The Global Ethical Balance was presented on Thursday (21) during the Dialogue of South, Central America and the Caribbean, in Bogotá, Colombia. The event seeks to include ethical dimensions in the climate negotiations to be held at COP30 (30th United Nations Climate Change Conference) in November in Belém.
The activity brought together around 30 participants, including religious, political and business leaders, artists, representatives of indigenous peoples, local communities and Afro-descendants, young people, scientists, public policy makers and activists from the region.
André Guimarães, executive director of IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) and COP30 Special Envoy for Civil Society, took part in the launch of the report at the invitation of Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president of COP30. “We listened to dozens of people, leaders and community leaders, bringing a vision that the climate issue, at its heart, is an ethical issue. We are facing a challenge that concerns our life on this planet,” said the executive director.
According to him, the event had “clear messages” from traditional communities and indigenous groups about a greater need for inclusion and dialogue and the importance of looking at minorities, who, because they are more vulnerable, are more likely to be affected by climate change.
“This event is perhaps one of the most important moments in the build-up to COP30, because it’s a moment when the COP authorities and leaders really listen to society’s wishes and hopes. Here, we saw tears, crying, laughter and joy. It’s a moment when human emotions come together with technical and political challenges for us to combat climate change,” said Guimarães.
In addition to Guimarães and Corrêa do Lago, the event was also attended by other authorities, such as Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile and leader of the Global Ethical Balance for South, Central America and the Caribbean; and Marina Silva, Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.
Global Ethical Balance
Based on an ethical approach, the Global Ethical Assessment complements diagnoses such as the GST (Global Stocktaking), which is carried out every five years to assess whether countries are meeting their climate targets.
The Global Ethical Balance brings together actions that still need to be implemented in favor of climate change, respecting the knowledge of science and traditional peoples and communities, and in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of reducing the planet’s average temperature by 1.5ºC compared to pre-industrial levels.
The meeting brought together various civil society groups from South and Central America and the Caribbean with the aim of producing an ethical perspective for the negotiations. Based on the dialogues held at the event, a regional report will be produced. The document will be included in the global synthesis report, which will be used to inform decisions at the COP.
COP30 Action Agenda
As well as attending the launch of the report, Guimarães also took part in the presentation of the COP30 Action Agenda, where he met with other Colombian civil society institutions.”It was an extremely productive meeting. What impressed me most was the commitment and willingness of Colombian civil society to participate effectively in the climate agenda,” he said.
The agenda document is being drafted to serve as a legacy of the COP and present solutions aimed at implementing existing measures that accelerate the reduction of polluting gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Image credit: Rogério Cassimiro/MMA