USA and Russia scoop the Fossil Award, but also a Ray awarded for defending human rights in Article 6

At the UN Climate Conference on Thursday evening, December 5, it was a bit of both sides of the ledger day for Australia. The country was mentioned in brackets with Japan for focussing on insurance in the Fossil citation for USA and Russia, but also part of the Ray of the Day citation on standing up for Human Rights clauses in Article 6 on carbon markets.

The Official #FossiloftheDay and #RayofTheDay citations December 5 at #COP25:

1st 🇺🇸🇷🇺 US & Russia for pushing for weak #LossandDamage outcome

Special mention:
🇯🇵Japan and 🇦🇺 Australia for focusing on insurance

⭐Ray of the Day
Canada, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Switzerland - push for HR in #Article6



Official Citation

Today’s winners of fossil of the day are two giants of bad behavior. Guess who? Who else! The United States (US) and Russia!

The US and Russia

Looks like the United States (US) and Russia share more than the ability to bully other countries, rig elections (and lead in climate-wrecking oil and gas production)! They want to make loss and damage in the negotiations weak again!

The US gets the fossil for opposing that money reaches vulnerable communities, through the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage, to deal with climate change impacts, which Uncle Sam has helped cause by being a massive polluter.

Russia gets to share the fossil award with the US for having the chutzpah to try and throw out human rights and gender from the loss and damage negotiations.

The US folks seem to have a very short memory. They’re forgetting that waaaay back in 2013, countries agreed to “enhance action and support, including finance” for loss and damage via the WIM.

And Russia, come on! A record of human rights abuses both at home and blatantly at the international level? This is an overdose of bad Vodka! You cannot revoke people’s right to life, to a home and education, with a stroke of a pen.

Hey Russia if you don’t understand how gender, human rights and gender are related, maybe you shouldn’t be part of this conversation?

All these basic human rights are at risk when the impacts of climate go beyond what it is possible to adapt to. If Russia paid more attention, they would know that women and children are amongst the most affected after a disaster.

A special mention goes to Japan and Australia. You are also showing extreme hard-heartness towards vulnerable developing countries who desperately need your support. Support – aka finance that was agreed six years ago. Don’t find ridiculous reasons not to provide it now by focusing on insurance (insurance is not relevant for poor people - and why are we making the people on the front line of climate impacts pay insurance premiums to cover climate damage they had no role in causing?)

Ray of the Day for insisting on Human Rights provisions in Article 6



A few countries gave us some hope in these negotiations. We are giving Canada, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, and Switzerland the Ray of the Day for insisting on human rights in provisions of Article 6 regulating global carbon markets. There is no ambitious climate action without justice as well as respect for gender and human rights. All these countries need to keep pushing for the inclusion of human rights and gender considerations until rules are adopted in Madrid.

All countries signatories to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigneous Peoples, are legally obliged to do more. They must push for the inclusion of Indigenous Rights in the text and vocally recognize and demonstrate respect for Indigenous Rights and their right to sovereignty in their home countries.

Watch the Facebook Livestream video:



About the fossils:
Every day at 18:00 local time you can watch the Fossil ceremony in Hall 4 during COP25.

The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress in the negotiations in the last days of talks.

About CAN:
The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

Photos:
Fossil award by John Englart/Climate Action Network
RayoftheDay by David Tong/WWF-NewZealand