Westside Action
a motley crew of anarchists and activists from Bristol, Bath and South WalesArchive for rising tide
Westside/Rising Tide Blockade Merthyr-Aberthaw Coal Train
News from the frontline…
UPDATE: TUES 27TH 14.30
Massive respect to every1 involved! Alas, on account of all the press persons being nicked this story needs to be got out as much as possible! Not that much out there at the moment. Please help getting the story out if you can! My latest update is that absolutely every1 involved has been nicked up to about 17/18 people all told I reckon, including drivers, legal observers, etc. Vehicles believed to have also been impounded. đŚ A second wave lock-on with more heavy duty gear believed to have attached themselves to track shortly after 1st wave cleared; all arrested later that aft/eve. Lets get this story out there.
Chase x
Chase
PREVIOUS ACTION AT MINE
Bristol and Bath Rising Tide Stop Coal Train â Happening Now !
Today, people involved in the Rising Tide Network1 have literally puts their necks on the line by chaining themselves to the rails in order to block the rail link to the Ffoss y Fran Open Cast Coal mine near Merthyr Tydfil. They are currently blocking the movement of coal trains from the mine to Aberthaw Power Station2.
Please Call 07835366330 For on-site interviews and updates. Alternative number (off site): 07909172768
Kim Green from Rising Tide (UK) said:
âWe are Protesting the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels in the face of a global climate emergency. The failure of the Copenhagen climate talks to deal with this huge problem, and the obvious policy inadequacy the three main UK parties contesting the general election to take the necessary action to tackle the problem has highlighted the need for the people to take grass-roots direct action.â
Kim Green continues:
âThis action is also in support of the local people of Merthyr Tydfil whose campaign ‘Residents Against Ffoss y Fran’ have been fighting the mine for over six years. The mine causes noise pollution for up to 16 hours a day, dust and dirt are carried into the town by the wind, and it turns the rain black.â
The process by which Miller-Argent3 were able to get the go ahead to exploit this resource at the social cost of both the local and global community, highlighting the democratic deficit in the planning process, which takes in to consideration the social-environmental impact of such projects. The newly formed quango âThe Planning Commissionâ will only make these things worse, being able to ignore any consideration in favour of profit.
Miller Argent have been quick to pressure their small workforce into mobilising against local concerns – but their apparent concern for their workers is betrayed by the fact that they are actually looking to sell the mine as the quantity of high quality coal is only about as half as good as they initially believed. They are in fact making a loss on the project.
Notes To Editor:
1. Rising Tide is an international network of groups tackling the Root Causes of Climate Change and Climate Injustice .http://risingtide.org.uk/
2.Aberthaw Power Station is the biggest polluter in Wales. In 2006 it released 7.4. million tonnes of Co2. It is Projected to run until 2025 with NO PLANS to fit carbon capture storage (CCS) technology. 40% of the coal for the power station is supplied by Ffos y Fran. It was targeted by Bristol & Cardiff Rising Tide in 2008.
3.Miller Argent own and run Ffos Y fran. Argent are in turn owned by the BT Pensions Group. Both of these organisations make much of their ethical and sustainable practices But in this case they seem to be placing profits over and above any element of social responsibility.
Bristol and Bath Rising Tide – New Year Meetings
Rising Tide â Rises again !
Rising Tide UK is a network of groups and individuals dedicated to taking local action and building a movement against climate change.Â
After quite a pause since we last met â it was decided at the recent Westside Gathering to get regular meetings of Rising Tide happening in Bath and Bristol. If you are still up for tackling the root causes of climate change â come and join us.
So the next meeting is going to be at the Black Cat Social Centre in Bath at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 2nd February. This is currently in the squatted vicarage building at the back of the Methodist church on the corner West Avenue less than 20 secs from Oldfield Park train station (turn left when leaving the station go over the railway bridge and you are facing it). For Bristol folk there is a train from Bristol Temple Meads at 18.49 arriving 19.03 and trains back at 21.10 and 22.28.
The following meeting will be in Bristol at the Kebele Social Centre, Robertson Rd, Easton at 7.30 on Monday 15th Februay. Our proposal is that meetings will then continue on a fortnightly basis alternating between Bath and Bristol â lets give it a try.
