News | Climate Change

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2010/0424estebanlazo.htm

Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo described the recently concluded World Conference on Climate Change as a resounding success.

He told Prensa Latina on Friday in Bolivia before returning to Cuba that Evo Morales’ initiative to lead the Summit was excellent and that it confirmed his leadership in the world battle for the defense of the planet.
The conference gave representatives of social, indigenous, scientific and people’s organizations the possibility to talk openly about the true causes of climate change.
On Thursday, Lazo told participants in one of the forum’s panel that it was impossible to keep on watching how the income of the 500 richest individuals of the world is higher than that of the 416 million poorest people.
“We can’t passively watch how close to 1,000 million people from the First World waste half of the energy produced in the world while more than 2,000 million people don’t have electricity,” Lazo noted.
Among other proposals, the Final Declaration of the forum included a world referendum on climate change to be held on April 22, 2011 to consult the people on whether budgets devoted to wars should be used to safe the planet.
Other initiatives were the creation of an International Court of Climate and Environmental Justice with headquarters in Bolivia put forward by Evo Morales and charging rich countries for contaminating the planet.
The Cochabamba Declaration or People’s Agreement will be presented by the end of the year before the United Nations meeting on Climate Change to take place in Cancun, Mexico.
Before returning to Havana, Lazo had a warm meeting with Cubans working on educational and health collaboration programs in Bolivia.