Climate Justice Learnings 2024 (ongoing)

This post is regularly updated with notes, recordings and resources from the monthly Climate Justice Initiative meetings hosted by EDGE for funders, activists, and others building the climate justice movement.

Notes are shared transparently to burst the conversation-bubbles that exist within philanthropic spaces, support knowledge sharing, mutual accountability and potentially enable collaborations that are necessary for systemic change.

If you have any questions or want to discuss this further, reach out to Hana.

April 17th, 2024

In this second meeting of the Climate Justice Initiative for 2024, the group focused on the regional challenges they each face as a continuation of the conversation on regional priorities. The notes highlight the gaps in representation in the group which we are hoping to fill.

Want to be a part of these conversations? Learn more.

Notes from the Conversation

Snapshot of new participants (see earlier notes for full list)

Link: https://iwspace.de/

  • Sn organization founded by and for migrant and refugee women, dedicated to advancing a feminist agenda within the migration debate.
  • Works on climate justice with an understanding that local communities in the global majority are the ones significantly affected by climate issues yet lack representation at international discussions.
  • Committed to advocating on their behalf and ensuring that the voices from the global south are heard and considered in critical conversations.

Link: https://weare.lush.com/lush-life/our-giving/charity-pot-funding-guidelines/

  • Lush’s grants are particularly centered on environmental issues related to land displacement and dispossession, with a special emphasis on supporting indigenous-led efforts. They also prioritize work from other communities such as Black groups and newcomers.
  • Lush typically funds small, community-based, grassroots organizations, with a preference for those operating on budgets of $500,000 or less.

 

