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The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an UN-hosted forum that collects the world’s knowledge on the climate crisis from tens of thousands of scientific researchers at a global level, has spoken on March 20th. The publication of the 6th Synthesis Report marks the end of a cycle and the latest call for justice and an equitable implementation of climate solutions now.

There is nothing on the report that our movement hasn’t known for several years: we have been pointing our fingers at those responsible for the climate crisis, we have been feeling its disproportionate impacts, and we know what we need to do to solve it. But the IPCC report is important because it grounds our demands into research, it translates our lived experiences into measurable scientific data. 

This is the report that the world will quote and claim to be following for the next several years. And our question today is: what does it say about climate justice?

What is justice?

In 2022, unprecedented monsoon rains and melting glaciers left 0ne third of Pakistan underwater. Almost 1,800 people died and millions lost their homes and livelihoods. After the disaster, food prices have gone up and are pushing millions more into extreme poverty. And yet, Pakistan is only responsible for 0.3% of historical global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. This is just one example of how the climate crisis is impacting people around the world. And this is the translation of the word injustice in real life. But what is justice?

As with all philosophical concepts, justice’s definition may be presented as elusive, but in this case, climate justice is clear as day: those responsible for the harm have to pay for the solutions, and fast. Those who profit from the devastation need to step aside and let communities take control of the new world we’re building together. And they need to do it now. This is not a choice: it’s a scientific imperative.

“Without urgent, effective, and equitable mitigation and adaptation actions, climate change increasingly threatens ecosystems, biodiversity, and the livelihoods, health and wellbeing of current and future generations.”

The IPCC is clear: “climate resilient development is enabled when governments, civil society and the private sector make inclusive development choices that prioritize risk reduction, equity and justice”. There’s no top-down solution. Real, equitable and just solutions are distributed and democratic.  

Fighting communities

Climate justice is urgent. Tropical cyclones repeatedly hit communities in the Pacific, the Philippines, Madagascar and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, drought grips the Horn of Africa, and heatwaves disproportionately threaten vulnerable people, the working class, the elderly, women and children all over the world. Every fraction of a degree of extra warming will make things worse: solutions can’t wait.

These impacts are not equally distributed. As the IPCC confirms, the “largest adverse impacts” happen in “Africa, Asia, Central and South America, [Least Developed Countries], Small Islands and the Arctic”, and, at a global level, “for Indigenous Peoples, small-scale food producers and low-income households”. And, guess what? Those are exactly the people and regions that are least responsible for the climate crisis. It’s time for the balance to be restored.

Decades of injustice

The fossil fuel industry has known that their activities were leading us to catastrophic climate change for at least six decades, but not only do they not pay for it: all the rest of us pay them. And this is not 350’s opinion: it’s in the latest IPCC report. “Public and private finance flows for fossil fuels are still greater than those for climate adaptation and mitigation”, the scientists say. Fossil fuel companies have posted record profits this year. This is not justice.

Instead, science says that we need to act immediately, coordinately, and focus on vulnerable communities and the Global South. This is not a political position, it’s a scientific fact. The IPCC says that we need “improved access to adequate financial resources, particularly for vulnerable regions, sectors and groups, and inclusive governance and coordinated policies”.

In real life, that translates into changing laws and policies to remove the barriers facing community-centred renewable energy projects. It means redirecting investments from coal, oil and gas into solar and wind energy initiatives that are rooted in principles of justice. It’s providing access to clean, reliable and affordable energy to everyone, and creating opportunities for workers to be part of a just transition. Climate justice is not top-down, it comes from the empowerment of those communities in the decision-making. It doesn’t happen in once-a-year events. It happens every day, everywhere, or nowhere at all.

Pay for solutions now!

Most of the money invested in climate solutions is spent on mitigation measures, such as renewable energy sources, but it’s not enough. The IPCC report is clear. “In 2018, public and publicly mobilised private climate finance flows from developed to developing countries were below the collective goal under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.” The part of the world that bears the responsibility is not paying the bill, and thus, the window of opportunity to act is narrowing. 

In terms of adaptation, the science is loud and clear too: the reasons why communities can’t access what they need to protect themselves against the worst impacts of the climate crisis are not a lack of available solutions. The reasons are, among others, “limited resources, lack of private sector and citizen engagement, insufficient mobilization of finance […], low climate literacy (and) lack of political commitment”. Maladaptation affects, again, those least responsible for climate change.

Climate justice is not a debate. It’s a scientific imperative that requires implementing solutions today. “Climate resilient development pathways […] are progressively constrained by every increment of warming, in particular beyond 1.5°C”.

Climate justice is to contain global heating under 1.5ºC and every fraction of a degree thereafter.

Climate justice means that those who have profited and continue to profit from climate harm must immediately start paying to protect those left in a position of vulnerability. And the first step is to be organized in order to demand solutions and be involved in their just implementation. Organize. Mobilize. Join us!

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Emissions

At the end of the day, the climate crisis comes down to emissions. When climate scientists talk about emissions, they are referring to emissions of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for global heating and, in turn, the climate crisis. Emissions come, mostly, from burning fossil fuels, and they can be divided into CO2 (the largest single contributor to global heating) and non-CO2 (which don’t contribute as much, but often are much worse than CO2 in the short term). These non-CO2 emissions include gases such as methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (NO2).

Loss and damage

Loss and damage (often shortened to L&D) is a term that refers to the impacts of the climate crisis that human communities can’t adapt to, either because it’s too severe, or because the affected communities can’t access existing adaptation measures. L&D is a central element of climate justice, as most affected communities rarely are responsible for climate change. Historically responsible countries have committed to creating a fund to compensate for these losses and damages.

For example, the loss of land and freshwater that many Pacific communities will experience due to rising sea levels during this century is considered loss and damage.

In 2022, leaders of 15 low-lying Pacific island nations declared climate change their “single greatest existential threat”. In 2014, Fiji became the first nation to relocate a community because of rising sea levels when salt water invaded Vunidogoloa. Photo credit: Forest Woodward, Matagi Mālohi movie

Mitigation

This term refers to all the measures and technologies that lead to a reduction in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These include phasing out fossil fuels but also changes in economic systems, behaviours and experimental technologies to remove or capture carbon.

For example, replacing electricity sources from coal thermal plants with solar panels is a mitigation measure.

Adaptation

This term refers to all the measures that respond to current or future climate impacts. They are a way to prepare against the effects of climate change. Often, adaptation measures have positive effects, helping communities improve their livelihoods. However, sometimes adaptation focuses too much on the short term and neglects the long term, which may result in future losses and damages.

Adaptation is a matter of climate justice, as more impoverished communities can’t access adaptation tools in the same way that wealthier communities can.

Scenarios / Pathways

Scientists use many tools to study the future that lies in front of us. And that future depends on the actions we take today. That’s what scenarios and pathways are: they are models that describe what the future will look like depending on how much we emit today. They are projections, not predictions, so they should be used as guidelines, or windows to many possible developments. In addition, the IPCC explicitly recognises that scenarios and pathways don’t make “assumptions about global equity, environmental justice or intra-regional income distribution”.

Projected changes of annual maximum daily maximum temperature at global warming levels of 1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C, and 4°C relative to 1850–1900. Source: IPCC AR6

Carbon budget

A carbon budget is the remaining amount of greenhouse gases that humans can dump into the atmosphere while keeping global temperatures from rising above certain points. Therefore, there is a carbon budget for 1.5ºC and another for 2ºC (and many more!). Carbon budgets are closely related to scenarios and pathways.

The full exploitation of current fossil fuel developments would completely consume our carbon budget for 1.5ºC, which means that fossil fuels need to be immediately phased out and replaced with renewable energies to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Overshoot

Some scenarios and pathways show that we may cross certain temperature rise thresholds (such as 1.5ºC), but that it can be reduced again later. This temporary excess of temperature is called “overshoot”. While it’s clear that permanent global heating is worse than overshooting, the latter is not good news either, as that may be enough to kick off some irreversible domino effects.

Levels of confidence

Each statement included in any of the IPCC reports includes (in brackets), the level of confidence that the authors have in that claim. There are five levels: very low, low, medium, high and very high. These reflect the answer to two questions about the statement:

1. How robust is the evidence supporting this statement?
2. How much agreement is there in the scientific community that this statement is true?

The IPCC tries to reserve any statement with low or very low confidence to areas of major concern, so most of the claims you’ll see have at least medium confidence. That means that most of what you can read in any of their reports is widely supported by either the scientific community, evidence, or, most likely, both.

Disinformation is often found to use these terms to sow division in society, trying to make them appear as if they reflected disagreement and uncertainty, instead of the opposite.

Likelihood

Same as with the levels of confidence, most statements in an IPCC report include a degree of likelihood that reflects the possibility that said statement is true. The scale of likelihood looks like this:

• • • • virtually certain (99-100% likely to be true)
      • very likely (90-100% likely to be true)
      • likely (66-100% likely to be true)
      • more likely than not (50-100% likely to be true)
      • about as likely as not (33-66% likely to be true)
      • unlikely (0-33% likely to be true)
      • very unlikely (0-10% likely to be true)
      • exceptionally unlikely (0-1% likely to be true)

Best estimate

When climate scientists talk about numbers, such as temperature increases or sea-level rise metres, they almost always present these numbers as a range of possibilities. Within this range, they often present a figure that they think is the most likely value, and they call this number the “best estimate”. 

For example, if they say: “Continued greenhouse gas emissions will lead to increasing global warming, with the best estimate of reaching 1.5°C in the near term”, that means that we may reach a bit more or a bit less, or a bit before or a bit after, but reaching 1.5ºC in the near term is the most likely.

