“Nothing less than a systemic transformation of our societies, our economies, and our world will suffice to solve the climate crisis and close the ever-increasing inequality gap.”
That is the key message of a new document—titled The People’s Test on Climate 2015—endorsed by an unprecedented coalition of civil society organizations from around the world and sent Friday to world leaders ahead of United Nations climate talks next week and the widely-anticipated UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties in Paris (COP21) at the end of the year.
“Paris will be the moment that demonstrates that delivering concrete actions for the global transformation will come from people and not our politicians.”
The intent of the new document—shared in advance withCommon Dreams and signed by thirteen leaders representing social movements of climate-impacted communities from the global South as well as faith, labor, environmental, and anti-poverty groups representing tens of millions of members from around the world—is to make it “as crystal clear as possible” to the leaders of world governments what the global climate justice movement is demanding in the lead-up to Paris, as well as its expectations for the resulting agreement.
“The scale of transformation the world needs to address the climate crisis, as well as the urgency with which this transformation must happen, is huge,” the signatories to the document state in a cover letter.
And given the need for bold and immediate action, the coalition says its aim is to use its collective power to combat the relative inaction of political leaders who have been slow to acknowledge the extent of the crisis and have so far refused to make adequate commitments to meet the challenge in a “sufficient or equitable” way—even as the Paris talks rapidly approach.
The thirteen groups which endorsed the document—including Friends of the Earth-International, the Mesoamerican Campaign for Climate Justice, the International Trade Union Confederation, ActionAid, Oxfam International, and 350.org—say the vision it contains can rightly be viewed as a “litmus test” by which the final agreement should be judged. And though specifically addressed to just three individuals—the president of the UN General Assembly, the president of the previous COP20 climate talks in Peru, and the upcoming COP21 in France—the message from the coalition is targeted at all governments that will be negotiating the new climate agreement.
Shared Global Struggle, Joint Visionary Solutions
“This joint statement is a clarion call for justice and sends a clear message to political leaders that we will not accept empty promises in Paris. It’s a powerful moral and political demand for people power.” —Asad Rehman, Friends of the Earth
According to Asad Rehman, international climate coordinator for Friends of the Earth-UK, the vision articulated in this new document offers a ground-breaking reflection of the breadth and diversity of the groups which now make up the global climate justice movement. Moreover, the vision it contains shows the broad support the idea of a so-called “just transition” is having in both the wealthiest nations and those in the poorest and least-developed regions.