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Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Well since we’re still in January, I want to wish you a year filled with new adventures and great fortune.
I believe entering a new year has a touch of magic to it, bringing us the opportunity to refresh, regroup and renew our goals, skills, ideas and more. Especially for us in the climate movement as we focus on planning, campaigns, actions and other exciting stuff. This fulfilling movement always seems to be on the go, a few stops here and there to catch a breath. Though through and through, there is always momentum from corner to corner, giving us an extraordinary gift to unite; mobilise under a common umbrella of justice.
Thank you for being back to our newsletter and we’ll see you again next month.
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In Case You Missed It
Oil CEO to lead COP28
Yes, you’re definitely reading it right!
The year for COP28 has heard some very controversial news when it was announced early this month that oil executive Sultan al-Jaber has been appointed as President of this year’s UN climate treaty negotiations at COP28 in Dubai.
Activists have raised their concerns with obvious reasons, this is a conflict of interest at the highest level. Some compare it to a “wolf watching over sheep”, or my favorite “inviting Marlboro (or any famous cigarette brand) to a Cancer Conference”.
Now back to COP28, the role of the President at the UN summit focuses on setting the tone and agenda. What we then ask, how can an oil company executive really integrate fossil fuel interests while maintaining the urgency of fighting climate change in these crucial days?
Stay tuned! We too, are curious to see how things will pan out. And even more motivated to ensure that the climate movement stays focused on bringing an end to the fossil fuel era.
An endangered village vs climate chaos
The German village Lützerath is on the verge of being swallowed by the Garzweiler coal mine expansion that is run by RWE, Germany’s largest power company.
The devastating news was making waves in the climate movement as the evacuation of the village brought on solidarity actions to prevent the destruction. Seeing the numbers not only in the village of Lützerath, but in other parts of Germany brings hope to the climate movement. When people step up, our voices are heard. Those voices are screaming for accountability and the need for climate and social justice for the village.
Photo credit: The Guardian
Atlanticazo goes back to the streets to defend the sea
Early this month, thousands of people took the streets of Buenos Aires again, to protest against offshore oil drilling under the banner of the Atlanticazo movement. The march marked the one year anniversary since the first mobilizations, in January 2022, and were motivated by the recent approval by the government for seismic exploration projects, with the intention of checking the feasibility of oil drilling in the sea by the coast close to Mar del Plata.
Naturally such upsetting news would bring mobilisations of communities and socio-environmental, who had won last year a precautionary measure against such kind of projects – that was now revoked. The call to halt such destructive projects is for social and climate justice. The threat is big, habitats will be destroyed, sources of work lost, and any oil spill will leave irreparable damage to the sea.
People will not back down, they will continue to come together in solidarity for the protection of the sea.
Building the pressure for Canada’s Just Transition Act
As Parliament opened their doors for the year, word on the street is that the Trudeau government has set to introduce long-promised Just Transition legislation in early 2023 and it’s in the media spotlight like never before. And while this is certainly good and big news, the climate movement in Canada is working hard to ensure that the legislation meets both the breath, ambition and urgency that is required to halt the climate crisis.
The Big Oil is not saving money on spreading misinformation, and some politicians have been signalling that the Just Transition Act might not be as bold as people hope for. Wasting no time, this was the perfect opportunity for us to respond with Letter-to-Editor actions, spreading the word through local newspapers to build pressure on Parliament, to fight the forces of climate denial and delay and share the vision that a Just Transition that is based on science, guarantees good and green jobs and puts people over profit is possible!
One to Watch
The year is 2023, a year where the climate movement continues to hold climate polluters accountable.
The future looks a lot like renewable energy, sustainable finance, rooted on justice. Using these principles, the vision is to come together not just to mobilise but share those skills and build resilience with climate justice at the heart of it all.
A just and equitable transition is possible. The future is in our hands, let’s invest in it.
USE YOUR POWER
Kick the fossil fuel industry out of politics!
Can you imagine what that world would look like? As we’re faced with the soaring energy prices, the fossil fuel lobby is spending millions to sabotage policies that would help us cope. Policies that would bring about a just transition and a sustainable future.
The industry is out to make profits, and their focus isn’t on us or the climate chaos caused by the industry. But no more!
Our team in Europe is calling for its leaders to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry. Help us kick them out!
SKILL UP YOUR ACTIVISM
New year, new skills right!
To kick off the year, the Social Movement Technologies have some cool amazing training and coaching sessions planned out for the first quarter of the year.
If you’re reading this and you’re a campaigner or an activist, please take the time to really look at the resources offered. I don’t think it’s too late in the month to have another new year resolution under your belt. If anything, send it to that friend of yours who has been wanting to learn more and do more. Let this be that sign.
IN OTHER NEWS
Quote of the month
“We would urge the UAE government to really listen to the cries of the people: women in the Congo forest; Indigenous people in Africa; smallholder farmers whose crops are withered away because there is no rainfall and the thousands of people in the Horn of Africa who are facing starvation as a result of the changing climate. We may not have the power of money, but the power of the people will prevail.”
– Mithika Mwenda,
Co-founder and Executive Director of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance
