Mock tribunal indicts rich countries for causing global warming

Bangkok – Guilty beyond reasonable doubt! With an emphatic bang of the gavel, “Chief Justice" Amara Pongsapich of Thailand on Wednesday upheld the claims for damages caused by global warming on the people of Asia even as she handed down a guilty verdict on developed countries for “causing untold misery" after a one-day trial by the International Court of Earth Justice: The Global Climate Tribunal in this city, which is currently hosting climate change talks. The mock court heard testimonies from people from different parts of Asia directly affected by the impact of global warming mainly attributed to collective emissions by rich countries like the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Japan. Ramon Oposa, Philippine environmental lawyer and head of the prosecution panel, hailed the decision of the “court" in upholding “Civil Case No. 2009-001 for Planetary Malpractice Resulting to Inter-Generational Damage" as a triumph of the children of Asia in holding to account those directly responsible for global warming. He said that developed countries should be called OCCs or Over-Consuming Countries for their insatiable appetite for affluent lifestyles. On the other hand, he said, developing countries should be called Low-Consuming Countries (LCC). The promulgation was met with singing and thunderous applause from the audience, which intently kept track of the proceedings even as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations continued to be mired by contentious issues like adaptation finance at the UNESCAP building nearby. During her testimony, Shorbanu Khatun, a Bangladeshi widow and mother of four, broke down as she narrated how the effects of Cyclone Aila and rising seawater had destroyed her crops and livelihood and shattered her hopes for a better future. She lost her husband to a tiger attack after they were forced to forage in the forests as the waters around her lakeside community became increasingly saline. Other testimonies came from Filipino fisherman Pablo Rosales who talked about dwindling fish catch, Nepali mountain climber Dawa Steven Sherpa who shared his experience about the dramatic and unusual collapse of part of the Khumba icefall on Mount Everest, Thongsa Juansang of Southern Thailand who talked about the impact of extended droughts in her area, and Evani Hamzah of Indonesia who pointed out the effects of global warming exacerbated by land conversion on water supply. The tribunal was organized by civil society groups in the region comprising the Global Coalition for Climate Action (GCCA) and Asia Pacific People’s Movement for Debt and Development (APMDD). It is supported by around 30 organizations throughout South and East Asia assisted by the Thai Working Group on Climate Justice, and the lawyers’ networks Global Legal Action on Climate Change (GLACC) and Aid for Development. In an earlier statement, Dinah Fuentespina, GCCA coordinator said “this court will put a human face on adaptation finance which is one of the roadblocks in the current UN climate change negotiations (here) in Bangkok. The witnesses’ testimonies will show that any money developed countries pay to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change will help reduce risks and avoid future claims for reparations for damages caused. Adaptation finance is a way to compensate for excess emissions – it is not about aid." - GMANews.TV