Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General; Achim Steiner, UNEP Director General: Make the Charter of Compassion the starting point for all sessions of COP20

In December, Peru will host the 20th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP20). It is particularly important conference this time because it prepares for the next one in Paris in 2015,where agreements will be signed, so this is the one where the decisions will really be made, and it comes when, by some estimations, we are only 24 months away from the possible tipping point where, if nothing radical is done to arrest the causes of climate chance, there is a real risk of a self perpetuating spiral of change that we will be able to do nothing to stop. These "decisive" conferences come around very infrequently, so, if we do not get it right this time, we may well never have another chance. We will not be the first species to have caused its own extinction.

One of the key reasons why these conferences habitually fail to produce tangible results is because the national delegations are locked into an antiquated concept of "national interest" in which countries ritually compete for relative advantage, regardless of the consequences for others, and where unaccountable multinational businesses exploit this system to coerce major players to take decisions for their advantage. This is a difficult cycle to break but, in the last analysis, these international agreements are made between governments, and whilst multinationals are often richer than many governments, a fact that gives them great power, they cannot do without government: they all have to operate from some national territory.

I believe that the "Charter for Compassion" (http://charterforcompassion.org/sign-share-charter ) offers a potential way forward. This is a declaration of principle, conceived by Karen Armstrong (academic and writer) that aims to transcend religious, ideological and national differences. It is already signed by an impressively wide range of the World's moral leaders and 110,260 other citizens, that is based on the Golden Rule, common to almost all of the world's religions, and thus to almost all of the World's cultures, that we act towards others as we would wish them to act towards us and, conversely, that we do not do to others what we would not wish them to do to us. It was conceived as a contribution to world peace, especially where people use religion as a rallying cry. Given that almost all conflicts are basically about access to and control of resources, and are much less to do with the absolute availability of resources than with the poverty that is caused by their uneven distribution, and climate change can only exacerbate that, this declaration could make a significant contribution. It is a declaration of principles that are so basic to human existence that no world leader, no government, no international corporation could openly deny them, without endangering their own political position. If it were applied to climate change negotiations, the already self-evident solutions could only be denied by "leaders" who were prepared openly to sink humanity for a handful of silver. I cannot think of any who would declare their cynicism so openly.

This campaign then is for all citizens of the World
a) to call on the organisers of the COP20, and subsequent events, to demand that ALL delegates sign the Charter for Compassion in an open ceremony at the start of the conference;
b) to call on the chairmen of each session of the negotiations to read out the Charter for Compassion at the start of the session, and to make reference to it regularly whenever the discussion strays away from those principles;
c) to call on national, international and institutional delegates to sign the Charter for Compassion and adhere to its principles, whilst negotiating agreements internationally, and to oblige all public functionaries to do the same.


The text of the Charter for Compassion:

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.