Cuba defends key points on climate change

UNITED NATIONS (PL).— Prior to the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Cuba has reiterated to the United Nations the need to adjust current standards of production and consumption and move towards a truly sustainable economic model.

Human survival requires an energy revolution at a worldwide level, confirmed Pedro Núñez Mosquera, Cuba’s permanent representative to the UN, during an informal meeting of the General Assembly.

The diplomat presented what he described as "eight truths" that cannot be circumvented or suppressed with respect to climate change, the first of which lies in exchanging methods of production and consumption for other sustainable ones and putting into practice an energy revolution on a worldwide scale.

Another reality is one which obliges the implementation of a new regime with respect to commitments to rigorously reduce emissions on the part of developed countries and adopt a series of actions in the fields of finance and the transference of technologies to developing nations.

A further issue is the industrialized nations’ responsibility to comply with the climate change convention’s commitments and the rejection of initiatives in an attempt to evade their duties in relation to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Later in his speech, the Cuban representative underlined the demand for greater participation on the part of developing countries in global actions to mitigate climate change, in accordance with the principle of common, but distinct, responsibilities, and their respective abilities.

In that context, he noted that, at the present time, we cannot attempt to impose commitments linked to the reduction of emissions on those states, victims of the negative consequences of the unjust and unequal international economic order and the consequences of climate change.

Núñez Mosquera stated that, prior to the meeting in Copenhagen, the developed countries are not demonstrating a firm political will to reduce emissions at a level proportional to their historic and current responsibilities.

Nor are they contributing the necessary resources and technologies with which underdeveloped nations would be able to play a stronger role in confronting the phenomenon, he commented.

The Cuban ambassador emphasized that achieving a just and balanced agreement in this area is still possible "if we approach the negotiation process with a new political attitude. Permitting the perpetuation of egotism and irresponsibility is ethically and politically unacceptable."