 

 

The post Listen to the science: 10 climate jargon terms, explained appeared first on 350.

“Le changement climatique est un problème causé par l’homme qui a une solution féministe” – Mary Robinson 

A l’occasion de la journée internationale de lutte pour les droits des femmes, je voulais vous partager un peu de mon point de vue sur le lien entre solutions pour le climat et féminisme.

L’un des principes qui me permet de tenir bon au quotidien dans cette lutte contre la crise climatique est la ferme conviction que si nous réussissons, non seulement nous limiterons les effets du changement climatique et la destruction de notre environnement, mais nous pourrons aussi résoudre de multiples fléaux sociaux. Si nous nous penchons vraiment sur les racines du changement climatique, nous constatons que ses causes destructrices sont tissées de tant de forces toxiques.

92,6 % des PDG de Fortune 500 sont des hommes. Les hommes détiennent encore 75 % des sièges dans les parlements nationaux du monde entier. Sur les 110 dirigeants de la COP27 qui a eu lieu en novembre 2021, seulement sept étaient des femmes. Depuis 1970, les émissions mondiales de carbone ont augmenté d’environ 90 %. Si nous examinons les solutions nécessaires pour sauver notre planète, nous devons cesser de nous appuyer sur des systèmes patriarcaux et néocoloniaux qui ne cherchent qu’à mettre en œuvre des artifices qui leur permettent de perpétuer leur mainmise sur le pouvoir.

La façon dont ces systèmes destructeurs s’accaparent nos ressources naturelles est très similaire à la façon dont nos sociétés patriarcales traitent les femmes.

Il y a des années, Vandana Shiva et Maria Mies, dans leur texte clé Ecofeminism, ont clairement déclaré que “partout où les femmes ont agi contre la destruction écologique… elles ont immédiatement pris conscience du lien entre la violence patriarcale à l’égard des femmes, des autres groupes minorisés et de la nature”.

Les Lumières occidentales ont appris aux hommes à considérer l’environnement comme un “autre”, de la même manière que les femmes ou les personnes de couleur l’ont également été et le sont toujours. En les qualifiant de “autre”, il était alors plus acceptable de les maltraiter. Mais ce système n’a que trop duré ! Si nous voulons aller de l’avant, nous devons bouleverser ce mode de pensée obsolète et meurtrier.

Journée internationale de lutte pour les droits des femmes : lutte contre les énergies fossiles

La Dr Valerie Hudson fait partie des personnes qui ont développé le projet WomanStats qui, grâce à des recherches rigoureuses, a montré qu’il existe une corrélation directe entre le degré de paix d’une nation et la manière dont elle traite ses femmes. Les données ont clairement montré que “ce qui arrive aux femmes affecte la sécurité, la stabilité, la prospérité, le caractère belliqueux, la corruption, la santé, le type de régime et (oui) le pouvoir de l’État”. Il n’est pas difficile d’établir des liens entre le traitement des femmes et celui de l’environnement. Je parierais qu’il est fort probable que les pays dont les politiques de protection des femmes sont exécrables respectent également peu les engagements pris en matière de climat. Bien que, avouons-le, ceux considérés comme étant avancés en matière d’égalité des genres ne sont pas non plus exempts de ces manquements.

Il a été répété à maintes reprises que les femmes portent le poids le plus lourd du dérèglement climatique. Les Nations unies estiment que 80 % des personnes déplacées par le changement climatique sont des femmes. Les faits ne s’arrêtent pas là. Elles sont les plus exposées lors des catastrophes climatiques, perdent leurs revenus et sont confrontées à des taux de violence plus élevés. Je recommande la lecture de cet article de ma collègue Natalia Cardona, intitulé “La lutte pour l’égalité des genres participe à la lutte pour la justice climatique”, dans lequel elle déclare : “Pour moi, en tant que femme de couleur, les luttes pour protéger l’eau, la nourriture et la terre contre l’industrie des combustibles fossiles sont des luttes pour les droits des femmes et des filles. Ces luttes sont liées à nos appels à l’autonomie sur nos corps, nos vies, nos moyens de subsistance et notre droit à vivre sans violence.”

Mais les femmes sont également à l’avant-garde de la mise en place de solutions pour le climat – des solutions réelles, durables et profondes. Les femmes arrachent les racines systématiques pleines de pourriture et aident à planter de nouvelles visions et voies à suivre. Pour ce faire, nous avons besoin d’un féminisme intersectionnel qui reconnaisse les liens nécessaires entre les luttes. Dans un essai récent et puissant (en anglais), le Dr Chelsea Mikael Frazier déclare : “La pensée écologique féministe noire a toujours murmuré pour nous, nous incitant à comprendre les points interconnectés de notre société malade comme une première étape vers la restauration de nos environnements”. Le racisme, le colonialisme, le patriarcat et la crise climatique sont profondément liés, ce qui signifie que nos solutions doivent l’être également.

Bangkok, Thailand — Sept 8, 2018. Photo by Pongsit Nopmaneepaisan l Survival Media Agency

 

Il n’existe pas de principes féministes immuables, mais au-delà des croyances en l’égalité des sexes, il existe des conceptions fondamentales concernant la valorisation de la coopération, de la diversité et de l’importance des soins.

Nous pouvons nous inspirer de femmes comme Angela Davis, Fatima Ouassak, Ines Leonarduzzi, Melina Laboucan-Massimo et Eriel Tchekwie Deranger d’Indigenous Climate Action. Toutes ces femmes travaillent sans relâche pour protéger leurs communautés de la dévastation causée par les grandes entreprises et les systèmes capitalistes et patriarcaux. Ines lutte activement dans son travail pour diminuer l’impact écologique du numérique. Melina et Eriel, avec tant d’autres, ont également travaillé sur la question des femmes autochtones assassinées et disparues, qui a été si horriblement répandue. En outre, Melina Laboucan-Massimo a contribué à la création de Sacred Earth Solar, qui fournit des solutions d’énergie renouvelable aux communautés autochtones.

#Journée internationale de la femme

Encourageons-nous les uns les autres et permettons au monde de s’épanouir de la manière dont nous savons qu’il le fera. L’amour que nous avons pour nous-mêmes, pour les autres et pour notre mère la Terre est sans limite. Notre résistance a toujours jailli de ce grand amour. #solidarité #uplifteachother

pic.twitter.com/dGuNTodKpm

— Melina Laboucan (@Melina_MLM) 8 mars, 2021

Lorsque Souba Manoharane-Brunel s’approche d’un microphone, je l’écoute attentivement. Elle est quelqu’un qui réfléchit en profondeur et présente ses vérités et sa sagesse de manière intersectionnelle. Elle a co-créé Les Impactrices, une organisation locale qui “lutte pour la justice climatique, de genre et la divsersité” – en particulier en accompagnant les femmes, les femmes racisées et les groupes minorisés dans les luttes pour la justice climatique”. Les initiatives pour amener des solutions à la crise climatique et pour éduquer le grand nombre aux enjeux du changement climatique existent et se multiplient de plus en plus, souvent portées par des femmes extraordinaires.

Toutes nos luttes sont liées. Il ne tient qu’à nous de se saisir de cette réalité pour créer un front large et unis pour un avenir juste et propre pour tous·tes.

De gauche à droite : Marie Toussaint (eurodéputée); Stacy Algrain (activiste climat); Vanessa Nakate (activiste climat, membre de la délégation ougandaise stopEACOP); Léa Kulinowski (les Amis de la Terre); Hilda Flavia Nakabuye (activiste climat, membre de la délégation ougandaise stopEACOP)

Il y a tant de femmes qui font humblement un travail incroyable pour protéger leurs communautés et construire de nouvelles réalités. Il y a des femmes que vous ne verrez jamais dans un article sur le “top 10 des leaders climatiques”, mais qui font le travail pour créer les structures d’organisation nécessaires jour après jour. Et le plus souvent, elles ne le font pas seules, mais avec une cohorte de sœurs, de tantes, de collègues et d’amies qui les soutiennent. Elles protègent leurs terres de l’empiètement continu des industries extractives. Elles se battent pour leurs droits. Elles prodiguent des soins à ceux qui en ont le plus besoin.

Lorsque nous disons que l’avenir est féministe, j’espère qu’il s’agit d’un avenir où nous honorons nos relations plus que nous ne vénérons les marchandises. Je veux un avenir où les femmes auront l’autonomie de leur corps et où les communautés indigènes auront le contrôle de leurs terres. Une réalité vécue où la sagesse de nos grands-mères et de nos mères est honorée et respectée. Un présent riche d’une diversité de langues, de semences et de façons d’être. Un espace où nos protestations sont respectées et où nous avons la liberté de développer des modes de connexion plus sains.

Vous pouvez écouter Vandana Shiva, Eriel Deranger et Noelene Nabulivou lors de leurs précieuses interventions au cours du Global Just Recovery Gathering organisé en 2021 par 350.org (en anglais) ainsi que d’autres femmes militantes, dont Fatima Ouassak dans leurs prises de parole sur les liens entre climat, genre et lutte pour l’avenir de nos enfants (en français) :

• Feminist action for climate justice: synergies in generation equality form action coalitions – GJRG

• Young Climate Feminists building racidal futures (sous-titres français disponibles)
• Femmes et climat, les inégalités de genre se creusent – Julie Dour
• Egalités de genre et changement climatique

• Green recovery feminist critical pathways just & equitable transition Global Just Recovery Gathering
•  Fatima Ouassak : L’écologie du XXIe siècle

• Women for climate justice leading solutions on the frontlines – Global Just Recovery
• GatheringAngélique Kidjo : Le monde comme un bébé (musique)

• Action directe écoféministe : Soyons prudents pour être dangereux ensemble

 

The post Les vraies solutions pour le climat sont féministes appeared first on 350.

