{"id":6166,"date":"2020-01-28T11:52:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T10:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ripess.eu\/?p=6166"},"modified":"2021-03-23T10:27:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T09:27:59","slug":"failure-and-hope-after-the-climate-summit-in-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.eu.ripess.rio20.net\/en\/failure-and-hope-after-the-climate-summit-in-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Failure and hope after the Climate Summit in Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The COP25 International Conference took place in Madrid \n(Spain) from December 2nd to 13th 2019. Jason Nardi, from RIPESS EU and \nRIPESS Intercontinental Coordinator, was there and participated in the \n\u201cHigh-level circular economy roundtable\u201d where he argued that we need a \nradically different approach to the economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Jason Nardi, RIPESS\u2019 Intercontinental Coordinator.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 25th UN Climate Conference was held in Madrid <\/a>(instead\n of Santiago in Chile, where it was supposed to take place) from 2 to 13\n December: two weeks of negotiations among representatives of the nearly\n 200 countries that are parties to the UNFCCC, the United Nations \nFramework Convention on Climate Change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this COP25, states were meant to finalize the rules of \nimplementation of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, which is supposed \nto be fully operational from 2020. Moreover, they were to increase the \nambition of their emission reduction commitments, which are currently \ntotally insufficient to achieve the objectives and to avoid the most \nserious consequences of global warming. The negotiations ended over 2 \ndays beyond schedule and with a <\/a>really weak agreement<\/a> and substantial failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

COP 25 was celebrated at the end of a year characterized by strong \nmobilizations of young people, which raised the attention on the climate\n crisis and the inaction of States to levels never reached before. Half a\n million people took to the streets in Madrid on Friday 6 December, \ncalling for climate justice and responsibility of world governments. It \nwas followed by the Climate Social Summit<\/a>,\n the civil society event that saw more than 300 appointments promoted by\n activists from all over the world to propose alternative solutions, \nwhich ended with a statement titled: \u201cThe world has woken up to the climate emergency<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the many spaces in the Social Summit, there was the Minga<\/em> Ind\u00edgena<\/em>,\n organized by representatives of indigenous communities to talk about \nthe impacts of climate change on their territories. Even though the \nofficial negotiations have moved to the Europe, South American civil \nsociety did not give up its space for expression, and in Santiago the \ntwo planned meetings of the Cumbre de los Pueblos and the Cumbre Social \npor la Acci\u00f3n Clim\u00e1tica were celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RIPESS participated in both the official COP25 (see below the \nintervention of RIPESS coordinator Jason Nardi at the High level debate \non \u201cCircular economy, cities and buildings\u201d in collaboration with FMDV<\/a> and ICL<\/a>EI<\/a>) and in the Climate Social Summit, in several meetings organised by allies such as ECOLISE and members as REAS Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next year\u2019s COP, scheduled to take place in Glasgow between 9 and 19 \nNovember 2020, will be the final test for governments around the world. \nMobilising our networks, movements and organisations at all levels is \nmore crucial then ever to put more and more pressure on political \nrepresentatives and governments who pull back from assuming their \nresponsibilities and continuing to pursue a polluting, extractivist and \ndestructive economic model, instead of taking real action to change it. \nAnd we need to link the mobilisation to the \u201ctransformative economies\u201d \nthat will gather in Barcelona at the WSFTE (June 25th-28th 2020)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sense, the number of legal actions brought by citizens and \norganisations against polluting states and companies is multiplying, \ncalling for climate justice and the protection of fundamental human \nrights \u2013 the recent case won by the Urgenda foundation vs the Netherlands<\/a>\u2019 government is exemplary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even more hopeful are the positive actions taken at the local \nlevel and the potential of trans-local collaborations, involving cities \nwho are investing in circular and social solidarity economy, where \norganised citizens, responsible governments and enterprises and other \nstakeholders can collaborate to build the climate resilient economic \nsystem and society we urgently need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

High-level circular economy roundtable: Cities and buildings as agents of climate action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Speech of Jason Nardi, RIPESS Intercontinental Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three quarters of resource-use and greenhouse gas emissions already \ncome from cities, and trends in urbanization, motorization, population \nand economic growth will further drive up these numbers if we don\u2019t get \nsmarter and more sustainable in the way we live, consume, travel, and \nproduce. Many cities face serious air, water and waste pollution; direct\n result of unsustainable consumption and production patterns, making \ncitizens\u2019 health a key imperative for action.   