What Does Climate Justice Look Like?:The Case Of BP In Colombia/Cinema Klandestino presents: “Our Oil And Other Tales”
Bristol Rising Tide Protest BP's Sponsorship of The National Portrait Award in 2007
Tuesday 10th November – 8pm
Cinema Klandestino present Our Oil And Other Tales plus
Wednesday 11th November – 6.30-9pm
What Does Climate Justice Look Like? Copenhagen and The Energy Crisis: The Case Of BP In Colombia
At the Old Council Chamber, Department of Law, University of Bristol
Wills Memorial Building, Bristol BS8 1RJ
As world leaders and world activists prepare to descend on Copenhagen to take action on climate change, have we fully understood its structural causes? Colombian NGOs argue that the developed countries need to control their patterns of consumption, luxury and waste. Who is responsible for the global North’s ecological debt to the global South?
Colombian social movements argue that multinational oil and mining corporations, especially BP and other British based companies, have destroyed their environment, their human rights and social fabric. This raises vital questions linking environmental justice with international solidarity. As Colombian communities struggle to defend their territories against multinational plunder, what can be done to build links with those affected by the seemingly unquenchable thirst for profit? How can corporations like BP be made accountable?
Guest speaker Isaac MarĂn from COSPACC, Colombia introduces and explores the situation on the ground in Casanare. The leader of this grass-roots organisation looks at the social and enviromental effects of BP in the region. Yasmine Brien (Rising Tide) re-contextualises climate change and global energy politics in terms of climate justice, including a look at so called âgreenâ solutions such as biofuels.
Organised by Colombia Solidarity Campaign, Bristol Rising Tide and Espacio Bristol-Colombia. Chaired by Alice Cutler from Trapese. For info on this event contact: o.edwards@gmail.com or suspiciousasians@yahoo.co.uk
07838 504840
Tuesday 10th November – 8pm
Cinema Klandestino present Our Oil And Other Tales
With introduction and discussion afterwards led by Mark Ellingsen (Bristol Solidarity with Venezuela) and Thomas Muhr (University of Bristol)
A two-month journey across Venezuela, from Lake Maracaibo to the Orinoco Delta. The people of the oil fields and the mining centres talk of their close encounter with these exploitations. For the first time, in the revolutionary Venezuela, a documentary delves deep in the problematic of oil and coal, from the angle of the life experience of communities, oil workers, indigenous people.
The film takes a look at world politics on oil and other extractive activities, jointly with the themes of sovereignty and self-determination of a people engaged in a real process of change.
Directed by: Elisabetta Andreoli, Gabriele Muzio, Sara Muzio y Max Pugh
Produced by: Gattacicova (Italy) and Yeast Films (UK)
From the film makers of âanother way is possible in Venezuelaâ
83 minutes, Spanish with subtitles in English
Call 07747 833376 and listen to the brief message for venue and directions.
Green Scare in the UK (part II): UPDATED
As the Climate Justice Movement becomes bigger and more of a threat, repression grows:
UPDATED SUNDAY:NOW WORKER ACTION TARGETTED UNDER TERRORIST LEGISLATION “The main contractor at Fiddler’s Ferry power station in Cheshire is seeking an injunction under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to prevent blacklisted workers from picketing the site. A hearing is pending in the Royal Courts of Justice, London, on Wednesday 21st October at 10.30am, at which a company is applying for an injunction against Steve Acheson, one of the 3 electricians in the class legal action blacklist case against companies affiliated to Ian Kerr’s Consulting Association, & also Sec. of the Unite/EPIU Manchester Contracting Branch: this is an injunction sought by the company (main contractor) at Fiddlers Ferry. This injunction is being brought under the Prevention of Terrorism Act & seeks to show that Steve, as the 1st respondent, & others unnamed [as second respondents], by their constant picketing of the site represent “a threat to the energy supplies of this country”. Because this application is being brought under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, Steve will not be able to defend himself at this hearing, as we understand it. The basis of the application is that by picketing the site he is committing a Trespass because he & others are on the Firm’s property; that having issued leaflets to workers on the site calling for ‘direct action’ he is ‘inciting’ the workforce to commit acts contrary to the national interest which may impact on energy supplies & that he has, at times, acted in a way that might have intimidated the workforce. There is no mention in the company’s deposition to the Court that he was formerly employed by them, nor that his picket represents a campaign against blacklisting. One senior trade union leader in the RMT has already said that if this goes ahead it will have consequences for the whole trade union movement.”
CLIMATE TERRORISTS?
