A Southeast Asian network of fisherfolk and non-government organizations is spearheading a series of forums with regional government bodies to push for changes in current measures to address climate change in the region.

Arsenio Tanchuling, regional coordinator of the Southeast Asia Fish for Justice Network (SEAFish), said in a statement that the series of activities begins on September 29 and will last until October 4 in Bangkok, Thailand. He said the forums include dialogues with the Regional Secretariat of the Coral Triangle Initiative currently represented by the Indonesian government, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific, and an “interface” between small fishers and farmers groups and ASEAN government representatives.

Tanchuling said that current measures to address climate change rely too much on market-based approaches such as carbon trading and offsets.  “In contrast, the forums will serve to highlight the recognition of the principle of climate justice on the issue of climate change, according to which rich countries have a historical responsibility for climate change and its impacts on poor countries for which the latter have the right to demand reparations and restitution, he explained.

Tanchuling said that the minimum estimate of the monetary equivalent of what the rich countries owed the poor countries from 1800 to 2008 is about USD 24 trillion, and does not include the cost of future emissions as they continue to produce most of the greenhouse gasses (GHG) that cause global warming.

“Accordingly, small fishers and we will demand that the governments of rich countries to commit to drastic, deeper and unconditional cuts in carbon and GHG emissions without resorting to carbon trading and offsets and other market approaches,” he said.

Tanchuling added that in accordance with climate justice, funding for adaptation and mitigation measures should be borne by rich countries that have produced the most emissions historically and should not be in the form of loans to be paid by poor countries.