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A view from the United Nations
April 2008
Rebuttal
to “Climate change is not as big a problem” article appearing on last week’s e-CIVICUS 384
By Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS´ UN Representative
Release Date: 23 April 2008 - e-CIVICUS 385
To the Editor,
“Climate Change is not as big a problem, report says”
by Chetan Chauhan,
Hindustan Times (e-CIVICUS, 17 April) cannot be taken seriously.
To still maintain that Climate Change is not “as big a problem” flies in the face of the unequivocal scientific findings of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), based on years of scientific observations carried out by hundreds of accredited scientists under strict pier-review procedures.
At a time when thousands in Bangladesh must move their homes
away form the intruding sea as they watch their community assets and livelihoods disappear under water; when the Inuit peoples of the Arctic regions helplessly watch their communities, their ancestral knowledge and their culture literally being washed away by the melting ice; when the Carteret
Islands, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, are drowning as a result of sea level rise, their peoples forced to abandon their homeland --to mention but a few examples of climate change impacts already affecting our most vulnerable and poor communities-- such
a cavalier dismissal of the extremely serious climate challenges confronting humanity suggests, at best, an irresponsible level of ignorance or gullibility and, at worst, a willful intent to mislead and generate confusion. Beyond that, it shows an appallingly callous disregard for the plight of
those most vulnerable among us, those who are already suffering the worst consequences of a climate crisis not of their making.
To suggest that the claims of this so called “international civil society group” have “debunked” the findings of the
IPCC would be laughable were it not for the life-and-death stakes at play here. If this group seriously feels that its scientific findings have merit, let it submit such findings to the IPCC for peer-review. That
would be the responsible thing to do.
In solidarity,
Vicente García-Delgado, Esq
CIVICUS’ UN Representative
To read the article subject of this rebuttal, go to: Climate
change is not as big a problem, says report- Hindustan Times
Please send your comments to CIVICUSUN@aol.com or editor@civicus.org
Below you will find all previous columns of Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS UN Representative (New York):
• Rebuttal to “Climate change is not as big a problem” article appearing on last week’s e-CIVICUS
• The global food crisis: Are the rich abandoning the poor?
• Climate Justice: Fighting climate adaptation apartheid
• Taking into account the full range of consequences --UN
DPI/NGO COnference calls to action on Climate Change
• NGO Accountability: One size does not fit all
• Global Challenges call for Globalising Democracy
• October 24, UN Day-Cause for celebration; reasons for concern
• Digital Divide or Digital Solidarity: Bridging the gap between the information-rich and the information-starved
• The UN: Limping along
• The last thing the world needs: Dismantling the UN
• The world needs a more democratic United Nations
• UN Management Reform hits a nerve: roadblock or power grab?
• A UN Secretary-General for “We the Peoples”: Civil society calls for a more democratic selection process
• Charting new ways of participation: Is it time for a Parliamentary Assembly at the UN?
• Changing the tone: General Assembly President Jan Eliasson reaches out to Civil Society
• Changing the tone: General Assembly President Jan Eliasson reaches out to Civil Society
• Argentina: Thriving without the IMF
• The Big Letdown: UN Summit shortchanges the poor
• The World Summit : UN Reform will mean little unless poverty eradication tops the agenda
• Millions roar but the G8 whispers - Let the Millennium+5 Summit make up the difference
• “Global Justice - Northern citizens have a special responsibility to make it happen”
• Letting the United Nations be all that it can
• “Appointment with History: The world looks up to John Bolton to help achieve the MDGs”
• “We are rolling!: Civil society’s call for poverty eradication impacts the World Economic Forum and the Group of Seven”
• No more excuses!: The Tsunami must not be allowed to wash away the Millennium Development Goals
• A Call To Action 2005: Global Civil Society mobilizes to demand an end to poverty and the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals
• TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Should civil society and the Global Compact live under the same UN roof?
• The UN Global Compact: A big red herring disguised in UN blue?
• Happening now: A global revolution of consciousness
• Lasting security for all: Shifting from state security to security of the people
• The UN – Permanently relevant or temporarily relevant?