Last week, climate activists from 350.org, local chapters from Portland, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, and Honor the Earth joined up as part of a delegation to learn from on-the-ground organizers about their work to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest.

This experience has given us an understanding of how truly and deeply intersectional this fight is. We’re up against some of the most powerful and pernicious forces in the world, which is why we need as many supporters in this fight as possible. Here’s what you need to know:

What’s Happening —

#StopCopCity is a grassroots movement that has arisen from many years of Black-led organizing in Atlanta, Georgia. Communities immediately started organizing when the city announced its plan to build a $90 million police and military training site in Weelaunee Forest – the largest urban forest in the United States.

[photo above] Land Acknowledgement in Weelaunee Forest put up by ATL Forest Defenders

Behind this project is the Atlanta Police Foundation, which is funded by some of the most powerful companies in the city – including Delta, AT&T, Home Depot, Bank of America, Chase, and many more.

Construction for this project was greenlit despite community input against it and after various backroom meetings between former Mayor Bottoms, corporate investors, contractors, city council, and other government officials. 

Weelaunee Forest, original land of the Muscogee people is sacred Indigenous land that holds value for so many. It’s a natural barrier against climate change and a place where multiracial communities of Atlanta spend their time biking, walking their dogs, and simply existing. A local school even started a community garden that has since been decimated by the police. Urban forests like Weelaunee also hold immense value for our ecosystem by playing a role in controlling urban heat effect, air quality, and flooding.

Opposition to Cop City began immediately when the public first became aware of the project in early 2021. Activists and community members in the primarily Black neighborhoods surrounding the proposed training center site began a series of organizing interventions and community events, including – mass meetings, barbecues, teach-ins, canvassing, and public outreach by activists and community members. All of these activities have continued since for the entire time of the movement. Firsthand we saw how this movement is rooted in joy, resistance, and care for people and the land. 

One of these forest defenders, an Indigenous queer Venezuelan activist, Manuel “Tortuguita” Páez Terán, was a true source of light who not only protested at the camp for months on end, but also raised huge amounts of mutual aid for the surrounding community. Tragically, Tortuguita was shot and killed by police during a SWAT raid of the camp. 

The mobilization to #StopCopCity rests at the intersection of climate justice, racial justice, and social justice. It’s a call from frontline communities in Atlanta to not only protect the Weelaunee Forest but also to stand in solidarity with communities of color who suffer the daily impact of police brutality and corruption at the hands of the institution of the police. As a movement for climate justice, we stand in solidarity with the movement calling to defund the police and redirect resources to community safety.   

There is a lot more to say about this movement, but we recommend checking out this resource where you can learn even more.

How You Can Take Action

As we said before, we need as many supporters in this fight as possible. There are several different ways you can take action, including:

• Coming to Atlanta for the Week of Action, taking place from March 4th–11th.
• Organizing a solidarity action from your home. There are a wide range of targets you can choose from and actions you can take, including making calls, flyering, and staging a public protest. You can click here to learn more.
• Donating to the movement through The Atlanta Solidarity Fund and the Forest Justice Defense Fund.
• Share these videos about #StopCopCity on your social media: 
  • Listen to Kwame and Jasmin from Movement Community Builders
  • Listen to Ana, a resident of Atlanta on why she’s working to #StopCopCity

Ultimately, there is not one person or entity to blame for this project. The propellers of Cop City include conservative interests, the gentrifying middle-class, and the web of corporate power. Together, these forces would create an overpoliced state that does not hesitate to take a life, destroy the environment, impede on the civil rights of Black and brown communities, and ignore Indigenous land rights. We can’t overstate how important this fight is.

Here are some reflections from the delegation on the importance of this movement:

Lisa Demaine, co-executive director of 350NewHampshire said about her experience on the ground, “Hearing and understanding what has been happening in Atlanta for the past few years was a lot of connecting the dots between environmental racism, militarized police, and their brutality towards so many people. I learned that the tactics to be trained in Atlanta’s cop city will be used on organizers outside of Georgia in addition to within the state. These militarized police training facilities exist or are being proposed in other cities of the US. We keep us safe, police are trained to respond to rather than prevent harm. In NH we have looked at the target map of investors to the Atlanta Police Foundation and have begun to call them out publicly and with calls to the offices for their divestment from the APF. There are investors in the project across the US.”

Eloise Navarro, National Fossil Fuels organizer at 350PDX (Portland) shared the following reflection on the 350 delegation to Atlanta, “Spending time in Atlanta with folks from the Stop Cop City movement has illuminated the incredible power of decentralized organizing rooted in care and community. As we had conversations with organizers of varying perspectives and movement strategies, it became clear that it is our responsibility as climate justice groups not to be involved only because a forest could be demolished, but because regardless of where Cop City (or any police development project) is built, it will poison the places we call home. Whether our “home” is the forest, urban spaces, community gathering places, or where we live, it is worth fighting for. We can undoubtedly support Atlanta through mobilization, organizing, policy support, and donations. But from the energy I felt during our conversations with those on the ground, I found there is another way we can show up in addition to these things. We can look internally to dismantle ways we participate in policing and punishment within our relationships to move toward more healing and restorative connections. Cop City must never be built anywhere, and our fight must include culture-shifting work that starts with us. 

We hope you join us in the struggle now, whether it’s here in Atlanta or at home.

 

With rage, sadness, and solidarity,

 

Krystal Two Bulls, Honor the Earth

Skyler Bouyer, Honor the Earth Youth Organizer

Eloise Navarro, 350 PDX

Lisa Demaine, 350 New Hampshire

Evan Fritz, 350 Connecticut

Jeff Ordower, 350.org

[left to right] Evan Fritz, 350CT; Jeff Ordower, 350.org; Krystal Two Bulls, Honor the Earth; Lisa Demaine, 350 New Hampshire; Eloise Navarro, 350 PDX; Skyler Bouyer, Honor the Earth Youth Organizer

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by Emily Park, Fossil Free Federal Reserve Campaign Manager

What’s the Deal with the U.S. Federal Reserve? 

The Federal Reserve System of the United States…How many Americans know what that is, let alone what it does? It’s mysterious, and it’s tremendously powerful in shaping monetary policy and the financial system of the US.

I’ve been involved with efforts to convince Chase Bank to stop using its customers’ money to fund the climate crisis for years, and it feels like the bank CEOs refuse to take notice. When I learned that there was a way that a US government agency could step in to protect our economy from these reckless actions, I was finally excited to learn what the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) is. And that’s where 350 US’ Fossil Free Federal Reserve campaign came in.

The Fed is the central bank of the US. In a nutshell, that means it’s the referee of the US economy. It’s their job to protect the stability of our financial system and our economy by ensuring that banks act responsibly. Other central banks around the world – particularly the European Central Bank, which oversees the entire Eurozone – have clearly identified the climate crisis as a direct threat to economic stability, and have started to take action. But the Fed has continued to lag, claiming that this “isn’t part of their mandate”.

Targeting the Fed: Why Does it Matter?

The Fed might have felt like an unusual target for 350.org’s U.S. team. But when we launched this campaign in 2021, we were at a pivotal moment: 

1. The public’s awareness of fossil fuel financing was growing
2. President Biden had come into office with major climate promises, and we wanted to leverage that across institutions, including the institution that controls fiscal policy in the United States. If the Fed accounted for climate risk and set guidelines for banks lending to fossil fuel companies, we could put a significant dent and end to fossil fuel financing.
3. The Fed was primed for a shift in leadership, and major legislation — the Fossil Free Finance Act — was introduced in Congress. 

Usually the Fed is considered to be “apolitical” and is somewhat insulated from public opinion, but we finally had a moment where we could leverage our grassroots power. President Biden needed to nominate candidates to fill key roles on the Fed’s Board – including Board Chair and Vice Chair of Supervision. These candidates needed to be confirmed by members of the Senate Banking Committee and then confirmed by Congress, so it was the perfect moment to call for every climate-concerned American to contact their elected representatives. Additionally, the Fossil Free Finance Act — a key piece of legislation that would have significantly limited US banks’ ability to finance fossil fuel projects — was being introduced in both the House and the Senate.

A Wonky but Winning Campaign

I’ll be honest. This has been a challenging campaign because it’s wonky and extremely technical. But it has also been a deeply rewarding campaign. We’ve connected with partners, communities, and organizations across the US who have all been involved in efforts to stop the flow of money from Wall Street to the climate crisis, and we’ve used the Fossil Free Federal Reserve campaign to add new dimensions to local fossil fuel financing efforts.

As our campaign took shape, examples of how the climate crisis was impacting the economic and financial well being of the US were everywhere: unprecedented wildfires, droughts, flooding, storms, and more. The climate crisis is clearly not a future, theoretical threat: it’s here NOW, and some of us are feeling the effects much worse than others. While Wall Street CEOs get rich off of their fossil fuel profits, frontline, low-income, and BIPOC communities are actively suffering.

I’m so proud of the amount of pressure that we were able to put on President Biden and Congress to nominate and confirm climate champions to positions of leadership in the Fed. Even though our preferred candidate wasn’t selected, we played a MAJOR role in making climate a part of the debate. We’ve pushed Chair Powell into a position of having to constantly talk about what he feels the Fed’s role is, which further highlights that our messaging and demands are finally starting to get through.

