Domenico Vito, Asia Guerreschi, Irene Abra, Giancarlo Telloli, Birendra Rai – Climate Social Forum
1. Introduction
The Climate Social Forum (CSF) proposed itself as free and inclusive universal assembly to address the intertwined social, environmental, climate and health crises, and to create a virtual “agora” where activists, citizens, and experts can propose actions and stimulate national governments and local administrations to build an ecological, sustainable and just future for our common Home and for all its inhabitants.
The virtual agora has consisted of a series of online events from December 14th to 20th 2020 12 tracks based on the 17 SDGS and 2019 UN Summit Climate Action Pathways : the climate action paths (CAP).
CAP framed the main thematic areas of the Climate Social Forum, including topics like Mitigation and Adaptation, Resilience, Nature and Human Rights, Carbon markets and so on. On this purpose CAP have been organized to follow the cognitive path of Knowledge (of the topic) – (Debate about the) Problem – (Discuss of) Solutions. LISTENING, GENERATIVITY and SOLUTION, were the keywords of the Climate Social Forum. that summarized the six basement principles collectively decided to create “safe and generative environment” for virtual space of discussion fostered by Climate Social Forum [3].
Climate Social Forum rely also on TALANOA DIALOGUE[4] a traditional word used in Fiji and throughout the Pacific to reflect an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue process, also used in the conferences of the parties, Cumbre Social por el Clima, and Latin American Manifesto . Talanoa is based is based on three questions: Where we are? (what is the state of the art) – Where do we want to go? (what is our goal) – How do we get there? (method and strategy)
The CSF came out with results that take the main positions of the virtual agorà: the full Proceedings of the conference[5] and with the OUTPUT documents that collects ideas and proposals to face the challenges of the climate, social environmental and health crises for each of 3 governance levels that have been LOCAL[6], NATIONAL[7] and GLOBAL[8]. used to collect input after each Climate Action Path discussion.
2. The fundamental rights of nature and humans as one of the main outcomes of the climate social forum virtual agora
The Climate Social Forum connected many youths, experts, climate activists, all over the world to create awareness on the intertwined social, environmental, ecological, health and climate crises
The CSF strongly believes that the all these crises have a same root and thus only facing them in a systemic way we can find common solutions and avoid “the storms to overcome”.
After our conference of December 2020 we came out that, solving the systemic crises could lead to a “Human Strategy”[6,7.8] for a better post-pandemic sustainable, just and ecological future for Earth and its inhabitants Beside the outcomes, the Climate Social Forum relies on a series of global documents and declarations that key stepstones in human rights, climate action and human socio-economical and sustainable development such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – The Rio declararation on Development and Enviroments- Just Transition Declaration – IPCC Reports – IPBES reports- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – The Latin American Climate Manifesto[9] – MockCOP26 Conference Declaration[10]. The documents and declarations that the Climate Social Forum recognized are listed into the CHART OF VALUES[11].
By the adoption of these documents, and standing the outcomes of the virtual agorà, Climate Social Forum strongly assert that human and nature rights are fundamental rights.
For example the loss of biodiversity is worsening more and more according to the alarm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Bio Diversity [12] and the covid 19 pandemic is linked to this loss of biodiversity. Long term negative effects of the pandemic could be: disrupting crucial international negotiations, weakening the public political will for climate action encouraging an eventual increase in greenhouse gas emissions as governments seek to renew the global economy [Garrido S., 5]. Its now very clear that loss of biodiversity has lead to zoonotic diseases [13]. Moreover the role of Indigenous peoples that preside over more than eighty percent of the biodiversity present on the planet and therefore their presence is crucial for our future. In particular, elderly people are important, as they are carriers of traditional experiences and can pass them on to new generations. In this sense, the covid 19 pandemic, which particularly affects elderly people, can have dramatic repercussion
The loss of biodiversity caused by human behavior is thus a violation of fundamental human rights because it undermines everyone’s right to life and threatens the very survival of the human species on the planet.
Reducing biodiversity and dividing it into limited areas separated from each other reduces the ability of the terrestrial ecosystem to react to adverse changes and adapt to them. We must be aware of the fact that humans are also part of biodiversity and isolate ourselves from it reduces their own ability to adapt to stress[Bertaglia M. 5]. So the change is our hands and for example on the way we will use the level of Green finance
it is important to understand what alternatives exist. The Convention on the International Supply of Goods comes to the rescue. An interpretation of the convention in favor of nature and in favor of climate change resolution could provide us with effective means to effectively regulate the biggest emitter of carbon [Sharma D. 5]
Climate and ecological crises are strictly connected and are both caused by our way of life and producing But the commitment and the action can be possible only if the climate action coordinates synergies and gathers being inclusive and participative .
“WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME BOAT, ONLY IF WE REMAIN TOGETHER WE COULD PREVENT THE STORM FROM HAPPENING” (Pope Francis I)
References
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, Climate Social Forum Action Paths
https://hubzineitalia.com/climatesocialforum/en/?page_id=185 Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, The guiding principles of Climate Social Forum
https://bit.ly/3r5SbKv Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Lesniewska, F., & Siegele, L. (2018). The Talanoa Dialogue: A Crucible to Spur Ambitious Global Climate Action to Stay within the 1.5 C Limit. Carbon & Climate Law Review, 12(1), 41-49
- UNFFCCC, 2018 Talanoa Dialogue Platform
https://bit.ly/3swIaGw Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, Proceedings of Climate Social Forum December 14th-20th
https://bit.ly/37Ufbok Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, Local level Governance Output Document
https://cutt.ly/ZlGPYT1 Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, National level Governance Output Document
https://cutt.ly/jlGP8Vn Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, Global level Governance Output Document
https://cutt.ly/IlGPHZQ Accessed on 28/02/2021
- SCAS, 2019, Manifesto Climatico Latino Americano
https://cutt.ly/glGHacA Accessed on 28/02/2021
- MockCOP26 – Conference Declaration
https://www.mockcop.org/treaty/ Accessed on 28/02/2021
- Climate Social Forum, 2020, Chart of Values
https://cutt.ly/zlGGOlO Accessed on 28/02/2021
- IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. E. S. Brondizio, J. Settele, S. Díaz, and H. T. Ngo (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. XXX pages.
- Quammen, D. (2012). Spillover: animal infections and the next human pandemic. WW Norton & Company.
- Mills, J. N., Gage, K. L., & Khan, A. S. (2010). Potential influence of climate change on vector-borne and zoonotic diseases: a review and proposed research plan. Environmental health perspectives, 118(11), 1507-1514.