Oxfam International Climate Hearing

Copenhagen, Tuesday 15 December

At COP15, it is very easy to forget that climate change has a human moral aspect, affecting lives and killing people now. To bring light to climate devastation, Oxfam International brought together live testimonies from individuals living in Peru, Uganda, Bangladesh and Tuvalu.

[Top: Talyn Rahman with Archbishop Desmond Tutu]

I had the pleasure of meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who congratulated us all for being present at COP15. “All of us are seeking to be heard,” he said, “Wherever you turn, wherever you walk, you are going to hear from people from every country on Earth and all have one simple goal - persuading people to listen to their story, listen to what to tell and having listened, act appropriately”. People throughout the world are in the frontline of climate change, and COP15 is a chance for them to amplify their voices in hope that leaders will make the right choice.

Listening to climate witnesses filled the audience with raw emotions. With melting glaciers, water everywhere is being contaminated by too much salt which is dangerous to drink and difficult to cultivate with. Cyclones destroy villages and unpredictable switches of drought and flood make it impossible for local communities to harvest. The indigenous people of Peru “beg industrialised countries to commit or diminish (our) emissions” with at least a 40% reduction starting from now. “COP15, never be afraid”, said Tuvalu, who is looking for leaders that cannot be bought or sold. Bangladesh wants to be compensated for the destruction climate change has caused on people who did very little to cause this.

[Top: Mary Robinson with COP15/UNFCCC Secretary-General Yvo de Boer and climate witnesses]

Climate change is not a numbers game but even developed countries are getting this wrong. Climate change, as viewed by Mary Robinson (Former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner), is undermining human rights, and failure to act by industrial countries will be catastrophic. As the Archbishop said, “no fair system will ever punish the innocent,” and vulnerable countries look at CO15 with hope which they can bring back with them when returning home.