here: http://bit.ly/9PLNsY) Why do they continue to undermine this agreement, even in Bonn? See 350.org / TckTckTck.org Bonn coverage here:http://bit.ly/bJNTl9. At COP 15, a representative from the IPCC stated that at 2 degrees rise, the poor, the disenfranchised and the vulnerable would not survive, and at 1.5 degrees rise, they might survive, yet, 350.org pushes for the brand ‘350’ as the target rather than the 1C small island states need simply to survive.  At COP15, Evo Morales on behalf of the Bolivian people stated: “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] 1C. [above this] many islands will disappear and Africa will suffer a holocaust,” he said. Limiting warming to 1C would need an end to all emissions and billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide to be sucked from the air and stored.  Why is a government leading the way for a real climate change movement instead of 350.org & friends? More on 350.org partner TckTckTck: http://bit.ly/4s9zjC & http://bit.ly/am8qX1.  At Cop15, the G77 called for targets of 1C, 52% by 2017, 65% by 2020, 80% by 2030 & well above 100 by 2050. There can be no denying of what targets those most vulnerable have asked the NGOs to support.  Watch this incredible outreach to NGOs by Ambassador Lumumba Stanislaus-Kaw Di-Aping of the G77: http://youtu.be/s0_wvZw0fOU

Why does 350.org not educate supporters on false solutions which mean ‘business as usual’? See ‘Hoodwinked in the Hothouse – False Solutions’ here: http://bit.ly/cWlmRN Why does 350.org not inform supporters that the not only do the wealthy countries have less than ten years left before their carbon budgets are exhausted (just to keep under catastrophic 2C!). See carbon budget for 2010-2050: http://bit.ly/81riGq & http://bit.ly/cy2dEG.

What no big green wants to talk about is the fact that our planet will never stabilize until we reach virtual ZERO. The single most important and definite conclusion of the entire 2007 IPCC assessment is being ignored. The IPCC states that only zero carbon emissions could stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.  From the IPCC report:: “In fact, only in the case of essentially complete elimination of emissions can the atmospheric concentration of CO2 ultimately be stabilized at a constant level.”  We don’t need small steps, not incremental progress, not doing less bad: zero. Zero emissions is the only way we can save human civilization. Learn what no big greens are telling you about the climate change science: http://bit.ly/9sYOE8

Civil society must stop supporting corporate green organizations who are dependent and heavily funded by foundations. We must choose to support those groups who are independent of powerful foundations and special interests.  Examples of such uncompromised groups are Via Campesina, Climate SOS, Rising Tides North America, Mobilization for Climate Justice, etc. etc.  Not certain? Just ask grassroots climate justice groups exactly who funds them in order to make an informed decision.  Simply UNSUBSCRIBE from the strategically crafted rhetoric. Foundations are simply assets of the dirty oil industry. Many ENGO’s have maintained unaccountability through a major funding disparity with grassroots and community led resistance, and protect that massive funding disparity through a lack of accountability. Whether directly or indirectly, industry and foundations that are linked to industry steer ENGO politics away from grassroots movements and create an elite structured caviar class of environmentalist that is tied to ‘business as usual’ solutions.

Support the real grassroots climate activist groups – they need you. The window is closing. Symbolic campaigns are meaningless in the face of catastrophe. Last chance to save humanity. More on ‘big greens’ here: http://bit.ly/djA4Se

On October 12, 2010: Change the system, not the climate! Call for a global day of direct action for climate justice: http://bit.ly/aD8Sza

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Rio Tinto London

IUCN’s Collaboration Agreement with Rio Tinto

14 July 2010 | News – News story
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The Collaboration Agreement, signed 12 July, 2010, between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Rio Tinto London Limited (Rio Tinto) commits IUCN and Rio Tinto to focus their collaborative projects on innovative and ground-breaking biodiversity conservation activities and to ensure transparency between and within both Parties.

The key features of the IUCN – Rio Tinto Agreement are:

OBJECTIVES
• Build a business-focused relationship that enables Rio Tinto to improve its environmental management and delivery of conservation outcomes;
• Increase awareness and understanding throughout IUCN of the conservation and business challenges facing the resources sector;
• Strengthen Rio Tinto and IUCN capacities for market-based approaches to environmental management and conservation;
• Jointly contribute to sector-wide improvements in the mining and closely-related sectors; and
• Gain recognition for both organizations as leaders in their respective fields and committed to environmental management and delivering sustainable development outcomes.