Our campaign had a truly inspiring final six months. In August 2022, we gathered at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium – its first gathering since 2019. A crowd of 100+ activists gathered in Jackson Hole – one of the most economically divided communities in the country, with some of the US’ most iconic landscapes as a backdrop – to rally at this gathering of many of the world’s most significant economic leaders. Our demonstrations made national news and helped spread awareness of the connection between the Fed’s work and the climate crisis. We even had the chance to speak directly to Chair Powell – and although he was not willing to engage with us, we made it clear that we expect action. And just a month later, Vice Chair of Supervision Barr announced that the Fed would be starting a climate risk scenario analysis process.

The Fed Proposed Climate Guidance

In December 2022, the Fed released a draft of its proposed climate guidance principles for major banks and hosted a formal public comment period. We mobilized our base, and thanks to your support, nearly 15,000 grassroots comments were submitted to the Fed – truly unprecedented for an institution that’s used to only hearing from policy experts, academics, and politicians.

As an organizer for the Fossil Free Fed campaign, I’ve learned so much. This campaign reiterated the importance of a multi-institutional approach to climate. We won’t achieve the change we need by focusing only on the banks, or only on Congress. We need action from every institution that holds power in the US. I’ve also been awed by the power of grassroots movements, particularly when we seize moments of opportunity to challenge institutions that are traditionally inaccessible.

We’ve made huge progress on getting the Fed to consider climate risk, and on making their work more visible to the public. At this point, our main actions for this campaign are complete, though we’ll keep monitoring Fed activities and can always reassess when we might need to activate. And alongside resistance campaigns we will be turning, as many of our movement partners are, to using our limited resources and grassroots power for advocating for real, sustainable, and community-minded solutions to the climate crisis.  

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work and learn with everyone who has participated in the Fossil Free Fed campaign. I look forward to seeing where 350 US goes next!

If you are inspired to take the next step forward finance campaigning, 350.org has a wide range of resources to help you get started on campaigning and organizing. Check out the resources section of the Fossil Free Federal Reserve and our demands to learn more about how we campaigned for a Fossil Free Federal Reserve.

The post 350.org Took on the United States Federal Reserve — Here’s How We Made Waves appeared first on 350.

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This newsletter is also available in French and Spanish.

February is that month that comes and goes so quickly, before you know it it’s March. I’m sure like me you all got those Valentine Day emails reminding us about love.

Though the month may only have 28 days this year, so much has happened in the climate movement with innovative campaigns from different teams honouring the month of love with a call to action to break up with oil, coal and gas. I like the sound of that.

Our love language is the climate movement, and we want to pour all our love to the people facing the climate crisis in the various regions across. Including all the social economic impacts that have us in a bind. In this sensitive but crucial moment, we still have to protect our planet in the name of love, and humankind.

Thank you for being back to our newsletter and we’ll see you again next month, when we will feature the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report and the energetic Fridays For Future climate strikes taking us back to the streets to demand climate justice.

Why don’t you join our Fossil Free mailing list for all the latest stories on climate organizing from around the world? Stories that matter. Campaigns that inspire. All delivered directly to you every month!

SIGN UP HERE In Case You Missed It Ukraine and the energy transition

February 24, 2023 marked the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine – a war that is fed every day by our addiction to fossil fuels.

In this last year, our friends in Ukraine have been fighting fiercely, and demanding a full embargo on russian fossil fuels and an end to all investments into russian energy infrastructure, to dry up putin’s war budget. The Stand With Ukraine campaign was launched last year and has already collected signatures from 860 organisations in 60 countries.

As Svitlana Romanko, from Razom We Stand, said: “The invasion of Ukraine will end. Now is the time for policymakers and power brokers to act – by cutting murderous oil, gas and coal money flows to russia and everywhere. In doing so, we will chart a new course for Ukraine and the world, one that frees us from the ties of fossil fuel dictators and embraces a renewable powered future.” We stand in support and solidarity!

Two-faced ICBC

Why two-faced?

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, is the world’s biggest bank and while they claim to be the main multinational investor in renewable energy, their fossil fuel financing has massively increased in the last four years and they are still the world’s largest financier of coal! Now, if that’s not double dealing, what is it?

The numbers come from a recently released report by the Go Clean ICBC coalition, who is fighting for ICBC to stop the greenwashing and go clean for real. To stop the climate crisis, we need to match the growth of renewables and the phase out of all fossil fuels. We cannot afford to keep funding more coal, oil and gas projects!

Support the Go Clean ICBC and send a letter to the bank’s shareholders to push ICBC to become a real climate leader.

Break Up with Oil

We are swiping left on Big Oil! No dwelling on their profiles, no thinking about whether they’re for us. It’s time to break up with oil!

The BIG 5 – Shell, Exxon, Chevron, TotalEnergies and BP, all came out releasing their insane earnings. Earnings raked up to almost $200 billion of combined profits. With the world in all sorts of crises it’s infuriating to see that as we struggle with the rising cost of living, these fossil fuel giants double their profits and get richer.

That’s why on Valentine’s Day, our team in the UK launched the campaign Make Them Pay calling for a real windfall tax. In simple terms means an ‘extra tax that a government charges a company when it makes a large unexpected profit, especially if they have been helped by economic conditions’. We need to stabilise the playing field, and for that these giants need a windfall tax.

Through our collective efforts we can make a difference and ensure their profits don’t keep rising at the cost of our livelihood!

Wallabies a walking fossil fuel billboard

In case you’re like me and had to research who the Wallabies are, they are an Australian national rugby team. According to their schedule, they are actually headed to France this year for the Rugby World Cup. Now you’re probably wondering why this affects you, but this team in the Aussie land has the shameful nature of having a fossil fuel company – Santos, inscribed on their jersey for the world to see.

Our friends from 350 Australia are running a campaign for rugby teams to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry. Santos like most fuel companies have been throwing our climate and communities under the bus for decades, emitting millions of tonnes of methane and carbon into the atmosphere, with no plans on slowing down.

Our mission is one despite the miles and oceans separating us; put an end to the fossil fuel industry!

One to Watch

Breaking up with fossil fuels has been the theme of February for us. To seal it this we have a break up song that was specifically written for the Deutsche Bank. The German bank has investments worth billions in fossil giants such as RWE and Total Energies, and has been heating up the climate crisis for decades.

The creative #breakupwithDeutscheBank campaign asked its customers to break up with the bank and find a more sustainable one. On Valentine’s Day, our supporters brought heart-shaped boxes filled with coal to Deutsche Bank branches across Germany.

Watch Video Watch Video Use your power

Last week, people all around the world came together once again to say no to the East African Crude Oil pipeline. In the midst of this climate crisis, it’s outrageous that companies and banks are still considering financing a project that will dump 33 million tones of carbon into our atmosphere per year, and harm thousands of people in local communities.

On February 22nd, we took the streets in 17 cities for the EACOP Global Day of Action, urging Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Standard Bank and Standard Chartered to choose sides: will they actively work to protect our planet or add more fuel to a burning planet?

Climate activists from Stop Total collective and other grassroots groups.

Photo credit: Claire Jaillard / 350.org

These Japanese banks are about to finance the pipeline. They continue to overlook the dangers that the East African Crude Oil Pipeline poses on the lives of millions of people and the environment. But we will keep pressure up!

Our movement has already stopped 24 banks and 22 insurers from financing EACOP, and we will not stop until this project is dead for good. As a united front we can reach out to them and stop the flow of money – show your support:

Act Now Act Now Skill up your activism

To kick off International Women’s month, in March, we found this course on gender and climate justice that is definitely relevant. Not just to suit the month and the conversation, but relevant to piece and connect how we can’t talk about climate change without bringing in gender.

I simply loved this sentence about the course – “For many women and girls living in poverty, the chances of achieving a better life are threatened by a double injustice: climate change and gender inequality.”

Take the course, it’s free.

Start Course Start Course

IN OTHER NEWS

• São Paulo: Dozens killed as deadly storms hit Brazilian coast
• Protestors in Paris target TotalEnergies East Africa oil pipeline
• Why are BP, Shell, and Exxon suddenly backing off their climate promises?
• US energy firms use Ukraine war to lock in long-term gas contracts

Quote of the month

“It is the poorest population that is most affected by climate change. It is not fair or ethical for them to be pushed into risk areas.”

Marina Silva, Brazilian Environment Minister

(talking about the extreme rainfall and landslides that killed more than 60 people this month in São Paulo)

The post FossilFreeNews – Our love language is the climate movement appeared first on 350.

Today marks the tragic one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. On March 4, 2022, in the first days of the horrific russian invasion, building upon my background as a Ukrainian environmental lawyer and climate campaigner, I established the Stand With Ukraine campaign.
The campaign launched with a letter demanding that world leaders end the global fossil fuel addiction that finances putin’s war. It was a huge success, collecting signatures from more than 860 organizations in 60 countries, and resulting in numerous countries starting effective sanctions and embargoes on russian fossil fuels, effectively helping to dry up putin’s war budget. The campaign has also catalyzed the renewable energy revolution globally. In 2022, the world spent the most money in history on the transition to clean electricity ($1.1 trillion), of which $495 billion went to solar and wind energy, and the EU added 41.4 GW of solar capacity, powering 12.4 million homes. It also resulted in our creation of a new high-impact Ukrainian-based NGO, Razom We Stand.

We are demanding a full embargo and enforcement of sanctions on russian fossil fuels, the cessation of all investments into russian energy infrastructure, and an end to all fossil fuel production around the world. We need this in order to both dry up the funding of russia’s war machine, and to accelerate the imperative global transition from war-proliferating fossil fuels to clean renewables and energy independence.

We, the people of Ukraine, are still fighting a war —  a war for our right to exist, a war for the defense of our country, a war for the safety of our people, and a war for the preservation of our values, which are a singular focus for every Ukrainian. 