Too tired to write seperate article but one additional quote from the coppers who interviewed us: “95% of people we stop under this legislation aren’t terrorists”. This shouldn’t make people afraid of travellling to Copenhagen – or any other international mobilisation – but any travel plans should take this into consideration.
The Next Bristol- Copenhagen Mobilisation meeting is: Monday 26th October, Kebele, 14 Robertson rd, Bristol. BS5 6JY at 7pm
UK border police (Kent Constabulary) used anti-terrorist legislation to prevent 4 British climate change activists (including a westsider) from crossing over into mainland Europe where he planned to take part in events surrounding the forthcoming United Nations summit in Denmark.
Chris Kitchen, a 31-year-old office worker, said he feared his treatment by police could mark the start of a clampdown on protesters, hundreds of whom are planning to travel to Copenhagen for the climate change talks in December.
Tonight he will make a second attempt to reach Denmark, where he plans to take part in discussions organised by a network of protest groups coming together under the banner Climate Justice Action.
He said he was prevented from crossing the border yesterday at about 5pm, when the coach he was travelling on stopped at the Folkestone terminal of the Channel tunnel.
Jack Sheppard adds:
“On our second try to get to Copenhagen we we’re reminded that we were relatively lucky, when 2 “Sans Papiers” were removed from our coach at 3.00am – probably to a German Detention Centre”
Kitchen said police officers boarded the coach and, after checking all passengers’ passports, took him and another climate activist to be interviewed under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a clause which enables border officials to stop and search individuals to determine if they are connected to terrorism.
The passports were not initially scanned, Kitchen said, suggesting the officials knew his name and had planned to remove him from the coach before they boarded. During his interview, he was asked questions about his family, work and past political activity. The police also asked him what he intended to do in Copenhagen.
When Kitchen said that anti-terrorist legislation does not apply to environmental activists, he said the officer replied that terrorism “could mean a lot of things”. By the time his 30-minute interview had concluded, Kitchen’s coach had gone.
Police are understood to be monitoring protesters on a number of databases, some of which highlight individuals when they pass through secure areas, such as ports.
Kitchen is a prominent activist who has taken place in a number of peaceful acts of civil disobedience, such as glueing himself to a statue in parliament, to call for more action to cut carbon emissions.
“The use of anti-terrorist legislation like this is another example of political policing, of the government harassing and intimidating people practising their hard earned democratic rights,” he said. “We are going to Copenhagen to take part in Climate Justice Action because we want to protest against false solutions like carbon trading and to build a global movement for effective, socially just solutions.
“People who are practising civil disobedience on climate change in the face of ineffectual government action are certainly not terrorists, and I am sure that their actions will be vindicated by history.”
Kitchen said police paid for a ticket for him to return to London after questioning and arranged for the coach company to give him a seat on another coach.
A Home Office spokesman said: “There has been no change in policy. Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 enables an examining officer to stop, search and examine a person at a port or in a border area to determine whether they are someone who is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
“The exercise of the powers by the police is an operational matter for each force.”
Jack Sheppard adds: “The fact that legislation allows people to be detained, delayed -and forced to answer questions (under the legislation “no comment” is an offence), have there mobile phones confiscated and presumably empited of all there numbers, texts etc without even reasonable grounds for suspicion that we were going commit terrorist offences – the interviewing police officers made it clear that we weren’t suspected of being terrorists,or or were ever likely to commit them in the future is clearly a piss take.”
Swoop Arrests:
Climate activists including members of campaigning groups Climate Camp and Plane Stupid have pledged to shut down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal power station run by German energy giant E.ON. The arrests follow an injunction taken out by E.ON against protesters that will allow police to arrest anyone who enters the plant’s grounds. A large police and private security presence is expected at the site, which has upped its security measures, including the erection of a new electric fence.
The campaigner charged yesterday has been released and bailed to return to a police station on Saturday, when the power station protests are due to take place. On Tuesday this week, 31-year-old office worker Chris Kitchen was prevented from travelling to Copenhagen to take part in events around the UN climate talks this December. Three other activists are now understood to have been detained and searched this week while attempting to travel to Copenhagen, though they have subsequently completed their journeys.
Activists for Plane Stupid also claimed they were phoned yesterday by Nottinghamshire police and told “they would be arrested” if they came to Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Tracy Singh from Plane Stupid said “the police are acting like hoodlums. We are absolutely disgusted.” A press spokesperson for Nottinghamshire police said it would be facilitating lawful protest around the power station and denied activists would be arrested simply by coming to the site.