Regional challenges and how they are navigated

  • Challenges: 
    • Bezos and other big funders making the Congo Basin their pet project and funding carbon market schemes instead of work led by Indigenous and local communities
    • Miners and communities around mines not being included in plans from energy transition
    • Oil palm and industrial plantations displacing local communities, violence against women: https://grain.org/e/6164
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • Friends of the Congo Basin is raising support for a grassroots coalition forming across the Congo Basin and areas where there’s a lot of mining link to Friends of the Congo Basin not shown but it appears to be Friends of the Congo Basin website: https://friendsofthecongo.org/
    • Regional alliances
  • Challenges:
    • Lack of popular education initiatives to ground the politics of youth in decoloniality, anti-neoliberal principles. We are working to counter that https://angryalliance.org/
    • On top of fighting the climate crisis, increased push on false solutions like geoengineering: https:/www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/2024/04/don’t-geoengineer-africa-webinar
  • Challenges: 
    • militarization of the Pacific
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • a peacebuilding framework to avoid our region from being the next tinder box.
  • Challenges:
    • Airport expansion linked to the promotion of (international) tourism as a viable and sustainable (economic & environmentally) development pathway
    • High bureaucracy to access philanthropy funds
    • Lack of trust, autonomy and leadership by the real guardians of the climate regulating biomes of the planet
    • Criminalisation and assassination of socio-environmental leaders are high in the region
    • Expansion of oil palm plantations, industrial animal agriculture causing displacement and violence: https://grain.org/e/7123 and https://grain.org/e/643
    • Difficulty to fund processes: funders look for impacts and major results, while a process needs to be followed up in a certain timeframe
    • Little attention paid to grassroots groups/movements; Difficulty to access political advocacy
    • Msss funding to false solutions globally
    • Organizations coopting language of grassroots movements LOTS of not so aligned intermediaries receiving big grants
    • Closure of civic spaces and advance of (extreme) right wing regimes (eg. Argentina, El Salvador, etc)
    • Movement dynamics an consensus building challenges
    • The promotion of “net zero” programs and new carbon markets is very problematic as it advances over forest and coastal communities. This is not only in Latin America but also in Africa and Asia
    • Mitigation/Adaptation measures that replicate human rights violations from extractive and fossil fuel based industries
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • Follow up on international agendas to put pressure on our real agendas with our own language. Engaging with CSOs, and out to push up for common agendas.
    • Stay grounded: Expanding and strengthening regional networks to support members and allies in their fight against climate related projects.
    • Advancing the creation of national/local socio-environmental funds in the global south, that can donate more and directly to community and grassroots groups.
    • To work in alliance to influence the philanthropic ecosystem to advance trust, autonomy and leadership by the real guardians of the climate regulating biomes of the planet.
    • Space / Reflection / Conversation
    • More regional support is needed.
    • REO Collaborative is trying to influence funders to move big $s to grassroots and trying out new ways to call out false solutions https://reocollaborative.org/
  • Challenges:
    • Lack of independent funds, most of the allocated funds to climate come from corporates or multilateral organizations; so it’s either greenwashing or politicized
    • Climate attracts minimal donations all over the globe, and definitely the % is dramatically less in MENA
    • Tight civic space! With all the political turbulence in the region, and economic crisis the tendency of the regional donors and donor foundations is mainly directed to philanthropy
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • As the Islamic finance is huge industry in the region (3.8 trillion USD), so building alliances within the ecosystem to exclude further investment to fossil fuel and direct more towards green projects
    • Engaging youth, building the movement! Targeting independent foundations who are willing to support Global South communities advocating against wealth recolonization!
    • Providing innovative solutions!
    • Climate justice camps:
    • Report on Air Pollution in MENA https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ER5uXMsaMmwBhZ6o-wMbNK6JBkaQFpL/view
    • Through COPs, utilizing the climate justice camps to prepare youth from GS to be able to join it, offering scholarships and training to represent their countries
    • Impact led campaigns
  • Challenges:
    • Opposing false climate solutions like biofuels, carbon capture and storage
    • Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet are severely underfunded and neglected by colonial governments
    • Funders are more likely to fund projects with a track record. Agile and trust-based funding is more beneficial, especially as we move into wildfire season in so-called Canada
    • ENGOs with more capacity using superficial partnerships with Indigenous groups are taking up funding and bandwidth from Indigenous-led work. Lack of support for Indigenous Sovereignty and priorities – ENGOs often want to lead with their priorities and relationship build from there.
    • How to support connectivity between US and non-US climate and intersectional movements
    • projected increase of plastic production- the movement hasn’t made much progress in this area. Keeping an eye on the Global Plastic Treaty.
    • Fenceline communities health constantly under attack by chemical production and other pollutants
    • Capacity to apply to grants
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • Individual funder outreach, organizing joint events/webinars that counter false solutions
    •  commitment to ongoing learning to best show up and resource for the communities we serve
    • Utilizing funding networks for active partnerships and invite groups to apply from there
    • Continue to fund community organizing and advocacy campaigns
  • Challenges:
    • Inclusive business/Corporate social responsibility, Social entrepreneurship and other initiatives that hide the real solutions.
    • Digital agriculture, big data, etc. Infrastructure projects like Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): https://grain.org/e/7093
  • How they can be navigated:
    • Position our agendas with governments, ILO, and other institutions and agendas.
  • Challenges:
    • Separate agendas inside the grassroots movements, climate issues seem to have no place within certain struggles
    • Lack of research and resources to support agroecology and food sovereignty movements
    • Africa as Site tor enviro projects based in carbon credits, chemical fertilizer use https://grain.org/e/7077
  • How they can be navigated: 
    • SSE/Agroecology/Gender Justice/Informal Economy sectors/Food sovereignty/Movements for Health, etc.
    • Share research with local groups and communities
    • Advocate our positions inside the next African Union decennial plan 2024-2034

Main takeaways

  • The aggressive promotion of false solutions, including marine, solar and land geoengineering impacts most regions.

  • There is cross-regional corporate greenwashing and financing for industrial and technological solutions that do not benefit local communities and a dangerous prioritization of carbon markets over other locally led solutions.

  • Global climate financing is not reaching the grassroots, it is in the hands of the usual subjects. However, anti-climate projects are taken down by frontline communities who are most at risk. They need to be funded so that work that is done by INGOs, by global movements, researches and more can be implemented. They are under sourced cross regionally.

  • Philanthropy attaches strict indicators to projects that are eligible to climate grants that do not allow for intersections with social justice issues even though most real solutions are intersections. More flexibility and broader frameworks for grants are needed.

  • Alternative economic models are integral for climate justice.

  • Regional mapping is only an entry point but cannot be the final goal, the issues are global and so the responses also need to be global.

