Trade unions voice their concerns at COP17

Meeting fair trade farmers in Durban

 

Marita Ulvskog, Jo Leinen, Dan Jorgensen and Kriton Arsenis are already in Durban. Despite the difficulties in the negotiations, the S&D members of the EP delegation at the UN Climate Change COP 17 Summit are keeping their hopes up for the final week of the international negotiations. 

The South Africans are working in an open and inclusive spirit, giving us hope that this UN conference will have tangible results not only in the implementation of existing agreements but also in establishing a roadmap towards a fair, ambitious, legally binding international agreement in order to address the imminent threats of climate change.

As climate change particularly affects developing countries, one of the first meetings S&D members Marita Ulvskog and Kriton Arsenis had after arriving in Durban was with representatives of fairtrade farmers from developing countries. One of the farmers is Adam Tampuri (in the photo). Originally from Ghana, he is the chairman of a Fairtrade certified SPO group called Gbankuliso Cashew Farmers Association.

The farmers presented the everyday effects of climate change to their production and livelihood. The S&D members discussed with them the link between agriculture and climate mitigation, while the farmers urged them to continue their efforts to keep climate change in the international and European agenda despite the current economic crisis.