Richard Bernard, a spokesperson for Climate Camp, added: “They’re threatening and arresting people for just thinking and talking about taking meaningful action. This is clear intimidation â they’re just trying to scare us. But what’s really scary is climate change, and that’s why we’re going to take control of Ratcliffe on Saturday.”
E.ON has responded to the planned protest by placing a series of videos on its YouTube channel with comments from its press team, the power station manager and protestors.
A spokeswoman for E.ON, said: “We respect the right of people to have their say as long as it’s peaceful and lawful. [The planned action] is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible. What I would say is by all means come, but don’t try to break into the power station.”
Activists have been sharing satellite maps and photos of the power station online, which they plan to travel to by train and bus. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station emits 12.8m tonnes of CO2 a year and is Britain’s third largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions. E.ON says it is one of the UK’s most efficient coal power stations.
In April this year, 114 people were arrested at a Nottingham school on suspicion of planning a direct action on the power station. At least 25 of the activsts have been subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass, a charge which places restrictions on communications with friends and family and potentially carries a sentence of six months.
E.ON has also been the subject of an ongoing campaign by climate activists for its plans to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent. Last week the company said Kingsnorth had been postponed because of the global recession, an annoucement that campaigners viewed as a victory for the climate movement.
Fossil Fools Day 2009 – review
Fossil and Financial Fools Day goes global
April 1st saw not only mass protests in London ahead of the G20 summit, but local demonstrations in cities around the UK and across the globe. Under the banner of Fossil Fools Day, activists held protests at banks, energy companies and power stations across the UK, Canada, the USA and South Africa to highlight the twin economic and climate crises.
More action reports and photographs will be added here as they come in.
Email info@risingtide.org.uk with your Fossil Fools Day action report.
In the UK âŚ
Climate Camp in the City
On the eve of the G20, activists descended on London to highlight the links between the financial and the climate crisis. While the âFinancial Fools Dayâ Street Party got underway outside the Bank of England, the Camp for Climate Action set up camp outside the European Climate Exchange. Their message: âStopping carbon markets – because nature doesnât do bailoutsâ. For the most up-to-date information visit – www.climatecamp.org.uk.
Climate Meltdown
Meanwhile over at the Excel Centre, the Campaign against Climate Change staged a âClimate Emergencyâ Ice-berg Demo where the G20 were to meet the following day. The action featured a giant ice block sculpted like an iceberg and demonstrators dressed in white with some even wearing strings of ice cubes around their necks. The backdrop to this was provided by âClimate Emergencyâ placards and panels showing maps and graphs of arctic ocean ice loss. The message was simple : Polar ice is melting much faster then scientists thought and is the most visible symptom of the
frightening speed with which the climate is changing. We will lose the race against climate catastrophe unless action is taken soon.
Greenwash at the Tate
Earlier in the week, the oil Goliath BP was felled by a Fossil Fools Dayâs David as BP postponed its centenary party at the British Museum to be held on April 1st, due to a demonstration organised by Art Not Oil and Rising Tide, (now rescheduled for May 6th at 6pm, as BP is attempting to resuscitate its broken party on that day.) Earlier on FFD, Art Not Oilâs musical contingent played âCelebrate This!â, a new paean to BP, inside and outside the BP-sponsored Tate Britain gallery in London; www.artnotoil.org.uk.
In Plymouth, Rising Tide penguins super-glued themselves to the entrance of RBS to highlight RBSâs funding of fossil fuels projects. RBS are one of the biggest investors in the fossil fuel industry and provided $16 billion to coal-related companies in 2007 alone. Ann Smith of Rising Tide Plymouth today said: âRBS is now 57% owned by the UK taxpayer. Climate change requires a move to renewable energy, not continued support for the expansion of the fossil fuel industryâ. More photos
In Oxfordshire, the early hours of April 1st saw local activists hanging banners from bridges over the A34 between Oxford and Didcot. Banners read âCaution: Climate Change Aheadâ, âGive Way to Windâ and âFossil Fool: 3rd exitâ complete with pictures of Didcot Power Station. With Didcot (run by RWE NPower) due for de-commissioning in a few years, it is time to pursue renewable options locally. One of the activists said: âWe want not only Didcot, but also the government and the G20 to see the folly of their actions in pursuing unsustainable technology. We have an opportunity to pursue safe, cheap alternatives and ensure a cleaner future. The wise choice would be to grasp
this opportunityâ.
