Environmental organizations called on Saturday for more justice and climate action during the Alternative People's Plenary at the Madrid Climate Summit COP25.
ADVERTISEMENTEnvironmental organisations called on Saturday for more justice and climate action during the Alternative People's Plenary at the Madrid Climate Summit COP25.
The meeting was presided by Chilean representative Fredy Medina, a descent of the Aymara indigenous people. Medina claimed that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which regulates carbon markets, is impeding a final agreement.
The activists asked for urgent action because, as they claimed, climate change is already affecting a great number of people. "Many are already dying," warned a representative from New Zealand.
A young woman from Chad, who spoke on behalf of indigenous peoples, explained that they are suffering seasonal changes that affect crops. This leads to more poverty and conflicts over water and access to resources, she said.
"People from all over the world are listening to us because they are already suffering the consequences, we can't disappoint them," she insisted.
The environmental activists urged negotiators -who have been delaying the signing of a final agreement since Friday - to take more climate action and focus negotiations of the Paris Agreement on people and not on business.
They remarked that it is necessary to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees to avoid more damage and devastating consequences.
Activists dump horse manure
Extinction Rebellion, an environmental grassroots group, dumped horse manure outside the COP25 venue. The group was expressing its frustration at the failure of world leaders to take meaningful action against climate change.
The actions were timed with the closing of the COP25 summit, where negotiators have been unable to agree on how to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
"We are on course for 4 degrees warming which means billions of deaths," said Ronan McNern, media spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion
There was a message attached to the pile of manure addressed to the world leaders: "the horseshit stops here."
"The best roses come out of shit. We hope that the international community comes together to create a beautiful future," McNern said.