Editor,
The Green Party of Botswana, an environmental and peace orientated political party in exile based in Canada, welcomes and supports the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, in his efforts to organize an alternative Global Warming Conference after the shameful failure of the Copenhagen Conference caused by countries called “developed”, which fail to recognize the climate debt they have with developing countries, future generations and Mother Earth.
The Green Party of Botswana concurs with President Morales in his considerations that climate change represents a real threat to the existence of humanity, of living beings and our Mother Earth. We are of the same view that those most affected by climate change will be the poorest in the world who will see their homes and their sources of survival destroyed, and who will be forced to migrate and seek refuge.
The green Party of Botswana is in solidarity with President Morales’ observations that 75% of historical emissions of greenhouse gases originated in the countries of the North that followed a path of irrational
industrialization. We also share his view in noting that climate change is a product of the capitalist system and that in order to ensure the full
fulfillment of human rights in the twenty-first century, it is necessary to recognize and respect Mother Earth’s rights.
The Green Party of Botswana affirms the need to vigilantly advocate for climate justice and to recognize the need to take urgent actions to avoid
further damage and suffering to humanity, Mother Earth and to restore harmony with nature. We believe that industrialized nations should accept
that they have a ‘’climate debt” to poor countries and that we should all work towards an international court on environmental crimes.
The Green Party of Botswana denounces industrialized countries for pledging $10 billion a year to help countries meet the challenges of climate change, while spending ‘’trillions to fight unnecessary wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We agree with president Morales’ demand that rich countries should pay climate change reparations and we propose for the establishment of an international climate court of justice to prosecute countries for climate “crimes”.
Just as the indigenous and the black populace were enslaved in the past, we believe today that the capitalism system is enslaving Mother Earth by treating it like it is not a living being. In celebrating the
International Day of Mother Earth, we, the Green Party of Botswana, will join the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia at the Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights to be held from 20th to 22nd April 2010 in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
*Benjamin Segobaetso,
Founding President of the Green Party of Botswana
www.greenpartyofbotswana.com