In Portsmouth, members of Portsmouth Climate Action Network and the Universityâs People & Planet group took up position outside the Nat West Bank in Commercial Road to encouraging shoppers to tell Royal Bank of Scotland – NatWest to stop funding climate chaos. Activists said: âIt is our money that RBS-NatWest is using to extract tar sands, burn coal and fuel climate chaos. We believe that the only way to prevent dangerous climate change is by investment in renewables, not in dirty coal. We are calling on the public to contact RBS-NatWest and the UK government and tell them what they think about them bankrolling climate chaos.â
A Fossil Fool Award is given to Bournemouth Airport
In Bournemouth, members of direct action group Plane Stupid turned up at Bournemouth Airport to give them a Fossil Fool Award for âOutstanding contribution to local, national and global pollutionâ. Tara Bosworth said, âBournemouth Airport may well be the biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in Dorset and they are expanding their operations, more than doubling the number of flights, now thatâs plane stupid and why they are getting our Fossil Fool award.â A member of the airport staff accepted the award but declined having his picture taken.
Fossil fool themed street theatre took place in both Frome in Somerset and Totnes in Devon. In Totnes, the International Climate Criminal known as âOld King Coalâ was put on trial. The prisoner, who is not in good health, was led from The Plains up to the Civic Square where he was tried before a jury of local citizens and schoolchildren. Unfortunately other members of the Fossil Fools Gang, including Oil and Gas, remain at large and are a continued danger to the planet.
Oh, and earlier in the week, the oil Goliath BP was felled by a Fossil Fools Dayâs David as BP postponed its centenary party at the British Museum to be held on April 1st, due to a demonstration organised by Art Not Oil and Rising Tide, (now rescheduled for May 6th at 6pm, as BP is attempting to resuscitate its broken party on that day.) Earlier on FFD, Art Not Oilâs musical contingent played âCelebrate This!â, a new paean to BP, inside and outside the BP-sponsored Tate Britain gallery in London; www.artnotoil.org.uk
In South Africa âŚ
SASOL is awarded Fossil Fool of the Year Award
In Johannesburg, Earthlife Africa awarded Sasol (the South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation) the prestigious 2009 Fossil Fool of the Year Award for producing 72 million tonnes of CO2 per year (over 15% of South Africaâs total emissions) and for trying to build a new coal-to-liquid power plant. Although Sasol initially resisted accepting the award (one can only imagine why), the efforts of a determined group of protesters finally forced the tainted trophy to be accepted.
More info
In the USA âŚ
Mannequins for Climate Justice at Bank of America
In Boston, Massachusetts, the âMannequins For Climate Justiceâ shut down the Kenmore Square branch of Bank of America. A mannequin was chained to the doors of the bank shortly before opening this morning. The lone mannequin protester, Guy Fox, said, âEven a dummy like me can see that Bank of Americaâs massive loans to coal companies and support for the epidemic of foreclosures and evictions has to stop now.â Fox further said, âBank of America seems determined to be so evil itâs almost comical, but people resisting the bankâs practices will have the last laugh. Happy April Fools to all the capitalist fossil fools!â
Marching on Old King Coal
In Berkeley, California, a bike ride/march highlighted BPâs $500 million deal with University of California. Under this deal, the oil giant BP is investing $500 million for the university to research biofuels, raising issues of greenwashing, false solutions, and the interaction between a public university and a private corporation.
Trouble between the sheets
In Asheville, North Carolina, protesters declared Governor Purdue to be in bed with Duke Energy, and demanded the cancellation of the Cliffside coal plant. In response to the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (DAQ) ruling that Duke Energyâs Cliffside coal plant is a âminor source of emissionsâ, protesters gathered at noon outside Governor Purdueâs Western North Carolina office in downtown Asheville to demand that she revoke the plantâs permit. In a demonstration organized by Asheville Rising Tide, protesters set up a bed in front of Governor Purdueâs office with people in business suits representing Duke CEO Jim Rogers, DAQ head Keith Overcash, and Governor Purdue under sheets and covered in money. A banner reading, âGovernor Purdue in bed with Duke Energyâ provided a backdrop to the under-the-sheets liaison.