However, we can’t postpone the question of reconstruction until after we achieve victory. Ukraine’s infrastructure – including its transportation and energy systems – has been heavily damaged, and already we are working across the country daily to rebuild critical infrastructure.

Investments in roads, bridges, grids, and renewable energy projects will help to modernise and improve our infrastructure, to develop energy self-reliance, to support economic growth and development and to assure long lasting stability and prosperity. 

Prior to the war, Ukraine had seen substantial increases in renewable capacity. The Ukrainian government set a goal of sourcing 25 percent of its total energy mix from renewables by 2035. In 2009, renewables accounted for around 3 percent of Ukraine’s electricity generation mix, and by the end of 2020, this share had increased to 12.4 percent. There remains a huge and untapped renewable potential from resources including wind, solar, and biomass. 

As a result of the invasion, the global energy industry is shifting dramatically before our eyes,  and government responses around the world have the power to make this a historic and definitive turning point towards a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy system. 

The invasion of Ukraine will end. Now is the time for policymakers and powerbrokers to act – by cutting murderous oil, gas and coal money flows to russia and everywhere. In doing so, we will chart a new course for Ukraine and the world, one that frees us from the ties of fossil fuel dictators and embraces a renewable powered future. 

The path towards freedom from petro-dictators is open: we must mobilise our societies for rapid innovation and completely eliminate fossil fuels to create a more prosperous and peaceful future, for Ukraine, and the whole world.

 

The post 1 year On: Ukraine And the Energy Transition appeared first on 350.

The governments of Uganda and Tanzania together with French oil giant Total and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation are on the cusp of building a massive crude oil pipeline right through the heart of Africa–displacing communities, endangering wildlife and tipping the world closer to full blown climate catastrophe. Rising up in response, local communities, human rights defenders and environmental activists are doing all they can to resist the pipeline. 

24 banks (or 50 financial institutions if you want to include insurers) have already ruled out the financing of the project. Now activists in Uganda and around the world are mounting pressure on key financial advisors Standard Bank, SMBC and Standard Chartered none of which have withdrawn from the project. TotalEnergies is the major oil company behind EACOP but is facing low levels of interest from lenders, which is why they need support from the aforementioned giant banking institutions. 

In a bid to stop EACOP from damaging the environment and displacing local communities, activists are mobilizing online, on the street, and in front of banks’ offices backing EACOP all over the world to call them out and ask: “Which side are you on?” Noting how the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) would devastate communities in Uganda and Tanzania and bring the world closer to climate disaster because of its projected 34.4m metric tonnes of carbon emissions per year.  

The activists are asking the banks why they are still financing the EACOP project when it so clearly disrespects all the Equator principles. Equator principles are intended to serve as a common baseline and risk management framework for financial institutions to identify, assess and manage environmental and social risks when financing projects. These 3 banks have signed the Equator’s Principles, a baseline framework that ensures financial lending brings a positive impact on the people and the environment, yet they continue to pledge to be part of EACOP financing. 

As the whole world is waking up to the fact that we need to stop burning fossil fuels, we need to recognize that East Africa’s economic strength comes from the region’s biodiversity, heritage and natural landscapes. Investing in renewable energy, tourism, small-scale agriculture, fishing and reforestation programs will provide far more jobs to local communities, a wider range of economic benefits for East Africa and a cleaner environment which will benefit the globe and future generations. 

 

Aryampa Brighton is a lawyer and the Chief Executive Officer of Youth for Green Communities (YGC). You can contact Brighton at baryampa@ygcug.org.

The post Activists demand Standard Bank, Standard Chartered and SMBC stop financing EACOP appeared first on 350.

Crossposted from Tanahair.net

The climate crisis has caused ecological disasters in various parts of the world, threatening all life on earth. As fossil fuels mainly contribute to this greenhouse gases (GHG) emission, it is crucial that the world transition towards green energy as one of the efforts to mitigate GHG emissions. Indonesia, as a large coal exporter, must be involved in this energy transition.

Last year, the Indonesian government announced a new energy transition funding mechanism called the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). In this funding mechanism, several G7 member countries will mobilise funding for Indonesia’s energy transition. JETP will provide funds amounting to USD 20 billion or around IDR 310.4 trillion.

JETP will significantly accelerate Indonesia’s transition to reducing cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by more than 300 megatonnes by 2030 and reducing by far more than 2 gigatonnes by 2060 from Indonesia’s current projections.

However, capital owners in the fossil energy industry have an important role in making strategic policies in Indonesia, including in the energy sector. They are oligarchs, who control the government, whoever the president is. President Joko Widodo is not part of the oligarchs, but they exist in his circle.

The oligarchs’ influence in the presidential circle is reflected in the government’s policies in the energy sector, which sides with the interests of investors in the fossil industry. Prior to the launch of JETP, President Jokowi issued Presidential Regulation Number 112 concerning the Acceleration of Development of Renewable Energy for the Provision of Electricity. Ironically, contents of the regulation actually provide ‘protection’ for coal, one of the fossil energies sources that causes the climate crisis.

Presidential Decree No. 112 still opens space and even provides certainty and protection for plans for the development of new power plants before 2030, counter to the spirit of energy transition. In fact, currently coal plants have caused an oversupply of electricity in Indonesia.

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) found that in 2021, the electricity capacity was 349 thousand Gigawatt hour (GWh). Meanwhile, electricity sold during that period was only 257 thousand GWh, which means there was a 26.3% difference. This oversupply has also forced the State Electricity Company (PLN) to issue regulations limiting the use of solar energy at the household scale.

Influence of oligarchs in the energy sector can also be seen in the funding policies of state-owned banks (BUMN). A joint research by 350 Indonesia and a coalition of civil society revealed that Bank Mandiri issued USD 3.19 billion in loans to 10 coal companies between 2015 and 2021. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), from 2015-2021, has provided loans worth USD 122.5 million to three coal companies. Meanwhile, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), provided loans of USD 53.4 million to three coal companies. In fact, state-owned banks should be at the forefront of funding for renewable energy, in fact they continue to choose to fund dirty coal energy.

In 2023, Indonesia will enter a political year ahead of the legislative and presidential elections in 2024. In a political year, oligarchs in Indonesia will start pouring funds into the campaigns of legislative and presidential candidates, to secure their businesses, including businesses in the fossil energy sector.

This political year is the starting point for the future of the energy transition including the JETP mechanism. Will the new government, under the results of the 2024 presidential election, remain committed to carrying out the current energy transition or cancel all energy transition initiatives?

There is no definite answer to the above question. It is possible that the newly elected government will be more committed to the energy transition, but it could also be the other way around. The more funding from oligarchs, owners of fossil energy businesses, for legislative and presidential candidates in the 2024 election, the stronger their influence will be on the new government. That is, the stronger the possibility for the new government in 2024 to reject the energy transition agenda.

If the next government in 2024 prefers to carry out the oligarch agenda, it will be difficult for Indonesia to get out of its dependency on fossil energy. The new government, which is already controlled by oligarchs, may not directly reject the energy transition agenda. The new government could offer a false solution to extend the use of fossil energy. The false solution could be clean coal technology.

So, will the Indonesian people as citizens remain silent when the energy transition agenda is hijacked by the oligarchs, the owners of the fossil energy industry? The Indonesian people should not be silent. The Indonesian people must always urge the election committee to immediately make new rules to limit funding from the oligarchs to legislative and presidential candidates in the 2024 elections.

The Indonesian people must start campaigning to include energy transition in debates during the legislative and presidential election campaigns in 2024. Finally, the Indonesian people must choose legislative and presidential candidates who have the courage to continue the energy transition agenda, and reject the oligarchs’ agenda.

About the blog author

Firdaus Cahyadi is 350.org Indonesia’s Team Leader. For more insights related to Indonesian climate and energy landscape, you may follow Firdhaus on Twitter.

The post Oligarchies hijack Indonesia’s energy transition agenda appeared first on 350.

Equinor is no stranger to Latin America, where its oil and gas projects in Brazil and Argentina have long been a concern for environmentalists. However, the company’s 2022 financial report, released on February 8, came as a surprise to many. Despite the ongoing climate crisis, Equinor reported a record-breaking total annual revenue of $74.9 billion, the highest in its 51-year history.

More precisely, it’s important to note that out of the $74.9 billion, net profits (without taxes and other costs) were $28.7 billion. This may seem like considerably less, but there are two important points to keep in mind:

1. Equinor’s net profit for 2021 was $10 billion, which means that the company almost tripled its income compared to the previous year.
2. What is paid in taxes in some countries, can be collected as fossil fuel subsidies in others.

Unfortunately, Equinor is not alone in posting record profits. Other major oil and gas corporations such as ExxonMobil, Shell, and British Petroleum (BP) have also reported significant financial gains.

 

How was Equinor able to achieve record-breaking profits?

In its latest financial report, Equinor boasts about bringing seven new oil and gas projects online in 2022, adding around 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its production capacity. The company continues to prioritize fossil fuel projects and claims to be making progress in an already oversaturated and highly competitive market. Furthermore, Equinor has plans to submit 13 additional development and operations proposals by 2023.

However, the massive earnings of Equinor cannot be justified by their so-called progress alone. The Russian war in Ukraine can easily explain those gains. World energy prices reached their highest since the outbreak of the war last year, when Putin decided to close the Russian gas tap with which he supplied many European countries. The war increased concerns about oil and gas supplies, and started an energy crisis that began with an impact in Europe but has negative repercussions around the world. Many were affected, especially during the winter. Those who fully benefited were the oil and gas companies, which today proudly show off their record profit reports.

 

Equinor in Latin America

The company operates oil, gas, wind, and solar projects in 30 countries around the world. Within Latin America, Equinor is present in Argentina and Brazil.