Mapping of root causes that emerged in conversation

  • Militarization for Dominance: Militarization as a tool for geopolitical dominance, used by powerful nations to secure strategic advantages at the expense of regional stability and justice beyond their gains.
  • Capitalist Exploitation: The relentless pursuit of profit drives the proliferation of large-scale agricultural and infrastructure projects. These initiatives, backed by multinational corporations and complicit governments, systematically prioritize financial gains over the health of ecosystems and local communities, leading to widespread environmental destruction and social displacement.
  • Imperialist Development Models: Development projects and policies are frequently imposed by those with favored power and the without genuine participation from impacted communities, particularly indigenous peoples. This top-down imposition of development models disregards local environmental knowledge and cultural practices, often leading to resistance and conflict.
  • Silencing Dissent: In regions subjected to authoritarian controls or where the government is not in line with public views (like Germany at the moment with the Israeli aggression in Gaza) community voices, especially those advocating for environmental and social justice, are systematically marginalized or silenced, exacerbating vulnerabilities and injustices.
  • Superficial Capital Allocation for False Solutions: The global financing architecture, dominated by neoliberal ideologies, often misdirects funds towards superficial ‘green’ projects that fail to address underlying ecological crises, a practice commonly known as greenwashing.
  • Short-Term Financial Interests: Driven by capitalist metrics of success, funding bodies frequently favor short-term, high-visibility projects, neglecting long-term sustainability and community sovereignty, which are vital for systemic alternatives and climate justice.
  • State-Sanctioned Violence and Repression: Activists challenging climate injustices face criminalization, persecution, and violence orchestrated by state mechanisms and corporate interests, aimed at perpetuating financial gains over social and environmental needs.
  • Restrictive Laws Against Civil Liberties: Governments in Western Europe and elsewhere have enacted laws severely curtailing the right to protest and speak freely against environmental injustices. These laws protect corporate and state interests under the guise of maintaining public order and national security.
  • Technological Quick Fixes: There is an overwhelming reliance on technological ‘solutions’ like geoengineering and biofuels, which are often promoted as silver bullets for climate change. These approaches divert necessary attention and resources away from sustainable, community-centered practices that offer real solutions.
  • Disintegrated Environmental Strategies: Many climate strategies fail to consider the interconnected nature of ecological systems (there is no climate justice without social justice), resulting in fragmented and ineffective responses. This siloed approach ignores the complex realities of environmental crises, leading to policies, projects, interventions that are not only ineffectual but often counterproductive.

Resources:

March 27th, 2024

To kick off the Climate Justice Initiative for 2024, the group met to share about their works’ focus areas in an effort to start mapping different priorities for climate justice on a regional level.

Want to be a part of these conversations? Learn more.

Notes from the Conversation

Snapshot of some participants and their regional priorities

 

Link: https://amazonwatch.org/

  • Prioritizing initiatives aimed at reclaiming land and restoring governance in the Amazon region
  •  Addressing various forms of violence perpetrated by extractive industries, including mining, oil extraction, and agribusiness expansion
  •  Recognizing the harm of digital solutions and renewable energy to promote sustainable development and the reality of them being false solutions
  •  Advocating for indigenous rights and this year will bring representation to the UN Permanent Forum to ensure their partners’ voices are heard in institutional spaces
  •  Actively involved in direct action campaigns targeting companies that pose threats to both lives and ecosystems in the Amazon
  •  Expressing concerns over the escalating levels of violence, criminalization, and targeted attacks against indigenous and women defenders
  • Calling for collaborative efforts and solidarity across communities to provide comprehensive support, including legal assistance, to those facing threats and challenges.

Link: https://www.annd.org/en/ 

  •  Based in Beirut and operating across the Arab region, ANND is dedicated to sustainable development, with a particular focus on economic and social policies. Recently, the organization has intensified its efforts in addressing climate change, recognizing its interconnectedness with broader development issues.
  •  ANND’s ongoing initiatives include the development of a regional report on the Right to Water and Climate Change. This project underscores the organization’s commitment to addressing pressing environmental challenges while advocating for the fundamental rights of communities in the Arab region.
  •  Emphasizing collaboration and collective action, ANND seeks to foster partnerships that facilitate a comprehensive approach to tackling the climate crisis. Through dialogue and shared vision, the organization aims to dismantle systems of extraction and exploitation that perpetuate environmental degradation and social injustice.

