For the last 6 months, millions of people have taken to the streets in France, following the lead of trade unions, protesting against the pension reform. Alongside these unions, many other collectives and groups supported the strikes, participated in blockades, actions and processions. Climate justice groups in particular have emphasized that the fight against pension reform shares significant parallels with the fight against climate change.
A united front has thus been built, strengthening existing alliances between trade unions and the climate justice movement.
On the eve of the opening of the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in Paris, it is crucial to state loud and clear that the destruction of all forms of social protection and solidarity organized by the state obeys the same logic as the destruction of ecosystems, the collapse of biodiversity and, of course, climate change.
Climate justice can only emerge from broad alliances: when climate activists, employees fighting for their jobs, frontline communities directly affected by climate impacts, pensioners defending their right to stop working, and others, are organizing together.
We would therefore like to invite you to participate in a public discussion to show our solidarity with the trade union organizations behind the struggle against pension reform and to build links between the climate justice movement and other struggles.
The goal of this event is to present our vision of a future free of the fossil fuel industry and neoliberalism’s hegemony. If world leaders decided to tax the rich and socialize the profits of major polluters like Total, Exxon, and BP, what could we achieve?
The conversation will be streamed online, both in French and in English, and be loosely moderated. There will be live (simultaneous) translation (English-French).
The French stream is available here and the English stream is available here.
Part 1: End of the world, end of the month: how to build alliances?
With:
- Greta Thunberg, Fridays for Future
- Vanessa Nakate, Rise Up Climate movement
- Sophie Binet, General Secretary, Confédération Générale du Travail – CGT
- Clémence Dubois, Associate Director, Global Campaigns, 350.org
- Benoit Teste, General Secretary, Fédération Syndicale Unitaire –– FSU
Part 2: Reinventing North-South solidarity around climate change
With:
- Diana Nabiruma, Africa Institute for Energy Governance
- Simon Duteil, Co-délégué général du syndicat Solidaires
- Youlie Yamamoto, porte-parole ATTAC
- Disha Ravie, Fridays for Future, Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA)
- Luisa Neubauer, Fridays for Future, Germany
- Benoit Teste, General Secretary, Fédération Syndicale Unitaire –– FSU
- Clémence Dubois, Associate Director, Global Campaigns, 350.org