Recent Statements by the Bolivian and Venezuelan Governments

The Concept of Living Well – A Bolivian Standpoint – Article distributed in English by the Bolivian delegation at the UN, April 2010

Excerpts: “We suffer the severe effects of climate change, of the energy, food and financial crises. This is not the product of human beings in general, but of the existing inhuman capitalist system, with its unlimited industrial development. It is brought about by minority groups who control world power, concentrating wealth and power on themselves alone…

“Not working and exploiting our neighbors will possibly allow us to live better, but that is not Living Well. When one is living well, work is happiness. Work is learning to grow up, melting into the fascinating reproduction of life. It is an organic action such as breathing or walking. Within the Living Well framework, work is general, for everyone and everything, from a child to a grandfather. It’s for men, women and even nature itself. Among us, nobody lives to benefit from the work of others. Private accumulation is unknown and unnecessary. Community accumulation always fills the warehouse…

“Within the Living Well framework, what matters the most is neither man nor money; what matters the most is life. But capitalism does not care about life, and the two development models, the capitalist and the socialist, need rapid economic growth, causing a dissipation of energy and an insatiable use of fossil fuels to boost growth…

“In this Global Crisis, all the problems have the same structural base, and can be faced using the same structural changes. The solution for each one is the solution for all. All the new models must begin by accepting there are fundamental limits to the capacity of the Earth to sustain us. Within those limits, societies must work to set new standards of universal economic sufficiency and a Living Well conception that does not depend on the excessive use of the planet’s resources…

“Let us build a Living Well vision and the sovereignty of our communities within the balance between man and nature, where we can rebuild our bonds, respecting everyone’s right to consultation when making our own decisions, where we can freely determine our own aims, our forms of organization, the joint planning of our communities, the designation of our authorities, all based on the knowledge we have of ourselves and with full awareness of the responsibility that this entails.”

Venezuela and climate change: Change the system, not the climate

by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States

“Venezuela is both one of the world’s main producers of oil and one of its most ecologically diverse  countries. While a seeming contradiction, over the last decade Venezuela has been striving to protect its natural environment, better use oil resources to promote sustainable development and work within the international framework to ensure that climate change remains a central topic of discussion requiring concerted efforts from the world’s countries…

“However, Venezuela also believes that the increased concentration of greenhouse gases is a consequence of a resource-heavy development model, and not just the cause of climate change. For Venezuela, the cause of the world’s changing climate is closely linked to the current development model that favors the interests of big capital and unchecked growth at the expense of equitable development and ecological balance…

“Of course, Venezuela remains a vital producer of oil, a status that might seem at odds with its commitment to attacking the roots of climate change. But over the last decade, Venezuela has worked to better use oil rationally and employ the revenues from its sales for social programs and sustainable development initiatives.

“In Venezuela, oil is seen as an instrument of peace and integration that enables the achievement of the national strategy of sustainable development, in keeping with a rational exploitation of this non-renewable natural resource…

“Developed countries should fulfill their commitment to share technology and establish appropriate financial mechanisms to make the fight against climate change in developing countries more effective. Venezuela rejects market solutions to address climate change issues.

“At the XV Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009, Venezuela, along with the countries of ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance of Our America), avoided legitimizing the summit’s agreement, which was promoted by highly developed countries and not based on what international working groups had been negotiating for over two years…

“At the Cochabamba Summit, more than 30,000 people from 140 countries and 56 governments made their proposals to address the problem of climate change in a participatory manner. During his participation in the conference, President Chávez proposed that the position of the ALBA in Cancun should be aligned with the resulting conclusions of the Cochabamba Summit.”