Link: https://cecicug.org/

  • Establishment of print businesses to support women climate justice groups.
  • Creation of job opportunities for women, particularly those without formal education.
  • Training on new technologies like solar installations to enhance skills and capabilities.
  • Addressing land access issues in ten eco-affected districts within the Albertine region.
  • Advocacy for adherence to legal procedures, including environmental impact assessments, to protect local communities from oil and gas extraction activities.
  • Raising awareness about environmental impacts of the East Africa Pipeline from Uganda to Portang and Tanzania.
  • Expressing concerns about disruption to wildlife habitats and local communities.
  • Collaboration with partners like Stay Grounded to assess developmental impacts and contributions to climate change.
  • Investigation of environmental implications of airport developments within national parks in Uganda.
  • Advocacy for transparent environmental impact assessments to evaluate effects on wildlife and ecosystems.
  • Engagement with stakeholders to ensure access to accurate information and promote sustainable development.
  • Collaboration with stakeholders to address environmental and social impacts of development projects.
  • Information sharing with relevant partners to foster informed decision-making and promote sustainable development.

Link: https://www.climatevanguard.org/

  • Climate Vanguard, a youth-led organization based in the UK, is dedicated to empowering the climate movement through radical political education.
  • Their current priority is to unite youth organizers not only in the climate justice space but also in other transformative movements, including unions and social justice groups.
  • They aim to create a unified youth front capable of translating ideas and visions of climate justice into tangible actions.
  • Climate Vanguard focuses on building the necessary power to implement these actions, emphasizing a transition from the current capitalist system to a post-capitalist alternative that aligns with ecological timelines.
  • Their work centers on exploring and advocating for pathways toward a more sustainable and just future, acknowledging the challenges and opportunities presented by systemic transformation.

Link: https://www.collectiveabundance.org/

  • Collective Abundance aims to bolster the climate justice movement across Europe by fostering collaboration among activists and resource groups on a country-to-country basis.
  • Through initiatives like their fund, they facilitate dialogue among activists to delve into the essence of climate justice and its implications in various European countries.
  • They emphasize the importance of addressing the core issues of the climate crisis, acknowledging that merely addressing climate-related challenges is insufficient without tackling underlying systemic injustices.
  • Collective Abundance advocates for conversations that challenge the status quo of the capitalist system, recognizing the need for systemic change to achieve true climate justice.
  • Their goal is to cultivate inclusive dialogues that empower activists to understand and address climate justice within their unique societal contexts, fostering a stronger and more unified climate justice movement in Europe.

Link https://corporateaccountability.org/

  • Corporate Accountability, a global NGO, approaches climate justice through the lens of power dynamics, focusing on who holds power in climate policy.
  • They highlight the significant influence of the fossil fuel industry and its proxies in shaping narratives and driving unjust policies and false solutions.
  • Engaged in the UNFCCC space for over 40 years, they bring their corporate campaigning expertise to the climate justice movement.
  • Corporate Accountability coordinates the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition, aimed at exposing the unjust political and economic power of the fossil fuel industry.
  • They advocate for safeguards to denormalize the industry’s presence in policy spaces and ensure clear conflict of interest policies.
  • Celebrating recent wins in June, they work with allies to disclose information about fossil fuel industry lobbyists and challenge false solutions while promoting real ones.
  • Collaborating with media outlets like The Guardian, they expose the flaws of voluntary carbon markets through strategic communication campaigns.
  • Additionally, Corporate Accountability focuses on building public and political support for industry liability, aiming to hold corporations accountable for decades of deception and facilitate a just transition.
  •  They work regionally with allies in Latin America and Africa to advance this agenda.

Link: https://www.etcgroup.org/

  • An international organization based in Mexico focusing on the impact of new technologies and corporate concentration, primarily in food and agriculture sectors.
  • Additionally, they have been monitoring the effects of geoengineering on climate for over a decade.
  • Highlights the overwhelming propaganda surrounding geoengineering, emphasizing various forms such as carbon capture and storage, bioenergy, marine geoengineering, and solar geoengineering.
  • Celebrates recent successes, including the cancellation of a solar geoengineering project and the rejection of a proposal to advance studies on geoengineering by the United Nations Environmental Assembly.
  • Engages in alliances like the Hands Off Mother Earth Alliance and collaborates with networks focusing on climate justice and food and agriculture, including the Science and Policy Committee of the Climate Action Network and CLARA.
  • Prioritizes addressing the manipulation of geoengineering discourse and the threat posed by carbon offsets linked to agricultural soils and biodiversity offsets.
  • Expresses concern over the growing narrative promoting geoengineering as a solution for vulnerable countries and emphasizes the importance of addressing this issue.
  • Highlights efforts to connect opportunities like the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Colombia and the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil to mobilize grassroots engagement and support movements.

