As UN Asks for $500 Billion for Climate Change, Few Details Given, Indigenous REDD Lined

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 1 -- As the UN released a report on climate change that largely absolved China for its emissions while calling on Western countries to pony up $500 billion for the developing world's adaptation to global warming, skeptics wondered if this was science or politics? The report, entitled "Promoting Development, Saving the Planet" and issued by the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, was launched, in UN parlance, at UN Headquarters by Rob Vos and a series of slides. Inner City Press asked Vos, who would administer the $500 billion? Vos said that decision would be made later -- change minds and get the money first. Video here, from Minute 47:22.

Afterwards, a true cynic wonder if the fact that DESA is headed by Sha Zukang of China had anything to do with the striking absolution of that country, and of India. It's as if different parts of the UN are ceded to different political interests. Peacekeeping is given to the West, hence the presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and U.S. interests like Haiti. DESA and UNCTAD and other such agencies are given over to the developing world. $500 billion: but who's going to pay it?

Meanwhile, there is a problem, to be sure. Monday night, the Ambassador of a Pacific island state told Inner City Press that while he viewed Ban Ki-moon's upcoming September 22 climate change event as hype, parts of his country face flooding and submersion, and salt water is seeping into the soil like a sponge, cutting food production. If the $500 billion would go to states like this, or to the impact farmers, that would be fine. Which is why the proposal shouldn't have been made without more specifics.

UN's Vos and slides - nice guy, more more specifics needed

Inner City Press asked the UN's head of the Forum on Forests about problems between indigenous communities and the vaunted "REDD" program. She acknowledged that there had been issues, while laying these off on the World Bank. But now, she said, indigenous people have a seat at the table, right next to governments. Video from here.

That's not what people in Indonesia, Guyana and Panamaare saying. Watch this site.