In Denver, Colorado, a Fossil Fools Day rally of concerned citizens, health experts, and environmental and neighborhood leaders demanded a transition to clean energy. The rally, led by WildEarth Guardians, and joined by Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Clean Energy Action, SafeMinds, students, church members, and affected nearby communities, was held in the shadow of the Cherokee coal burning power plant at Denverâs Heron Pond Natural Area, and called upon Governor Ritter to help Colorado seize clean energy solutions and keep Coloradoans safe from coal. Carrying handmade signs and holding pinwheels to symbolize a transition to clean energy, dozens of citizens demonstrated their frustrations with the status quo and their hope for protecting their future.
In New Orleans, conservation groups, students, and concerned citizens joined forces at Entergyâs headquarters to protest about the companyâs plans to expand their use of coal power in Louisiana. âLouisianaâs coast is ground zero for climate change impacts,â said rally organizer Jonathan Henderson. âEntergy should be a responsible neighbor and work to limit coast-destroying pollution and protect rate-payers from future carbon price increasesâ.
In the spirit of the âCoal Circus,â students from Bowling Green, Kentucky orgaised a âMonster Mashâ and a critical mass bike ride.
Students in Tempe, Arizona, also hopped on their bikes and declared themselves âtoo cool for fossil fools.â
In CanadaâŚ
Five actions in one day in downtown Toronto? No foolin!
Rainforest Action Network activists kicked Canadian Fossil Fools Day off with a bang, dropping banners off of a highway, greeting over 4,000 cars (we counted) stuck in deadlock traffic over a period of two hours. From bridges, we broadcast messages about Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)âs financing of the Canadian Tar Sands from our makeshift Pirate Radio station. Our banners read âPirate Radio 89.9 FM Tune in nowâ and âRoyal Bank creates climate chaos. Renewables not tar sands.â The pouring rain didnât block our view of car after car reaching for the radio dial as they drove under us.
We began by dressing up and impersonated bank employees. About 16 of us rode elevators for up to two more hours, chatting up other RBC personnel – âHey, on my way to work today I heard about how RBC is financing the destruction of Native territories in Alberta, causing people cancer and polluting the water! Tar Sands are the worldâs dirtiest oil. Did you know that? I had no idea! Iâm telling my manager right away!â
Meanwhile, outside the HQ, several more of us leafleted and held banners reading âRBC Creates poisoned water in our community,â âRenewables not tar sandsâ and âRBC: financing cancer and toxic sludge.â
Back inside, a lone Torontan walked inside the main office with a beautiful bouquet of balloons. I donât know where he got the idea to release them in the atrium, or how a banner reading âROYAL BANK CREATES CLIMATE CHAOSâ got attachedâŚ.I also donât know how theyâre gonna get it down.
Later that evening, dozens of activists reconvened outside RBC headquarters alongside âTarbie,â an oil-soaked version of RBCâs prized mascot âArbieâ who explained to passersby that he and RBC are helping finance one of the fastest growing sources of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions on the planet, and how they conflict with the financial giantâs PR promises to promote clean water.
Klimax- oh baby!- Danish Climate Activists Visit Bristol
Yes, the finest named climate campaign group in the world visits Bristol on Tues 17th Feb at 7.30pm at Kebele (see link on main page), to talk about action at the inter-governmental Climate Talks this November in Copenhagen.
THAT’S 6.30PM NOT 7.30PM
The UN talks in Copenhagen this December are supposed to be the place where world leaders agree a new international deal to stop climate change. But progress so far has been undermined by corporate lobbying and false, market-based solutions. When activists from across Europe hit the streets of Copenhagen, should we be calling on governments to do better, blockading them in until they come up with a good deal, or be saying they are so flawed we should try to close them down?
Most people now agree that we need to do something about climate change. But there isn’t agreement on what. For corporations and most governments its a form of green (or maybe greenwashed) capitalism and before we even get there it will probably be too late. In opposition to this corporate agenda, social movements in the South have proposed ‘climate justice’, a transition to a sustainable world which sees the rich minority who caused climate change pay to put it right, not try and push the costs onto the poor majority.
Within this more progressive agenda proposals range from a ‘green new deal’ of state-led investment for social and environmental goals, to those who argue that only a grassroots anti-capitalism can get us out of this mess. This is the political background to the mobilisation around the Copenhagen climate talks and the strategic and tactical decisions activists are trying to make about it.
This is a chance for activists who are less and more involved in climate campaigning to come together and discuss all these issues. We can also talk about how we mobilise for what may be one of the most important events since the ‘battle’ of Seattle exactly 10 years previously.
Westside Action 