Link: https://www.fullcirclefound.org/

  • Staff located globally, with a base in the UK, focusing on two main programs:
  • Targets false solutions across various topics, including green extractivism, geoengineering, biodiversity, and carbon offsets.
  • Addresses issues stemming from the fossil fuel economy, such as CCS, plastics, and fertilizers.
  • Supports grassroots networks and movements in promoting alternative solutions.
  • Emphasizes prefigurative politics and the creation of alternatives.
  • Concerned about the financialization of nature, observing a trend of integrating natural resources into capitalist frameworks under the guise of climate action and conservation.
  • Actively involved in supporting environmental defenders through collective pooled funds.
  • Engages with a wide range of topics related to climate justice and environmental sustainability, aiming to foster meaningful change.

Link: https://www.avina.net/ 

  • A philanthropic organization with a 30-year history in Latin America, now operating globally, particularly in the Global South.
  • Focus areas include climate, normative democracy, fair and generative economy. They are beginning to explore intersections among these areas, such as climate crisis and democracy.
  • Two current programs:
    • Funding Access: Addressing barriers to accessing climate finance, which traditionally remains in the Global North and often does not reach affected communities in the Global South.
      • Collaborative funding mechanisms designed to direct funds to local communities most affected by the climate crisis.
    • Capacity Building: Recognizing the importance of building capacity for countries to achieve their adaptation and mitigation goals outlined in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
      • Involves alliances like Ible South, focusing on increasing knowledge and capacities for energy transition in Central America, Latin America, and Africa.
      • Emphasizes partnerships with universities and enterprise support organizations for effective policy implementation.
  • Train-the-trainers programs and capacity-building initiatives aimed at supporting innovative solutions and flagship projects for NDC implementation.
  • Emphasis on global dialogue and exchange to enhance capacity-building efforts in target regions.

Link: https://casa.org.br/en/

  • Fundo Casa has been a vital presence in areas in Brazil deeply affected by climate emergency events. Over the past two decades, Casa Fund has been actively engaged in promoting climate justice, recognizing its intimate connection with social justice in the region and beyond.
  • As the organization approaches its 20th anniversary in 2025, it reflects on its journey, emphasizing the importance of intersectionality with race, gender, and social positions in addressing climate issues. Acknowledging the enduring legacy of violence stemming from colonization, Fundo Casa remains committed to fostering equitable solutions.
  • In its latest initiative, Fundo Casa is launching its first call for projects, with a particular focus on youth. These projects aim to address the intersection of climate justice and environmental racism, recognizing the disproportionate impact of climate issues on marginalized communities.

 

Link: https://gi-escr.org/en/

  • A global NGO with a presence in Argentina, focusing on economic, social, and cultural rights, particularly in the context of climate work.
  • Examines various aspects of the energy transition and observes how mitigation and adaptation policies often align with practices of destructive industries.
  • Conducted analysis in Mexico on the impacts of large-scale renewable projects, specifically wind farms.
  • Engaged with local communities in Chile to study the effects of critical mineral extraction, particularly lithium mining.
  • Investigates the gender-specific impacts of mitigation and adaptation policies, highlighting how these policies perpetuate existing inequalities and traditional practices.
  • Committed to advancing human rights and promoting sustainable and equitable solutions in the face of climate change.

Link: https://grain.org/

  • GRAIN’s climate-related work involves research and movement building, particularly focusing on the food and climate nexus.
  • They emphasize their long-standing engagement in combating land grabs, highlighting the concerning trend of land grabs for carbon offsets in recent years.
  • In addressing the corporate angle, GRAIN focuses on debunking false solutions proposed by corporations in climate initiatives, particularly in the fertilizer industry.
  • They highlight the significant role of chemical fertilizers in industrial farming and greenhouse gas emissions, advocating for real solutions based on food sovereignty and peasant-led agroecology.
  • GRAIN collaborates with partners and allies to elevate genuine solutions and work with farmers and fisherfolk on the ground.
  • They emphasize the importance of diverse coalitions and collective action across sectors to drive meaningful change and advance climate justice efforts.

