In December 2014, ten Symposium Facilitators and representatives from the Ibero American Regional Leadership Group attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP20) in Lima, Peru.
COP20 serves as a formal meeting to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
At the COP20, delegates continued negotiations towards a global climate agreement, which is to be reached at COP21, scheduled in Paris for 2015.
The Regional Leaders delivered Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums and participated in ‘side events’ that brought together visitors from all around the globe. Learn more about these events below.
COP20 Side Events
On the other side of the city, while the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UN COP 20) deliberated, several events were held by and for the civil society, and on behalf of indigenous peoples and the promotion of rights of nature.
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COP20 - Indigenous Pavilion
Indigenous wisdom and cosmologies have a crucial role in the development of strategies aimed to protect all life on Earth. Knowing that, the Norwegian government promotes the participation of indigenous communities in major events focusing on addressing climate change. As a result, the Indigenous Pavilion was created—a space for communities from all over the world to discuss alternatives, to create proposals and alternatives, and to have a voice in the COP 20 negotiations.
Belén Páez (Ecuador Program Consultant) and Maisa Arias (Global Engagement Manager at Pachamama Alliance) joined Manari Ushigua (Sápara leader and representative of the Ibero American Regional Group) and Abuelo Suagua (Colombia’s Muisca Chibcha Leader) at the Indigenous Pavilion panels and group discussions. By the end of the sessions, proposals were shared with the official negotiators of the COP20, which in time, will inform the COP21 in Paris in 2015.
COP20 – Voices for Climate
Voices for Climate was a space for the civil society to attend conferences, workshops and exhibits related to the effects of climate change. Four hundred conferences were presented to the 80,000 attendees. Amongst those conferences were 3 “mini” Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums where Facilitators from Peru, Mexico and Colombia took part. Congratulations to the team that made the message of the Symposium available to people from all over the world who went to Lima for this important event!
Rights of Nature Tribunal by Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature
The second International Rights of Nature Tribunal convened in December in Lima, Peru. 13 distinguished judges heard twelve prominent cases evidencing violations to the Rights of Mother Earth and Nature, human rights and rights of indigenous communities.
Eight Ibero American Regional Leaders from Mexico, Peru and Colombia attended the tribunal as witnesses and supporters of the initiative promoted by Pachamama Alliance’s partners, Global Alliance for Rights of Nature. The Facilitators who participated expressed gratitude for having attended a conference that addressed the impacts of climate change, destructive oil and mineral extraction, and aggressive actions against defenders of the Earth especially in South America, including the case of Sarayaku, one of Pachamama Alliance’s allied communities in Ecuador.
Read the full report on the International Rights of Nature Tribunal.
People’s Summit on Climate Change
Another prominent event held in the context of the COP20 was the People’s Summit, a march that brought together 15,000 representatives from a wide range of organizations and countries. People marched together chanting “The Earth is burning, it’s time to change the system” (“La tierra está que quema, cambiemos el sistema”). Facilitators from Colombia, Mexico and Peru took part in the march and joined with partners Patricia Gualinga, Amazon Watch, and Global Alliance for Rights of Nature.
The power of partnerships between Pachamama Alliance, the Ibero American Regional Group, and other organizations committed to creating a thriving, just, and sustainable world is being seen in new places around the world!
