On 10 December 2014, as part of the COP20 in Lima, Carbon Market Watch organised a side event jointly with Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), and the Peoples Council of Tezulutlán, Guatemala.
The event “Pitfalls Of Hydropower Project To Meet Climate And Sustainability Objectives”, held at the COP20 Mountains and Water Pavilion, gave participants the opportunity to listen to first hand experiences of affected communities in Guatemala, Panama and Colombia.
As the climate negotiations kicked off in Lima, Carbon Market Watch along with Center for International Development Law (CIEL) and Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) organized a joint side event as a part of the COP20.
At the occasion of the international human rights day on 10 December 2014, the need to protect human rights in all climate actions will be high up on the agenda in Lima. The clock is ticking for delegates to put in place a robust institutional safeguards system for existing and new carbon markets to protect the people most vulnerable to climate change.
COP20 in Lima to establish the groundwork for a future climate treaty will take place in limbo over tangible commitments on climate action only expected throughout 2015. Yet, discussions on a number of crucial issues will happen in light of this uncertainty. A hot potato will be the level of climate ambition needed for countries that want …
Local oppression of indigenous communities in the vicinities of the Santa Rita hydroelectric dam in Guatemala has not seen remedy of the situation after the project was registered by Clean Development Mechanism in June 2014. Despite the continued struggle the indigenous Q’eqchi´ and Poqomchí communities face, the project is becoming a showcase of the power of civil society.
With the adoption of human rights language in Decision 1/CP. 16 of the UNFCCC COP held in Cancun in 2010, the initial resistance which trailed the conception of climate change as a human rights issue may have been defeated, but critical issues remain unresolved. The upcoming COP20 in Lima will provide a crucial opportunity to address these issues and advance the operationalization of the important Cancun decision.
28 October 2014, Brussels, Guatemala City. This month, Guatemalan and international civil society organisations have asked UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to support indigenous communities threatened with imminent and serious harm by the Santa Rita hydroelectric dam in Guatemala which was registered under the UN’s carbon offsetting scheme in June 2014. …
In June, the UN Board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) approved the contentious hydroelectric project Santa Ritadespite serious concerns over human rights violations. On 15 August 2014, a repressive security operation against the Q’eqchies communities of Cobán, Chisec and Raxruha by more than 1500 national police officers led to the forceful eviction of some 160 families resulting in three deaths, 50 injured, and a negative mark on the mechanism’s future. Carbon Market Watch is now calling for a formal investigation of the repressive actions and for the CDM’s Board to implement a grievance mechanism for affected communities.
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