Link: https://www.greenpeace.org/mena/en/greenpeace-mena/

  • Focuses on empowering the climate movement to influence national, regional, and international climate policies.
  • Prioritizes finance and energy transition, guided by principles of equity and decolonization, attracting independent funds.
  • Key project: Climate Justice Camp, held annually, providing a safe space for youth from over 120 countries to engage in thematic sessions addressing core climate issues.
  • Notable success: Previous camp held in Lebanon, regarded as a pivotal event by participants.
  • Unique project: Islamic finance initiative, targeting the $3.8 trillion industry’s investment in fossil fuel businesses.
  • Aims to advocate for redirecting funds from fossil fuels to green businesses, aligning with Islamic principles.

Link:https://www.handsoffmotherearth.org/

  • Stands for the Hands Off Mother Earth Alliance, focusing on advocating against geoengineering threats.
  • Key priority: Advocating against geoengineering due to aggressive pushes for marine, land, and solar geoengineering in various forms and locations.
  • Aiming to simplify and disseminate technical information on geoengineering to reach broader constituencies and raise awareness.
  • Sharing resources and raising awareness within networks to empower others to combat geoengineering threats at different governance levels.
  • Celebrates recent successes: Resolution withdrawal on solar radiation management at the United Nations Environmental Assembly in Nairobi and cancellation of the SCOPEX Project, a solar engineering experiment.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/riosvivosmovimiento/?locale=es_LA

  • Focuses on the intersection of water management and big agriculture, particularly in challenging the corporate influence on water policies.
  • Plans to target spaces where corporate water policy is shaped, including initiatives like the CEO Water Mandate, which oversees key basins where a limited number of corporations control a significant portion of the world’s water.
  • Aligns with movements like Stop the Money Pipeline and Ensure Our Future to address the increasing corporatization of spaces like climate finance and insurance.
  • Advocates for integrating water considerations into climate finance and insurance strategies, emphasizing the urgency of protecting water resources amid extractive projects and agricultural practices.
  • Aims to challenge the narrative promoted by some NGOs that only corporatized water policy is viable, highlighting the importance of grassroots movements in shaping equitable water management policies.

Link: https://reocollaborative.org/

  • The REO Collaborative, short for Regenerative Economies Organizing Collaborative, serves as a platform for movement representatives from various organizations, including It Takes Roots, Indigenous Environmental Network, Climate Justice Alliance, Global Grassroots Justice Alliance, and Right to the City, along with aligned funders.
  • Their primary focus is on organizing to generate impactful disruptions aimed at redirecting funding to grassroots movements.
  • They emphasize tackling false solutions and have been engaged in narrative work to address the defensive responses from funders when discussing grassroots initiatives.
  • This narrative work aims to counter the co-opting of movement language by funders while creating a space for constructive dialogue and correction. Their efforts extend both internationally and within the US.
  • The REO representative in the CJI also works as a consultant for  coalition-building efforts in the Congo Basin. In the Congo Basin, they aim to integrate the energy transition from mining with rainforest protection efforts, fostering grassroots coalitions to challenge large-scale investments such as Bezos’s involvement and carbon market schemes.

Link: https://www.ripess.org/?lang=en

  • Executive Secretary represents an intercontinental network promoting solidarity economy.
  • Active in Latin America, the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia, North Africa, the Sahel, West Africa, Europe, North America, and the Pacific (mainly Australia).
  • Comprises members working at the grassroots level across diverse territories.
  • Engages in small associations and cooperatives, often informal, focusing on both reproductive and productive spheres.
  • Emphasizes principles of reuse, repurposing, and waste reduction within the existing economic system.
  • Predominantly consists of women working within communities, reflecting diverse perspectives and approaches.
  • Mobilizing stakeholders in Latin America for COP in October.
  • Analyzing strategic approaches with various groups, including waste pickers, street vendors, domestic workers, and homemakers.
  • Recognizes the vulnerability of its members to the effects of climate change, highlighting the need for proactive measures and support.