Yet, the key to \nunlocking cities potential extends far beyond that: it is about raising \npolitical ambition, a constructive collaboration between different \nlevels and sectors of government, innovative housing, urban and climate \npolicies, sound economic incentives, and better urban planning. It is \nintegrated and coordinated action of stakeholders such as innovators, \npolicymakers, investors, developers, among others that will accelerate \nimpact to help achieve the Paris Agreement goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(From the introduction to the Rountable)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) From \u201cSmart\u201d to collectively intelligent cities<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many if not most of today\u2019s  larger cities are ecologically unsustainable and socially unjust (concentration\n of emissions, pollution, bad quality housing, non resilient and very \ndependent from centralised provision \u2013 like energy, waste, \ntransportation, etc.)<\/em> and need to be re-designed all together, \ndownsized and re-built.  They were planned or transformed around carbon \nintensive market-driven models, excluding many inhabitants and their \ncommunities, especially those living on informal economies as the \nmajority of realities in the global south (60% average). If cities are \nlike organisms, they should only grow to their natural limit, \nbioregional, livable and future capable. Perhaps less \u201csmart\u201d and more \ncollectively intelligent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why other more eco-systemic and fair approaches are needed: \nSocial Solidarity Economy (SSE) and finance are based on circular \neconomy, from the bottom up, with long tested and innovative solutions \nadapted to very different contexts.  They are done with collective, \ncooperative shared intelligence and efficient use of existing resources,\n recreating agro-ecological and re-localised supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deregulated extractive linear economic growth and global \nfinancialised \u201cfree market\u201d competition are among the root causes of the\n ecological and climate emergency we are in, let alone the inequality \nand poverty gaps they generate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greening economic growth does not make it more sustainable and a true\n circular economy is incompatible with today\u2019s economic system.  We need\n a just transition to a living economy, where we produce and consume \nless, reuse, repair, redistribute and regenerate more.  \u201cCircular\u201d \nwithout social economic rights is not viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Including marginalised communities and informal workers in circular dynamics<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Informal workers account for 50 to 80 percent of urban (self) \nemployment of the global south. Yet they are largely excluded from \npublic infrastructure and services, public space, and public procurement\n contracts.  They are already contributing to a circular resilient low \ncarbon economy, but rarely recognized nor supported or offered financial\n means, starting with women, who are half the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need a radically different approach to the economy,  based on \ndecentralized and collective ownership, cooperative and democratic \norganization and management, short supply chains and local solidarity \neconomic circuits.  This has proven to work in many cases all over the \nworld.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are thousand of examples where collaboration between informal, \nsolidarity economy and cooperative enterprises and finance with local \ngovernments have been successful in giving answers to both social, urban\n and environmental issues \u2013 and contributing to a low-carbon human \nactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bamako in Mali has been working on transforming 50000 tons of \nsolid waste into fertilizer and energy.  The municipality, SSE \nstructures and peasant organi\u200esations are all involved. Waste for \ncomposting is recovered from markets, schools, etc. it\u2019s at the \nbeginning but promising.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Solapur, India  the women-led beedi and textile workers housing\n cooperative together with the workers union has built almost 16000 \nhouses (and other 30000 are on the way) made for climate local \nconditions, with materials locally sourced, participation of the \nworkers, who from renting slum huts became owners of their sustainable \nhomes in a town they built, with support of the local government and \nwith community services, schools, hospitals and local farmers market \n(they won the Transformative cities award, 2018).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Right to the city and the <\/em><\/strong>New Urban Agenda<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is what we call Right to the city recognized by Habitat III\u2019s \nNew Urban Agenda: participatory urban planning by and for people and \ncommunities, inclusive, fair and sustainable cities, creating \nde-commodified spaces for local economic circuits, food and energy \nsovereignty and urban commons.  And larger alliances, such as those \namong cities (as iclae) or built among States and the UN, such as the \nGlobal alliance launched by France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to do this, there needs to be the political will and courage\n to (re) municipalise essential public services and infrastructures, \nwith public-community partnerships and democratic control and \nmanagement: enabling community coop housing and land-trusts, \ncitizen-controlled water, decentralised energy production, shared and \npublic mobility, circular waste mgmt and low-emission and resilient \nalternatives for the building and construction sector, with a special \nfocus on the use of local materials and knowledge, community fab-labs \nand maker spaces and inclusion of most vulnerable population groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market-led solutions have failed in most cases \u2013 it is time to act \ngiving control back to the people, for a just, socially inclusive and \nhealthy society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is what circular economy is and should be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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