World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, organized by the Bolivian government, was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia April 19-22, 2010 as a response to failed climate talks in Copenhagen during the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 15) climate meetings in December 2009.
The conference's objective was to provide an alternative platform for civil society and governments to discuss climate change issues, and specifically to produce proposals for new commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and projects in the lead up to the next UN climate negotiations scheduled during the COP 16 meeting in Mexico in December 2010.
It is estimated that over 30,000 people from environmental justice and indigenous rights organizations from 150 nations joined government representatives and several heads of state to discuss climate change. Participants called for rich countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and suggested setting up a court to punish climate crimes. Several Declarations were drafted during the meetings including the Indigenous Peoples Declaration.
The meeting has no direct bearing on the UN climate talks, but it has been set up as a venue for grassroots movements to put pressure on governments to act on climate change.