Argentina

Equinor established a presence in Argentina in 2017, and the following year, it inaugurated an office in Buenos Aires.

In the Argentinian Neuquén province, the company has a stake and operates two fracking licenses in the Vaca Muerta project. :

• Equinor holds a 50% stake in Bajo del Toro, with the remaining 50% owned by YPF.
• The Bandurria Sur producing block is jointly owned by Equinor and Shell, with a 60% interest split evenly between them. They formed a partnership called Bandurria Sur Investments for this purpose. YPF, the operator, owns the remaining 40%.

Equinor has held a stake in the 117-megawatt Guañizuil 2A solar park in the San Juan province since June 2018.

In the Argentine Sea, Equinor holds exploration rights in eight blocks, with six as the operator and two as a partner, spread across the north and south basins. Since the announcement of its activities, the company has been met with activism as the first three blocks to begin exploring were awarded to Equinor. These blocks are located only 300 kilometers from the coastal town of Mar del Plata, a popular tourist attraction and home to a thriving fishing and port industry.

In 2021, environmental activists successfully pressured the courts to temporarily suspend Equinor’s explorations in the Argentine Sea. However, in early 2022, the court lifted the suspension and allowed the company to proceed with its plans.

 

Brazil

Equinor has been present in Brazil since 2001, with a focus on oil and gas exploration and production, as well as renewable energy.

Equinor’s first project in Brazil was Peregrino, an oil production field located in the Campos Basin off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. This field is the largest operated by Equinor outside of the Norwegian continental shelf.

Subsequently, Equinor added new oil and gas assets to its project portfolio, including the Pão de Açúcar, Gávea, and Seat, fields, which were discovered in the BM-C-33 block in the Campos Basins; as well as the Bacalhau, field in Santos, where drilling operations commenced at the end of 2022.

 

Despite companies like Equinor setting all-time profit records, it is the citizens of the countries in which they operate who bear the environmental, social, and economic costs. It’s time to hold these companies accountable and demand changes.

The post Equinor reported the highest revenue among fossil fuel companies in 2022, thanks to the energy crisis appeared first on 350.

Over the last week we’ve seen the announcements of £23 billion profits from BP and £32 billion from Shell. And at the same time there’s a fresh wave of strikes announced across the public sector this month1. Make no mistake, these things are linked.

That’s why it’s so important for climate activists like us to show support on local picket lines. Whether it’s ambulance drivers, rail workers, posties, teachers or nurses, so many of the vital roles that keep our society running are being underpaid and undervalued by the government.

People are being forced to work in worsening conditions and taking a pay cut. At the same time, the government is making a deliberate political choice to not properly tax these extortionate fossil fuel profits and is even giving tax breaks on new oil and gas development. These profits could be used to pay people’s bills, to insulate houses or to give pay rises to key workers, but instead they’re lining the pockets of shareholders.

We’re asking you to stand with striking workers and let us know you’re doing it by taking a photo and tagging us on Twitter (@350Europe) or instagram (@350org) so we can repost!

Wrap up warm, maybe take along hot drinks and biscuits and show your support for the people who keep our country running. You could even ask about local strike funds to donate to.

With millions of people in the UK living in poverty and the cost of living rising for millions more, the wave of strike action across the UK will only continue to grow. But as the government cracks down on the right to protest and the right to strike2, we have to stand together to protect our basic rights and demand better for everyone.

The reason the government is cracking down on strikes is because they work. So many of our basic rights have been won on picket lines. From the two day weekend to minimum wage. There’s so much left for us to win, but we have to do it together.

With more and more services striking together, numbers are growing. There’s even distant murmurings of a general strike – a strike of all workers in most industries! With only one general strike in UK history, it might not be very likely, but what is certain is that with more and more strike action happening across the UK and more and more of our public services on their knees than ever, there’s never been a better time to show up in support.

Remember that there is no climate justice without worker justice. Let’s stand together now for better pay, better conditions and a better climate.

I’ll see you on the picket line

Tommy and the 350 team

—–

Sources

[1] Guardian
[2] Unison

The post All I want for my birthday is a general strike appeared first on 350.

Climate change becomes a crisis when it disrupts people’s lives and communities. This happens often, all around the globe, and in many forms. However, few are as dangerous, sudden and unexpected as floods. We know the fossil fuel industry is behind this deadly face of global heating. Read on, and unmask them!

When the water rises

Defining a flood is deceptively easy: it’s what happens when water is where it shouldn’t be. But let’s get a bit more precise: a flood occurs when a body of water (a river, a lake, a stream, or even the sea) overflows beyond its normal levels and takes over dry land. They happen after heavy rainfall, fast snow or ice melt or with unusually high tides and storm surges. Floods often happen very quickly, and with devastating consequences. When they happen over a period of just a few hours, we call them flash floods.

Floods can happen anywhere, but some areas are more vulnerable than others. These include low-lying areas with large rivers, such as the Mekong delta and Bangladesh. Coastal cities like Miami or Mumbai are also exposed to coastal flooding, and areas affected by heavy rain or snow melt, such as the Indian subcontinent are regularly flooded. Finally, cities are very vulnerable unless they have a very good and highly maintained drainage system, as concrete can’t absorb the excess water.

Floods are one of the most dangerous impacts of climate change, particularly when they take place unexpectedly in inhabited areas. They can damage or destroy basic infrastructure such as housing, roads and railways, communication infrastructure, hospitals, schools, businesses and any other buildings. They can also increase health hazards in the short and long term and jeopardize food and water security. 

The latest floods have devastated Bangladesh. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]

Like many other impacts of climate change, floods tend to affect lower-income communities more severely than others. This happens for many reasons: poorer people are often left with no other option except to take over housing that is cheaper or offers easier access to jobs, and they are less likely to recover in time from one flood to the next. Other inequalities also become apparent when floods affect communities: they disproportionally impact women, children, the elderly, people of colour and indigenous communities.

The physics of the flood

Floods can be a regular and natural event and, for many people, they are traditionally positive, even crucial in their lives. For example, areas such as the flood plains around the Nile, the Brahmaputra or the Yangtze rivers wouldn’t be as fertile without seasonal flooding. Despite that, they are also destructive and communities there have adapted to keep their vital infrastructure from being damaged. However, as temperatures raise, traditional patterns in flood-prone areas are disrupted, which means that communities can’t protect themselves as effectively. 

Climate change makes floods more intense, unpredictable and devastating. But why? The answer to this question is complex and depends on the individual location and time of each flood, but we can start our investigation by looking at a simple verifiable fact: global heating is making the air warmer, and warmer air can absorb more moisture. In turn, this excess water in the air comes down in shorter and more intense downpours, which are, by definition, more unpredictable. 

Satellite image of Pakistan in August 2021 and August 2022. The floods in 2022 killed more than 1,700 people in Pakistan.

 

Warmer air also means that our atmosphere contains more energy, which translates into more storms and cyclones, which can cause devastating storm surges and coastal and inland flooding. Finally, as temperature rises, permanently frozen areas such as high mountain snowpacks and glaciers melt faster, flooding their regular draining systems. 

Because human communities are often placed in coastal, low-lying and riverside locations, an increase in the intensity and unpredictability of floods makes them more devastating.

The fossil footprint

We’ve seen that floods are becoming more intense and unpredictable. They are damaging more people, disproportionately impacting unprivileged communities and individuals. This pattern of increasingly severe floods can be linked to a hotter atmosphere. And this hotter atmosphere has a direct, identifiable cause.

Global heating is caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, mostly (but not only) CO2 and CH4. These are found naturally in the atmosphere, but since we started massively burning fossil fuels, the concentration has been growing exponentially.

The increase in the concentration of CO2 is linked to fossil fuels. There isn’t any other possible source (not volcanos, not clouds, not solar cycles, nothing). CH4 is also massively linked to fossil fuels and land use change. Studies and data have widely proven that: the debate is over.

The coal, oil and gas industries have massively profited from an economic model that forces people to use fossil fuels and they continue to profit from it. Reports have proven that they knew the damage they were causing since at least the 1970s, and that, instead of abandoning their business model, they actively worked to disinform the public. They still do. We keep burning fossil fuels because they choose (and they chose then) to use their power for that purpose. 

But even if we cannot stop floods completely, we can stop the fossil fuels industry. People around the world have been fighting to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, to cut the financial flows that allow this industry to still exist and to push for a more equitable and clean future. If you haven’t yet, join us!

Join us

 

The post Fossil Fuels Did This: Floods appeared first on 350.

CW: Police violence

This year we have already been faced with the dark realities of police and state violence against people of color.

In Tennessee, Tyre Nichols was on his way home from taking pictures of the sunset and admiring the beauty of our earth when police officers pulled him over, brutalized, and killed him.

In Georgia, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, also known as Tortuguita (Little Turtle), was shot and killed by police for protesting and resisting the building of “Cop City” – a city plan to build a police and military training site in Weelaunee Forest.

Both Nichols and Teran deserved to live and to be treated with dignity and respect. We’re left with complete rage and horror that their lives were brutally and unnecessarily ended by a violent policing institution that is rooted in white supremacy and prioritizes power and abuse over the needs of our people.

This state-sponsored violence and over-policing disproportionately impacts Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people – and it mirrors state-sponsored police violence towards environmental defenders worldwide, especially in the Global South.

Decades of environmental justice activism have shown that these same communities also bear the burden of the climate crisis. While a select few corporations and billionaires in the Global North profit, our communities shoulder the harmful effects of fossil fuel extraction, pollution, and their related health impacts.

As an organization and as a movement: we cannot say we are for climate justice, without also rising up against state-sponsored violence.