Link: https://stay-grounded.org/

  • Stay Grounded discussed their focus on aviation and addressing transportation systems, particularly in debunking the greenwashing tactics employed by the aviation industry.
  • They highlighted the issue of so-called sustainable aviation fuels and their efforts in discourse intervention to challenge misleading narratives.
  • Stay Grounded emphasized that 80% of people globally have never traveled by plane, shedding light on the industry’s disproportionate impact.
  • Their plans include expanding their network to Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the imposition of tourism industry models on local communities.
  • They advocate for capping airport expansion as a measure to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of aviation.

Link: https://womin.africa/

  • Focuses on supporting the women’s movement against destructive extractivism and promoting alternative development pathways.
  • With a presence primarily in South Africa but active throughout the region.
  • Prioritizes work on energy and climate justice, addressing various fronts:
    • Green Extractivism Conceptualization:
      • Investigating the impact of gas expansion in Africa, deemed highly destructive.
      • Analyzing green hydrogen projects, particularly those in South Africa, for potential environmental implications.
      • Supporting campaigns against minerals projects, such as in Madagascar, to mitigate environmental harm.
  • Climate Debt and Reparations:
    • Exploring the possibility of launching a campaign, potentially including legal action, to address climate debt and reparations.
  • Congo Basin Protection:
    • Recognizing the significance of the Congo Basin as a vital ecosystem threatened by oil and gas expansion, palm oil plantations, and logging.
    • Advocating for campaigns to protect the Congo Basin.
  • Africa Climate Justice Collective:
    • Driving the formation of the Africa Climate Justice Collective, a coalition of movements and allied organizations aiming to strengthen the progressive front of the climate justice movement in Africa.
    • Collaborating on regional campaigns focused on oil and gas and climate debt.
    • Hosting the African People’s Counter COP as a platform for collective participation and to underscore the failure of traditional COP processes to address the climate crisis.

Common themes & priorities for the global climate justice movement expressed

  • Prioritizing the sovereignty of marginalized communities, particularly indigenous peoples and women, is central to decolonizing climate action. Recognizing and respecting indigenous knowledge and land rights is essential for fostering climate resilience and justice.
  • Building solidarity across movements and regions is crucial for challenging the dominance of capitalism, which perpetuates environmental destruction and social inequality. Collaboration rooted in anti-capitalist principles seeks to dismantle systems of exploitation and prioritize collective well-being over profit.
  • Advocating for transparent and community-led environmental impact assessments is vital to hold corporations and governments accountable for their actions. Rejecting false solutions promoted by corporate interests is essential to address the root causes of climate change and ensure justice for impacted communities.
  • Climate justice intersects with other social justice issues, including gender equality, racial justice, and economic justice. Recognizing and addressing these intersections is necessary for building inclusive and effective climate solutions that center the most marginalized voices.
  • Promoting alternative economic models, such as solidarity economy and regenerative economies, challenges the capitalist paradigm and fosters community resilience and autonomy. Transitioning towards post-capitalist systems that prioritize ecological sustainability and social equity is crucial for achieving climate justice.
  • Challenging destructive practices such as extractive industries, agribusiness, and fossil fuel extraction is essential for protecting ecosystems and communities. Resisting corporate influence and promoting community-led solutions rooted in principles of justice and sustainability is key to achieving systemic change.
  • Providing education and capacity-building initiatives rooted in principles of liberation and decolonization empowers communities to assert their rights and participate in shaping their futures. Centering indigenous knowledge and practices in climate adaptation and mitigation efforts is crucial for building resilience and sustainability.
  •  Advocating for policy reforms that challenge the structural inequalities perpetuated by capitalism and colonialism is essential for advancing climate justice. Pushing for policies that prioritize equity, redistribution of resources, and systemic transformation towards post-capitalist alternatives is crucial for addressing the root causes of climate change.
  • Demanding climate finance mechanisms that prioritize funding for frontline communities and countries most affected by climate change is crucial for redistributing wealth and addressing historical injustices. Shifting resources from the Global North to the Global South to support community-led initiatives and sustainable development is essential for fostering climate justice and global solidarity.

Fighting against corporate grabbing of natural resources and land, as well as exposing greenwashing tactics employed by industries. Calling out and rejecting false solutions promoted by corporations and advocating for genuine, communities-led climate justice solutions that address the root causes of environmental degradation and social injustice.

Resources:

 

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