DELIVERABLES
• IUCN will project manage and implement the Programme;
• IUCN will administer and coordinate the Programme on a day-to-day basis and, jointly with Rio Tinto, its implementation;
• IUCN’s administration functions and duties include: jointly carry out, with Rio Tinto, all acts necessary for the purposes of the Programme including compliance with all laws and contractual obligations; jointly with Rio Tinto, develop the annual Programme plan and budget; jointly with Rio Tinto, coordinate the development and delivery of the Communications Strategy; maintain accurate details of all monies received relating to the Programme and all Programme Expenses; and jointly with Rio Tinto, prepare comprehensive repots, meeting papers, and any other documents reasonably required by the Relationship Management Committee;
• IUCN will be responsible for the preparation of the annual Accounts for the Programme;
• Rio Tinto will provide the payment of the Financial Contribution for the collaboration Programme; and
• Rio Tinto will provide project contributions including: the provision of assistance to IUCN in the project management of work undertaken pursuant to this Agreement; the provision of all information and documents reasonably required by IUCN for the proper performance of its duties in accordance with this Agreement; the provision of advice and expertise relating to biodiversity and conservation management in the context of the mining industry; jointly develop and deliver the Communications Strategy with IUCN; jointly with IUCN, effect the implementation of the Programme; and take all reasonable action for the performance of the joint functions and duties of this Agreement.

IUCN LOCAL PARTNERS
• IUCN, in consultation with Rio Tinto, shall be permitted to utilize local partners and collaborators on any project undertaken pursuant to this Agreement in order to assist IUCN with the performance of its duties thereunder.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGERS AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
• Each Party will appoint a Relationship Manager responsible for the day-to-day management of the Relationship;
• The Parties shall establish a Relationship Management Committee comprised of six (6) members, three (3) for each Party, with each member having one (1) vote on any decisions made;
• The functions and duties of the Relationship Management Committee include: approving the Budget and Programme Plan for each Programme Year; ensure that both Parties contribute their respective Deliverables; ensure that the Objectives and Programme Activities of the collaborative relationship remain consistent with each Party’s organizational and strategic aims; agree on any major changes or additions to the Objectives, Programme Activities, and/or Budget; receive and consider reports and other documents from the Relationship Managers relating to the implementation and management of the Programme Activities, to consider any risks, issues, or new opportunities raised by the Parties, and to provide guidance, direction, and recommendations to the Relationship Managers with respect to the same; agree to undertake activities on behalf of the Relationship as may be required from time to time to ensure the proper and effective functioning of the Relationship, the Programme, and the Objectives; and receive and consider any recommendations arising out of a Review carried out for the Relationship.

REVIEW
• Both Parties may agree upon an independent person to be appointed to review and evaluate the performance of the Relationship and/or the Programme Activities undertaken in accordance with the Programme;
• A review may take place once each Programme year; and
• Recommendations for any variations to the Relationship or the Programme Activities arising out of the Review will be considered at a meeting of the Relationship Management Committee to determine how the recommendations will be pursued.

COMMUNICATIONS
• The Parties will develop, agree upon, and maintain a joint Communications Strategy, including approval procedures and communication contacts, with an annual communications plan developed by the Parties’ Relationship Managers and approved by the Relationship Management Committee;
• Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the freedom of IUCN to maintain an objective view of, or to comment in any way on, Rio Tinto and the Rio Tinto Group’s policies and/or actions, nor to limit the freedom of Rio Tinto to maintain an objective view of, or to comment in any way on, IUCN’s policies and/or actions.

TERMINATION
• This Agreement ends following a period of three (3) Programme Years, from the Effective Date, unless terminated earlier;
• Either Party may terminate this Agreement without cause by giving six months notice in writing to the other Party; and
• If a Party fails to perform any of its material obligations under this Agreement, and fails to remedy that failure within thirty (30) days of receiving a notice from the other Party requiring it to do so, the other Party may terminate this Agreement with immediate effect by notice in writing to the Party in default.

RELATIONSHIP OF THE PARTIES
• Under this Agreement the relationship of the Parties is not one of partnership, joint venture, or agency and nothing in this Agreement is to be treated as constituting or shall be construed to constitute a Party as the partner, agent, joint venturer, employee, or legal representative of the other Party for any purpose.

JOINT STATEMENT
• A number of projects have been identified, with the initial focus for the three-year agreement to include: verification of Rio Tinto’s biodiversity Net Positive Impact (NPI) commitment (develop, test, and implement an independent verification process to assess Rio Tinto’s compliance against its NPI target); environmental economics capacity and natural capital projects (identify and quantify the biodiversity and ecosystem service values in key regions where Rio Tinto operates, under business-as-usual and conservation scenarios); and general collaboration (benefit from each organization’s specialist skill sets, experience, and networks by working collaboratively or providing input into each other’s projects).

The Spanish version of the above will be available in due course.

A number of reactions have been received in follow up to the signing of the collaborative agreement with Rio Tinto by IUCN. We publish them on this page, together with IUCN Director General’s response (also available in Spanish and French).

IUCN intends to be fully transparent and will continue to post responses on this page. An area for comments has been established below. IUCN welcomes the views of its constituents.

http://www.iucn.org/about/union/members/?5674&uAction=showComments