Presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia will raise the Voice of ALBA at Copenhagen

Havana, December 14, 2009 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced that, together with his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, he will attend the Climate Summit taking place in Copenhagen, to put forward a “single voice” on behalf of the countries comprising the Bolivarian Alliance for the peoples of our America (ALBA).

Speaking from Havana, Cuba at the Summit of the Heads of State of ALBA Chavez explained that the bloc of countries had adopted a common position to take to Copenhagen, but some outstanding points of the text that will be presented in the Danish capital, remain to be finalised.

However, representatives from ALBA countries already presented their position last Thursday in Copenhagen, defending the validity of the Kyoto Protocol and demanding compensation for what they call “historical climate debt” to developing countries.

During the opening of the ALBA summit, Cuban president Raul Castro, said “we know there will be no agreement” at Copenhagen and that it would just end with a simple political statement.

Last Thursday Chavez had conditioned his attendance at Copenhagen on the outcome of the ALBA summit in Havana.

“We are considering whether we might go, it depends heavily on the meeting of the ALBA in Cuba and every decision we make there,” said Venezuela’s president at that time.

“The countries that are the worst polluters don’t take responsibility, primarily the United States, and they want to continue destroying the planet. That is the capitalist model,” he said.

Final phase

After a week of tough negotiations on the details of a climate change agreement, participants in the meeting in Copenhagen on Monday begin a final round, at the level of ministers and some 115 heads of state and government that are expected to go to the meeting.

Among the most controversial issues, three standout; how much will countries have to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases? Who will finance climate protection in developing countries and their adaptation to climate change? And finally: To what extent is the agreement binding? None of the three issues are resolved.

To date, some countries presented their targets for reducing greenhouse gases. But scientists say that’s not enough to stabilize and limit global warming to two degrees Celsius (2 ºC).

According to a draft agreement, industrialized countries should cut emissions by between 25 and 45 percent by 2020 based on 1990 levels.

The final figure to be imposed is completely open, like the global sharing of the burden among states.

Moreover, China accuses the United States and Europe for not taking their “historic responsibility” on global warming seriously and of having set emission reduction targets too small.

Translated by Kiraz Janicke for Venezuelanalysis.com