Our work to achieve climate justice and end the era of fossil fuels must be intersectional and focused on liberation.

There is no way to tackle the scale of the climate crisis without addressing the systemic racism that fuels it or the violent institutions willingly destroying our environment for training grounds to further more unchecked abuses of power and violence.

There is no just recovery for climate, without addressing the systemic harms of extraction that feed into a culture of anti-Blackness that commits violence against Black and Brown communities.

Today and everyday, 350 is committed to building a movement rooted in liberation for those most oppressed. None of us are free until we are all free.

That is why we join our movement partners in calling for a complete overhaul of public safety in the U.S.

At 350, we stand in solidarity with the demands of the Movement for Black Lives, including the call to defund the police and pass legislation inspired by the BREATHE Act – a comprehensive approach to public safety that divests from brutal and discriminatory policing and invests in community-based alternatives.

For more information on how we can make public safety actually safe for the public and on the commonalities between global state-sponsored violence and climate injustice, we recommend:

• The Movement for Black Lives’ “BREATHE Act”
• Global Witness’ “Decade of Defiance” report
• Intersectional climate justice advocate Dany Sigwalt’s writings
• Twitter thread from Yessenia Funes, Climate Director for Atmos Mag

As we recognize Black History Month, let’s also recognize and honor the essential impact that Black communities and communities of color have had on the climate justice movement.

P.S. We encourage you to join or organize actions in your community to #StopCopCity everywhere during the week of solidarity from February 19 – 26. For more information, you check out the website and follow @defendATLforest on social media.

The post Climate Justice Must Address State & Police Violence appeared first on 350.

This newsletter is also available in French and Spanish.

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.

Why don’t you join our Fossil Free mailing list for all the latest stories on climate organizing from around the world? Stories that matter. Campaigns that inspire. All delivered directly to you every 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:@unwisemonkeys

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.

Watch Here Watch Here 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!

Sign the Petition Sign the Petition 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

• 6 reasons 2023 could be a very good year for climate action
• Revealed: Exxon made ‘breathtakingly’ accurate climate predictions in 1970s and 80s
• Ukraine, climate, economy: Takeaways from glitzy Davos event.

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

The post FossilFreeNews – Can you feel the New Year energy? appeared first on 350.

Let’s start by calling a spade a spade… and a hurricane a tropical cyclone. That’s right: in the world of devastating marine storms, we use many names to call the same, and tropical cyclone is the only one that we can use in every case. More or less, anyway. To be brief, a tropical cyclone is a massive ocean storm that rotates around a center (which we call the eye), and which has very powerful winds associated. They always occur on tropical or subtropical waters. If it happens somewhere else, then it’s something else.

It all depends on location: a tropical cyclone that happens in the Northern Atlantic or Eastern Pacific (so around Central and North America on either side) is called a hurricane. If the tropical cyclone happens in the Western Pacific (the Asian coast down to Papua-New Guinea), it’s called a typhoon. And if it takes place anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere, we call it a cyclone. But they’re all the same thing.

Map: Lully Duque

 

Tropical cyclones are some of the most violent and dangerous extreme weather events in the whole world.  Their impacts on coastal and island communities cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year. 

As it usually happens with extreme weather events, the communities bearing the brunt are those in more vulnerable social situations. Lower income communities usually inhabit more precarious buildings and have less stable energy and water supplies. In addition to that, these communities often don’t have access to technology that would allow them to prepare or evacuate adequately. And when bad comes to worse, they are the ones with less mobility. 

Actually, as the IPCC said in their sixth Assessment Report, tropical cyclones are among the main drivers of involuntary climate-related migration and displacement. Lower income communities are less responsible for climate change, but they are more affected. Injustice shines here.

Growing danger

Tropical cyclones have been around for thousands of years. They were here before humans and they will be here after we’re gone. They’re just a natural occurrence in our planet. However, they are getting nastier, and we’re here to show you how the fossil fuel industry is behind this dangerous, reckless trend.

Long story short: Tropical cyclones (remember, those can be called hurricanes, typhoons or, simply, cyclones) get fuelled by warm waters, so the warmer the surface of the ocean, the worse. And the warmer the air, the worse, too, because warmer air can absorb more moisture, and that means more rain. According to the IPCC’s latest report (AR6), the number of cyclones is not expected to grow, but their intensity is. That means more intense winds, more rainfall and more severe storm surges.

Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Photo credit: Joemeth Robles/Flickr

 

The fossil connection

So we have the crime: a worsened humanitarian crisis. We have the weapon: more intense hurricanes, fuelled by global heating. Who’s the culprit? Let’s follow the footsteps back and see who’s there.

Global heating (the rise in the average temperature of the planet since the Industrial Revolution) is currently around 1,2º C. This increase in temperature is the direct cause of hotter oceans, higher sea level, hotter air. It’s the direct cause of more dangerous tropical cyclones. It’s the direct cause of avoidable suffering. And the work we’ll need to do to overcome those odds is more the more temperature increases.

And what causes global heating? Well, science is clear as water here. It is caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, mostly (but not only) CO2 and CH4. These are found naturally in the atmosphere, but since we started massively burning fossil fuels, the concentration has been growing exponentially.

The increase in concentration of CO2 is linked to fossil fuels. There isn’t any other possible source (not volcanos, not clouds, nothing). Studies and data have widely proven that. CH4 is also massively linked to fossil fuels and land use change.

The coal, oil and gas industries have massively profited from it and they continue to profit from an economic model that forces people to use fossil fuels. Reports have proven that they knew the damage they were causing since at least the 1970s, and that, instead of abandoning their business model, they actively worked to disinform the public. They still do. We keep burning fossil fuels because they chose to use their power for that purpose. 

But even if we cannot stop the hurricanes, we can stop the fossil fuels industry. People around the world have been fighting to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, to cut the financial flows that allow this industry to still exist and to push for a more equitable and clean future. If you haven’t yet, join us!

 

 

The post Fossil Fuels Did This: Tropical Cyclones appeared first on 350.

Only weeks into 2023, communities across the country and world have already felt dangerous climate impacts. From increasingly deadly blizzards in places like Buffalo to widespread power outages caused by winter storms in the southern US—at the same time as record winter heat elsewhere—our energy infrastructure simply cannot keep up. 

At the midpoint of President Biden’s term, we reflect on a mixed record on climate and vow to continue to hold him accountable to his climate promises—just like we did last week on the anniversary of Biden’s inauguration, joining with other members of the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition to call on Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency. 

2022 proved to be a pivotal year for climate, and with control of congress now split, community organizing holds the key to continued success and continuing that momentum throughout 2023. A vast majority of people understand that climate change is causing damage now and that we need real action, and we will use that people power to play both climate offense and defense. 

2022 brought reminders of the formidable power of fossil fuel CEOs and their many backers. Gas and oil trade associations spent billions on advertising to promote fossil fuels. Joe Manchin tried to get his fossil fuel fast-tracking bill attached to must-pass legislation four times. But community organizers defeated his attempts all four of those times. As the political tide shifts, mass mobilization continues to strike back—and win. 

Community organizing also paved the way for an unprecedented $370 billion in funds for clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA followed decades of work changing popular opinion and waging fights to stop fossil fuel infrastructure led by communities on the frontlines, including fights like the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline that gave local climate impacts a national spotlight.

2023 also begins with a shifting political tide at the global level: COP27 opened up a much-needed conversation about loss and damage and global adaptation. Finally, global leaders are being forced to consider which countries are most responsible for creating the climate crisis. 

Yet concrete plans for implementation and for payments from those countries—including the US—are so far lacking. Congress failed to include any funding in the omnibus bill for the United Nations Green Climate Fund, which would have allowed the US to begin to follow through on those claims of climate leadership at COP27. 

So in 2023, leading climate organizers are moving to act on the renewable energy solutions we already have. We’ve spent over a decade mobilizing to make clear who the culprits of the climate crisis are, and name what we need to phase out to have a livable future. We have the answers, it’s past time to implement them, and community organizing is our best chance at moving the political tide as urgently as this emergency demands. 

In 2023, we will keep the pressure on President Biden and our national representatives. We will call and email Congress to make sure they don’t make compromises that harm our own frontline communities and prevent the US from taking accountability for the climate damage we’ve helped cause in the global south. 

With control of Congress divided, we will also look to the states. The climate movement has seen unprecedented growth this year and demonstrated its strength many times, from local pipeline resistance to successful state advocacy—36 states and the District of Columbia have established a renewable energy goal, with 12 of those states requiring 100% clean electricity by 2050 or earlier. We will keep building this local and state power, knowing that those cumulative fights will continue to shift the tide in our favor. 

We will examine who is creating barriers to renewable energy. Investor-owned utilities—which governmental bodies allegedly regulate—are instead regulating us, creating unnecessary hurdles to supporting rooftop and community-owned solar, while inflicting unaffordable bills on customers. We need to hold them accountable as well.

Customers are not the only group bearing significant cost: there’s a stark divide in wages and working conditions between fossil fuel workers and renewable energy workers. Most mining or oil jobs are union jobs, with union wages and benefits. Yet the average renewable energy worker works for a web of subcontractors, lacks rights on the job, and must jump from one gig to the next, sometimes even sleeping in their car until their first per diem check comes in. We cannot have a just transition without justice in the workplace.

Building local renewable energy projects can create community strength, empowerment, and resilience in the face of an unreliable grid. We can wield the same people power that has fueled successful resistance campaigns to advance these just solutions. This emergency demands both offense and defense, so alongside ongoing campaigns to keep fossil fuels in the ground, we will use grassroots organizing to advance community-owned renewable energy, advocate for the rights of workers and consumers, and illuminate harmful greenwashing tactics.

