Bolivia’s alternative climate conference to kick off next week
LA PAZ — The alternative “people’s conference” on climate change called by socialist Bolivian President Evo Morales is expecting 7,500 delegates from more than 100 countries, officials said Monday.
Among those set to attend the gathering in Cochabamba April 20-22 include Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, according to Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca.
Named the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, the gathering is intended to “give a voice to the people” on climate change after the perceived failure of the United Nations-sponsored Copenhagen summit on the same issue, organizers say.
In addition to government leaders, those attending will include delegates from social movements and nongovernmental organizations. Organizers say they expect attendees to include anti-globalization activists Naomi Klein of Canada and Jose Bove of France, and James Hansen, a U.S. scientist who was among the first to warn about climate change. Also invited to the event was James Cameron, the Canadian-born director of the blockbuster film “Avatar.”
Government delegations will be coming from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Dominica, Antigua, and Barbudas as well as St Vincent and the Grenadines, officials say.
The conference will seek to refine proposals put forward by Morales in Copenhagen, including the creation of a world tribunal for climate issues and a global referendum on environmental choices.
Green Resistance (teaching, organizing, and eco-thinking) 
It’s very nice and encouraging to see countries taking the initiative in the climate change issue. Such individual initiatives will probably be the best way to solve this problem. Hopefully this conference will refine the work of the Copenhagen summit and inspire new conferences to take place.
By: Nicole Daoud (biol 207) on April 13, 2010
at 8:47 am
Nicole
Why do you think that individual initiatives will be the best way to solve a global problem?
-Rania
By: r.m. on April 13, 2010
at 8:50 am
maybe because the international initiatives are entering the world’s socio economic political game and are ruled by power and interest not by the real needs of humanity.
By: Pamela Youssef (BIOL 207) on April 13, 2010
at 12:27 pm
i guess these individual initiatives are more effective first because international conferences are held by big capitalist countries where the only goal of the state is to make more and more profit and second because these “rich” countries feel more safe about natural catastrophies because they think they own the proper infrastucture.
By: nada assaf(biol207) on April 18, 2010
at 7:09 pm
It is a good step taken by these countries.
I think all countries should assist in this conference, because climate change is a global issue.
Hopefully new solutions will take place.
By: Marianne Itani(pdhp212) on April 19, 2010
at 8:03 pm
Today is Earth Day, and since the conference in Bolivia is set to be between 20 and 22 april, so we hope that those people attending the meeting will arrive to a solution as a gift for the earth on its day. However i think that it is a positive point to have those movements since those countries are “feeling” the problem. And as Nada said that they will have bigger effect since they only interest is to solve the problem since it is affecting their safeties. But i hope that the big countries would be involve leaving the money profit and caring for just once about the place we are living it: EARTH.
By: Sally El Helou (Biol 207) on April 22, 2010
at 9:42 pm
Today is Earth Day, and since the conference in Bolivia is set to be between 20 and 22 april, so we hope that those people attending the meeting will arrive to a solution as a gift for the earth on its day. However I think that it is a positive point to have those movements since those countries are “feeling” the problem. And as Nada said that they will have bigger effect since their only interest is to solve the problem since it is affecting their safeties. But I hope that the big countries would be involved also, leaving the money profit and caring for just once about the place we are living in: EARTH.
By: Sally El Helou (Biol 207) on April 22, 2010
at 9:46 pm
I think that this conference is a good alternative but not the only one that should be kicked off especially after the failure of the United Nations-sponsored Copenhagen summit on the issue of climate change. Moreover, it is step forward because it makes us feel that someone is at least worried about the effect of climate change on our earth.Besides, i think that individual initiatives will be the best way to solve a global problem because in this case every country will start from itself and will contribute to the solution of climate change rather than fighting for interests by exploiting the Rights of Mother Earth.
By: Saada El Jurdi on May 1, 2010
at 8:42 pm
It’s good to give another chance to “heal” the rest of our mother earth; however these conferences intend to plan, What about take an action? If we take an action. I know that even planning never happened in the US conference. However we are really bored of talking, where is the funding? Where is the action?
By: Jack El Sawda(biol207) on June 4, 2010
at 1:45 pm