The security is in full force at the global climate talks taking place in Cancún. Negotiators are cloistered in a resort called the Moon Palace. "Official" side events are a 20-minute bus ride away. And self-organized civil society events by various social movements and grassroots organizations are even farther away—up to an hour by bus.
The geographic separation of government negotiators and organizations representing people directly affected by climate change—particularly farmers—is reflected in the actual negotiating text. While governments maneuver to set up carbon market schemes and non-binding pledges, the participants in two large marches yesterday in Cancún urged more immediate action.
Four IATP staffers, plus IATP board member Esther Penunia of the Asian Farmers Association, attended a march led by Mexican civil society groups in downtown Cancún, which included farm, labor and environmental groups from all over the world. An amazing array of signs, costumes and chants zeroed in on the main culprits of climate change: global corporations, who have exploited the world's natural resources, while at the same time steadily increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The groups also targeted international financial institutions, like the World Bank, who have helped finance multinational-led projects around the world that have continued this trend of natural resource exploitation.
Within the confines of the Moon Palace its hard to find any mention of the role of multinationals in causing climate change. Instead, they are often cited as part of solution with a variety of far-fetched technological advances and private finance schemes. If governments are serious about addressing climate change, they should listen to those who marched yesterday in the streets of Cancún, and less to multinational lobbyists who prowl the halls of the Moon Palace.
More pictures of the march, and our involvement in Cancún are on our flickr page.
