DOHA CLIMATE TALKS: INDUSTRIALISED COUNTRIES BLOCK CLIMATE ACTION

DOHA, QATAR, December 8, 2012 - Friends of the Earth International has
strongly condemned the governments of industrialised countries for
blocking action on the climate crisis at a failed UN climate summit in
Qatar.

Asad Rehman, Friends of the Earth International spokesperson in Qatar
said: "The Doha deal is as empty as a desert mirage. Despite the
official spin, these talks delivered nothing: no real progress on
cutting greenhouse gases and only an insulting gesture at climate finance.

" The blame lies squarely with the rich industrialised world, most
notably the US. The Obama administration is succeeding in its efforts to
dismantle the UN global climate regime and other wealthy nations have
joined in, paralyzing the climate talks and forcing the world's poor to
pay the price."

" We demand justice for the people of developing nations who suffer the
most from the crisis, a crisis caused mainly by the rich industrialised
world. "

" Hope for a solution lies with the people. We must demand action from
our governments and reject them if they fail to deliver."

The 18th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change saw no substantial progress on the promises
made by the industrialised world to address its historic role in causing
the climate crisis.

Under the Convention, developed countries are committed to deliver
strong and binding emissions cuts in line with climate science and
equity, and adequate climate finance to compensate developing countries
and support their sustainable development.

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International energy
coordinator said:

"The fossil fuel lobby won the Qatar desert climate battle, where we
witnessed dirty industry elites still holding the reins of our
governments. Meanwhile the climate crisis worsens and the window for
action shrinks day by day. Developed countries did not even try to solve
the climate crisis at these talks. Instead, they continued to protect
the interests of fossil fuelled corporations and helped financial elites
grow their latest cash cow: the global carbon market scam."

Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International climate justice
coordinator said: "We need a strong and binding international agreement
to curb the global climate crisis. But as the talks in Doha show, people
around the world cannot wait for our governments to see sense and
deliver the solutions. Working together in our communities, people are
already resisting fossil fuels and dirty energy, building clean energy
cooperatives, transforming our food systems, and protecting our forests,
land and water from multinational corporations. Only
people-and-planet-centred solutions will solve the climate crisis and
create a better future for us all. We must make our governments listen
and demand climate justice now".