Papua New Guinea stalling UN climate talks, says Greenpeace

GREENPEACE has criticised Papua New Guinea for stalling crucial global climate change talks in China.

Delegates from more than 170 countries are meeting in Tianjin, China, to try to revive UN climate negotiations that failed to create a binding agreement in Copenhagen last year.

The talks are a prelude to a United Nation’s summit starting next month in Mexico, but UN on Wednesday said they had so far failed to make significant progress.

The global bickering centres on the details of the complex UN plan to reduce climate change through its reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) agenda.

PNG, as co-chair of the REDD negotiations, is arguing for less scrutiny on donor funding as a way to fast-track the process.

But Greenpeace forests campaigner in PNG, Sam Moko, said this was a worry showing PNG appeared more interested in donor money than seriously tackling climate change.

“With a reputation of corruption, complete disregard for landowner rights, free and prior informed consent and accurate estimations of likely benefits accruing from REDD, PNG is in no fit state to be receiving REDD funding without strict conditions in place,” he said.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Paul Winn, who is at the discussions in China, said PNG was putting the REDD process at risk of failure.

“The PNG delegation is using its position to keep stakeholders, such as green groups and indigenous people’s groups, away from the meetings in an attempt to keep rules on social and biodiversity safeguards out of the REDD framework.”

The PNG prime minister’s office did not return AAP’s calls and emails to clarify its position or answer Greenpeace’s criticisms.

On Sept 23, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, 74, who wanted to forge combating climate change as his legacy before retiring, told UN meetings in New York that REDD must go ahead.

But Sir Michael was critical of the World Bank and the UN “tangling us in endless process and conditionalities”.

“REDD and all its co-benefits can no longer be held hostage by UN negotiations that are mired in self-serving inaction,” Sir Michael said.

“While we must support the UN process where possible, we must steadfastly refuse to let the bureaucracy impede our progress”.

PNG has been plagued by a litany of scandals and corruption allegations surrounding its REDD efforts.  – AAP