By Marie-Dominique Vernhes (ATTAC DE)
"Developed countries are responsible for the vast majority of historical emissions and many have made significant gains by burning fossil fuels," said Amjad Abdulla, who represents some 40 nations scattered across all oceans, from the Maldives to Singapore and the Bahamas. "We are facing devastating climate consequences and some of us could be lost forever due to rising water," he said. (radio canada)
COP 24 confirms these criticisms, here an overview:
https://reporterre.net/La-COP24-sauve-l-Accord-de-Paris-mais-pas-plus
http://www.climatenetwork.org/, http://www.caneurope.org/
Before and during COP24 many actions, demonstrations took place to underline the urgency of taking radical measures for climate justice and climate protection.
We call on the Alter Summit workgroup "ecological transition" to prepare part of the Alter Summit meeting in February in order to discuss the strategy to be developed to deal effectively with climate change and social emergencies, to promote convergence between a multitude of actions carried out around the world.
The following is an incomplete list of such actions - Thank you for completing it!
Demonstrations
- Canada: 50 000 demonstrators on 10.11.2018
- Germany on December 1: Demonstrations in Berlin and Cologne, 36,000 people in particular are calling for the closure of coal-fired power plants https://www.klima-kohle-demo.de/
- Great Britain on December 1st (Photo)
- Belgium on 2 December: 75,000 in Brussels: klimaatcoalitie.be
- France: demonstrations on 8 September and in 80 cities on 13 October,
(Paris: 15000)
New action day on December 8th
"On December 8th, let’s sound the climate alarm. Associations and trade unions commit themselves to join the mobilisations of 8 December and call for a greater citizen awareness for social and ecological justice"
https://france.attac.org/se-mobiliser/justice-sociale-et-climatique/article/tribune-sonnons-l-alarme-climatique-plus-de-60-associations-appellent-a-se (Attac france report (actions in many cities, demonstrations of 10 000 in Marseille, 10 000 in Lyon, 25000 in Paris)
Other actions
1. Campaign #NotWithOurMoney https://france.attac.org/se-mobiliser/pasavecnotreargent/
(in the same direction: campaign https://zerofossile.org/desinvestissement/ = https://gohfossilfree.org/not-a-penny-more/)
On Sunday, December 2, the day of the launch of COP 24, 50 Attac activists redecorated in their own way the facade of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) in Paris. The activists denounced the use made by the CDC of popular savings as part of the national campaign #NotWithOurMoney, at the initiative of Attac France and 350.org
https://france.attac.org/actus-et-medias/salle-de-presse/article/attac-repeint-la-facade-de-la-caisse-des-depots-le-ldds-ne-doit-plus-financer
Such actions also took place on December 8 (https://france.attac.org/se-mobiliser/justice-sociale-et-climatique/article/le-8-decembre-nous-etions-dans-la-rue-dans-les-marches-pour-le-climat-et-avec) and December 14 against Société Générale (https://reporterre.net/A-Paris-les-activistes-du-climat-ont-cible-la-Societe-generale-banque-fossile).
2. Trade unionists:
Latin American Unions Adopt Radical Energy Agenda: "De-privatize, Democratize, De-commodify" (11.10.2018) http://unionsforenergydemocracy.org/latin-american-unions-adopt-radical-energy-agenda/
3. Canada: "Pact for the transition - From words to action": https://www.lepacte.ca/english.html
- 254,000 of the 8 million Quebecers have signed this agreement (17.12.)
"I commit, immediately and for the next two years, to reduce my greenhouse gas emissions to the extent of my reality and capacities, by taking the following concrete actions: (...) "IN RETURN FOR MY INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS, KNOWING PERTI-NALLY THAT THE SUM OF INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS WILL NOT STAND UP TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE TARGETS TO BE ACHIEVED AND THAT POLITICAL ACTION IS UNAVOIDABLE IN THE FACE OF URGENCY,
I REQUEST THE GOVERNMENTS TO COMMIT TO: (…)
4. actions against coal mining in Germany
2016 in Germany: emissions from lignite-fired power plants are 153 million tonnes of CO2; coal-fired power plants 87 million tonnes of CO2 (Umwelt-bundesamt), i.e. about ¼ of total CO2 emissions in Germany.
Open-pit lignite mines have been the subject of protest for years:
camps, occupation of the mine etc.....; in October important mobilization against the destruction of a forest - a judgment stopped this destruction already started! https://www.ende-gelaende.org/de/
Trade unionists "for climate protection! "oppose the opposition made by the synodical management of the IG BCE between jobs on the one hand and ecological needs on the other hand and advocate a concertaion of the different social groups... and a good reduction of work! http://www.labournet.de/branchen/energie/klima/gewerkschafterinnen-fuer-klimaschutz/
5. Measures that are not working:
"Rising fuel prices are unfair and inefficient in the absence of a real ecological and social transition", Tuesday, November 13, 2018, by Attac France
Collective: The yellow vest movement, which emerged to reject an unfair increase in fuel prices, has brought into the public debate the whole range of government social policy and neoliberal policies implemented by successive governments over decades. He strongly affirmed the link between the social and ecological question: the necessary ecological transition cannot be made at the expense of the majority of the population. This movement now carries a fundamental democratic requirement: it is not for a small privileged minority to decide the future of all.
https://france.attac.org/actus-et-medias/le-flux/article/amplifions-les-mobilisations-pour-la-justice-sociale-et-climatique
Attac France is committed to another tax system:
https://france.attac.org/IMG/pdf/basculer_la_fiscalite_carbone_sur_les_entreprises_les_plus_polluantes_et_jusqu_ici_largement_exonerees.pdf
Attac proposes a shift in carbon taxation for the most polluting companies, which have so far been largely exempt from any binding carbon taxation, and a moratorium on any further increase in carbon taxation for households, craftsmen and small businesses.
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