I'm blogging for the NGO I work for here about issues related to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. This is my post for Friday:
Not being in Copenhagen, but in the other end of the African continent, namely Johannesburg, things are not just remote in a geographical way, it is also not easy to get a real idea of the atmosphere in Copenhagen. However, for the past few days I've been following what the Africans say about the so-called 'Danish text leak' on on-line newspapers, Twitter, Facebook and blogs.
The 'Danish text leak' does not exactly support the rich countries' attempt to bring on that rich and poor countries are equal in the negotiations or in real life, though Ban Ki-Moon has been working overtime to reassure the good intentions; 'I have been very consciously engaging with developing countries,' he said. 'Even if there have been some trust issues, we have been bridging this gap as much as we can. This is what I am going to continue to do.'
On the other hand; it hasn't exactly caused an avalance in the African media.
When the 'Danish text leak' hit the social media a Kenyan friend of mine opened up with this Facebook status on Wednesday: Is anyone surprised? But the World Bank, seriously? Shame on you Denmark! And then she linked to Gado, the Kenyan illustrator's Facebook page, where people amongst others have commented on the illustration below as follows:

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- Talks, talks and much more talks. That is all! It has been like this since WW2. Participants get allowances during such meetings and they go back to their countries with just recommendations that are not binding!
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- Its a climatic talkshow...just too much co2 emission with no action after the show
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- God is the only King who can change all situations in the world don be cheated by the copenhagen gathering nothing will take effect....lets pray enough prayers n all shall be well.
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- It's time we Africans took responsibility for our problems instead of always blaming foreigners.
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- prayers are for the faint hearted....we need to stop hiding in Gods name and act on his behalf may be......doing whatever you can to save his creation iif you believe in that.....www.climatedebtagents.com visit that site for more.
The South African Mail & Guardian on Wednesday here delivered an observant analysis quoting Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the group of 132 developing countries known as G77 plus China, when he explained 'why the poor countries he represents were so incensed' about the text leak:
'We will not walk out of the talks at this late hour, because we will not allow the failure of Copenhagen. But we will not sign an inequitable deal; we will not accept a deal that condemns 80% of the world population to further suffering and injustice.'
However, some of the comments replying to the article are in deed indicating that the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit isn't just black and white (for all comments look here):
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- 132 developing countries, and they choose Sudan to represent them! WTF?
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- It's most hypocritical for world governments to lecture everyone about reducing greenhouse gases when they spent time flying around the world for countless conferences. There are just too many world jamborees. I will just name a few - UN, AU, Sadc, EU, G8, G20, now G77, East Asia Community, South American Confederation, NATO, China-Africa, East Africa Union, West Africa Union,Non-Aligned Movement, Arab Confederation,Food Summit, Climate Change, etc.
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- If Zuma and his ilk are so concerned about climate change, why aren't they driving small, energy-efficient cars, like the Toyota Prius, instead of huge gas-guzzling R1 million Beamers?? Where is the gvt's long-term plan to reduce carbon emissions? Why are new houses for the poor not fitted with solar panels as a matter of course? Why all those overseas visits in private or army jets? If I were the West, I'd want to be sure that my money was actually going to be used to combat climate change, instead of being just another gift to the corrupt politicians.
Adam Welz, a South African, participating in the summit in Copenhagen is here blogging a first account of the Di-Aping speech:
'He then went on to forthrightly address the weakness of many African negotiating delegations, noting that many were unprepared and that some members were either lazy or had been “bought off” by the industrialised nations. He singled out South Africa, saying that some members of that delegation had actively sought to disrupt the unity of the bloc. He said that civil society needed to hold its negotiators to account, but warned of a long and difficult struggle for a fair climate deal (words to the effect of ‘you have no idea of the powers that are arrayed against you’, spoken in the tone of someone who has spent years interacting with these powers.).'
The limited amount of reactions to the 'Danish text leak' and the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in African media does not mean that Africans are indifferent to climate change.
My personal guess is that the majority of Africans have no idea of what's going on in Copenhagen this week, nor of its potential impact on their lives; secondly, the Africans, who do have an engagement on this account, simply have very few illusions in regards of the expected outcome of the Climate Change Summit. Thirdly, a recurrent issue is that Africans suspect that their politicians are not in this for real; i.e., The Tanzanian government has been criticized of bringing the secondlargest delegation (and for chasing the per diem) and South Africa's Jacob Zuma didn't make up his mind until last minute.
Climate change does matter to Africa; Africans do talk about the weather, the sudden mud slides, the draught and the rising water levels. These are real factors in many Africans' lives. However, the complex discussions dominating the agenda in Copenhagen dealing with man made temperature rises, CO2 quotas and fossil fuel are simply not matching most of the Africans' reality.
The 'Danish text leak', in my opinion, sadly underlines this, and the big question really is; whatever happens in Copenhagen, will it improve the everyday lives of the Africans?
Illustration by the Kenyan illustrator, Gado. Taken from here.
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