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The World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth held in April 19-22 in Cochabamba, adopted a People’s Agreement on tackling climate change. Some of its key points are listed below. Visit Pwccc.wordpress.com to read the full document, and other resolutions adopted by the summit.

The People’s Agreement includes the following points:

• The capitalist system of production and consumption seeks profit without limits, separating human beings from nature and imposing a logic of domination upon nature, transforming everything into commodities. Under capitalism, Mother Earth is converted into a source of raw materials, and human beings into consumers.
• Humanity confronts a great dilemma: continue on the capitalist path of depredation and death, or to choose the path of harmony with nature and respect for life.
• Developed countries must commit to quantifiable goals of emission reduction that will allow us to return the concentrations of greenhouse gases to 300 parts per million, therefore limiting the increase in the average world temperature to a maximum of 1°C.
• The illegitimate “Copenhagen Accord”, that allows developed countries to offer insufficient reductions in greenhouse gases based in voluntary and individual commitments, must be rejected. It will lead us to an increase in global temperatures of about 4°C.
• Cancun, which will host the next UN-sponsored climate talks, should approve a commitment for the period from 2013 to 2017 under which developed countries must agree to domestic emissions cuts of at least 50% based on 1990 levels.
• States must respect the rights of indigenous peoples to meet the challenge of climate change. States should give legal recognition to claims over territories, lands and natural resources to enable and strengthen indigenous people’s traditional ways of life.
• Developed countries should assume responsibility for climate migrants, welcoming them and recognising their fundamental rights.
• The global financial crisis demonstrated the market is incapable of regulating the economy. Therefore, it would be totally irresponsible to leave in their hands the care and protection of our Mother Earth and human existence.
• An International Climate and Environmental Justice Tribunal should be created with the legal capacity to judge and penalise states, industries and people that by commission or omission provoke climate change.
• A global referendum should be called on climate change on the following issues: the level of emission reductions needed by developed countries and transnational corporations; financing to be offered by developed countries; the creation of an International Climate Justice Tribunal’ the need for a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth; and the need to change the current capitalist system.
• To coordinate international action and implement the results of this “Accord of the Peoples”, a “Global People’s Movement for Mother Earth” needs to be built, based on the principles of respect for the diversity of origin and visions among its members, and constituting a broad and democratic space for coordination and joint worldwide actions.
• A Second World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth should be organised in 2011 as part of the process of building the global movement.