That coordinated collective action, with justice at its center and the needs of frontline communities the priority, holds the key to our success in 2023 and beyond, both in terms of advocating for real solutions and in keeping fossil fuels in the ground once and for all. 

The post Playing Climate Offense and Defense in 2023 appeared first on 350.

What is a heatwave?

 It’s hot. Very hot. Hotter than it should be. It’s not for too long, just a few days or weeks, but everyone feels it, and everyone talks about it. We don’t give it fancy names, like we do with hurricanes, but you hear about it in the news. Or not.

The problem with heatwaves is that they are very relative. It’s not the same to register 30 ºC in the summer or in the winter. And it’s not the same to register 30 ºC in Greenland or in the Middle East. Each place has its average temperature for each time of the year. We call it a heatwave when a particular region goes well above that average for a number of days. How much above it, and for how long, varies from region to region. In many parts of the world, these events are already increasing in frequency, duration and intensity, and will increase even more as a result of the climate crisis.

The silent killer

 Unlike more spectacular climate impacts such as tropical storms, floods or wildfires, heatwaves come up without a bang. For most people, heatwave days are just annoyingly hot and media sometimes even portrays them as something nice. But, actually, heatwaves are as dangerous a climate impact as it gets.

According to a recent academic study, heatwaves killed at least 157,000 people between 2000 and 2020 (only storms are deadlier, with around 200,000 victims). However, the authors of the report warn that this figure is very likely underestimated: many countries don’t monitor heatwaves and some times don’t even have a definition for them. To illustrate that point, only 6.5% of those casualties were registered in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and South and Central America, despite those regions concentrating 85% of the global population.

Heat can be behind a number of health conditions. The most concerning is heat stroke, which occurs when the body is too hot and loses its ability to cool down. Children, the elderly and low-income communities are more vulnerable to heat stroke, as are people with chronic diseases, pregnant women and outdoor workers. The poorer a community is, the less access to cooling it has, which exacerbates inequality and injustice. Heatstroke is more likely in high humidity conditions.

More than just heat strokes

 The dangers of heatwaves, however, go way beyond heat stroke. High temperatures are associated with lower air quality, which causes and aggravates respiratory diseases such as asthma. They are also related to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

Extreme temperatures affect agriculture, stunting plant growth or directly killing them. Livestock is also affected, as animals can also see their growth, milk production and reproduction rates reduced. These impacts disproportionately affect communities who depend on agriculture for survival and don’t have any other social safety nets, which increases climate injustice. Heatwaves also affect infrastructure such as airports, roads and bridges, and any economic activity that requires outdoor work.

Is it hotter?

 Heatwaves are a statistical occurence. They are relative to the average conditions, so by definition we can find it in any time and any place in history. But that doesn’t change the fact that climate change is making them worse in absolute and relative terms. Or, in other words: yes, it’s hotter than ever, more often, and yes, it will get hotter.  Scientists have concluded that it is virtually certain that global heating drives that increase in the duration and intensity of heatwaves at a global level. That means, in climate science terms, above 99% certainty.

Heatwaves happen when a mass of high-pressure air remains stationary (still) for long enough to get warmed up by the sun. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 have the capacity to absorb heat, so a stationary mass of air will get warmer in the same amount of time if it contains a higher concentration of these gases. These phenomena are geographically uneven and their likelihood at a specific location depends on many factors, such as orography, tree cover, aerosol pollution, soil moisture or distance to the sea.

According to the IPCC, the average temperature of the extremely hot days in land will increase by 3ºC if we contain global warming under 1.5ºC, and by 4ºC if we stay under 2ºC. Keep in mind that this is an average! Some areas are already becoming uninhabitable during heat waves within this century.

The climate footprint

Heatwaves are one of the deadliest expressions of the climate crisis. We are seeing how they increase in frequency and intensity as the concentration of greenhouse gases mounts. And it is the greed of the fossil fuel industries and its allies what is pushing that increase. Let us retrace their steps.

Global heating is caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, mostly (but not only) CO2 and CH4. These are found naturally in the atmosphere, but since we started massively burning fossil fuels, the concentration has been growing exponentially.

The increase in concentration of CO2 is linked to fossil fuels. There isn’t any other possible source (not volcanos, not clouds, not solar cycles, nothing). CH4 is also massively linked to fossil fuels and land use change. Studies and data have widely proven that: the debate is over.

The coal, oil and gas industries have massively profited from it and they continue to profit from an economic model that forces people to use fossil fuels. Reports have proven that they knew the damage they were causing since at least the 1970s, and that, instead of abandoning their business model, they actively worked to disinform the public. They still do. We keep burning fossil fuels because they choose (and they chose then) to use their power for that purpose.

But even if we cannot stop heatwaves completely, we can stop the fossil fuels industry. People around the world have been fighting to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, to cut the financial flows that allow this industry to still exist and to push for a more equitable and clean future. If you haven’t yet, join us!

The post Fossil Fuels Did This: Heatwaves appeared first on 350.

While climate and environment have been placed on the agenda of this week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the meeting itself is lined with business and political leaders who have proven time and time again that business as usual is the only direction they are willing to take.

Representatives of fossil fuel firms like BP, Chevron, and Saudi Aramco as well as heads of investment banks are included among those attending the annual meeting whose alleged purpose is to set the year’s agenda for how businesses and governments can make the world a better place for everyone.

Decision makers, attendants, and those whose voices will be platformed at the WEF skew towards support for carbon-intense energy and leave climate activists, scientists, and renewable energy leaders muted. As a result, the needs and wishes expressed favor the 1%. A similar conflict of interest will characterize this year’s COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, presided over by Sultan Al Jaber, the head of the country’s oil company and energy businesses. 

But how can state representatives – who have been elected to ostensibly improve the lives of their constituents – be expected to make good on their promises to address climate change when the very industry that has propelled us into the current crisis will be present in the room?

The latest UN climate report has spelled out clearly that 1.5 degrees of warming isn’t safe, and the WEF’s own Global Risk Report for 2023 acknowledges the “ever shrinking window for transition to a 1.5 C world”, and the broad risk that resource shortages and climate change pose globally. These make up five of the next two year’s top ten concerns, and on top of this, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is ranked as the most rapidly deteriorating global risks over the next decade.

Despite this, the world’s largest economies continue to fund and finance fossil fuel development and lag behind on taking meaningful action to accelerate the energy transition that these risks demand are necessary. From 2019 to 2021, G20 countries and the major multilateral development banks (MDBs) funneled USD 55 billion per year into fossil fuels.

Amid rising inflation, energy and cost of living crisis that has spanned the globe and been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists threatens to draw appeal to typical band aid solutions. Fossil fuel dependency is what has gotten us into this mess, and it won’t get us out. 

The world’s energy system and associated economic interdependence has been exposed as volatile and insecure, with the burden of increased prices falling on households with the least financial privilege.

We know the solutions: Public money needs to be redirected into renewable energy at scale to accelerate the just transition in the energy, transport and agricultural sectors, to protect and restore our ecosystems, and to finance loss and damage while investing in adaptation and mitigation. 

Instead of funneling trillions into fossil fuels, G20 countries can suspend the collection of debt from MDB loans in the Global South, and transform lending frameworks to prioritize climate resilience in most affected regions.

According to World Energy Outlook, positive actions like the US Inflation Reduction Act, the EU’s Fit for 55 package and RePowerEU, Japan’s Green Transformation (GX), and long-term clean energy targets set by Korea, India, and China could more than double today’s clean energy investments by 2030 and see global emissions peak in 2025.

But stronger policies are needed to increase renewable energy investment and avoid climate impacts associated with 1.5 or 2 degrees of warming. Public finance for fossil fuel projects remains double the amount currently provided for clean energy.

We will not legitimize the WEF by making demands of climate culprits while the voices of most affected communities, renewable energy campaigners, and experts are left out of the conversation. While the world’s wealthy gather this week, the communities who they claim to represent are experiencing climate catastrophe in real time.

The post As the world’s wealthiest meet in Davos, real climate finance is the elephant in the room appeared first on 350.

The attempted coup on Sunday, January 8th, in Brasilia caused alarm and concern not just in Brazil, but throughout the entire region. There were demonstrations of support from different organizations and institutions from all over Latin America and the world, given the severe blow to the democratic system of one of the Global South’s largest countries.

Brazil has enormous influence on the economic and sociopolitical climate of Latin America. Protecting democracy in Brazil is therefore crucial in enabling stability in the region.

Climate change governance and policies are best implemented within democratic systems. Governments that respect both institutions and the planet have the political will to carry out effective climate policies. It’s no coincidence that the theories and convictions of those who perpetrated the attempted coup affirm “they do not believe in climate change”, and promote environmental catastrophe by supporting policies such as deforestation in the Amazon, illegal mining, and fossil fuel extraction in disappearing ecosystems.

 

The Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasilia, where the seat of the Brazilian federal government is located: protecting democracy in Brazil is vital for stability in Latin America and for the global climate. Credit: Thandy Yung/Unsplash

Democracy is the only system where civil society fully acts to influence public policy. As we know, Indigenous peoples, traditional communities and environmental activists have long been leading the fight for an end to deforestation and for the acceleration of the energy transition.

Protecting democracy in Brazil, and consequently the space for society to express itself, is essential if we are to have a chance of solving the climate crisis, one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced.

350.org is a global NGO that works tirelessly to combat climate change and to galvanise the shift away from fossil fuels and towards a clean energy transition. We will continue to support the fight for democracy, social justice and climate action in Latin America.

The post Without democracy, human rights or a liveable planet can’t prevail appeared first on 350.