Dec 11, 2014
We marched for human rights and justice for environmental defenders. Justice now!
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We marched for human rights and justice for environmental defenders. Justice now!
Stop TTIP party for M. Juncker's 60th birthday! Happy birthday M. Juncker, here are 1.000.000 signatures against the transatlantic free trade agreement.
Our action in front of the EU commission on December 8th EU: up your targets, 40% is not enough!
Solidarity, not just sympathy!
Bund Jugend here in full force!
Fossil fuels have no business in climate talks!
ACTION in front of the EU commission, we stand with the Philippines! We demand more than sympathy, we want ambitious climate action from the EU NOW!
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A year ago, in Warsaw, on the first day of COP19, we mobilised for the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan had killed thousands of people, bringing Philippino negotiator Yeb Saño to tears in the plenary hall of the UN climate talks. "How many more?" our signs read.
A year before in Brussels, during the Doha talks, we had organised 3 actions following typhoon Bopha, one of the strongest to have ever hit the country .
This year, as the Lima climate talks opened, history repeated itself for the third time: the world witnessed the formation of yet another super-typhoon in the Pacific ocean, typhoon Hagupit, the strongest of 2014, displacing more than 500 000 people. It is striking to notice how these events develop in parallel. Striking to compare the catastrophic and deathly first effects of climate change, with the ineffective and unjust political measures negotiated in the climate talks. As European youth, we are most unnerved by the new EU climate package, which proposes a mere 40% emissions reduction by 2030. The EU has already achieved its 2020 objective of 20%, and it refuses to do significantly more, turning its back on what science and equity demand: an 80% reduction. The climate crisis is spinning out of control. Nature is sending us multiple and timely warnings. Why aren't we raising our targets and ambition? How many more deaths and tragedies must the people suffer before real ambition is to be shown from the Global North, historically responsible in the climate crisis?
We stand in solidarity with the people of the Philippines. More than sympathiy, we need real solidarity, climate justice now!
How a climate justice quiz turned into a miniature UN climate conference
by Jamie and Clémence
To launch Lima in Brussels, we decided to start with the basics: a discussion on climate justice.
In a nutshell, climate justice is a notion (and movement) that aims to link social justice issues with the climate crisis. The climate justice movement questions and deconstructs the main narrative - that the EU is the most committed and ambitious group of countries in the UN, and that developing countries are reluctant to initiate the transition, using development rights as an excuse to keep polluting for decades to come.
'Climate justice' gives a fuller and truer picture:
developed countries are not owning up to their historical responsibility in the climate crisis (it's estimated they're responsible for about 80% of historical greenhouse gas emissions)
furthermore, developed countries have profited from our current economic model based on growth and extraction for 150 years.
rich countries are the least vulnerable to the first and worst impacts of climate change
developed countries refuse to finance and compensate countries from the Global South, which are hardest hit by climate change.
Climate justice requires a just transition, based on what science and equity demand.
Climate justice also sheds light on the numerous false solutions to climate change (often brought forth by the Global North) biofuels, GMOs, nuclear power, CCS... badly disguised business opportunities in short. To reflect on these issues, we prepared a climate justice quiz. The group was divided into five teams, representing five continents. The questions covered climate science and policies, and correct answers were awarded with points.
In the beginning, the rules were fair and all teams treated equally. However, one of the principles of the game was to mirror the numerous injustices happening in the UN climate talks. The Global North is known to use its influence and power to dominate the discussion and force countries from the Global South into watered-down deals minimising their responsability. To reflect on this unleveled playing field, we gradually started awarding more points to the Global North and arbitrarily taking points away from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
After two rounds, however, the game took an unexpected turn. Latin America and Africa decided they had had enough, and announced they would boycott the game until justice was served.
Everyone burst into laughter, and we decided to see what would happen, suggesting ways to move forward. Latin-America and Africa demanded points from the Global North: Europe and North America. As the situation was completely blocked and the Global South united forces, they were both forced by the group to give in and return the points. The game gradually became a UNFCCC round of negotiations - with rich countries attempting to divide and rule, and suggesting loans to the Global South countries, which always refused them. «We don’t want your loans, we want emissions reductions now!» At the end of the game, the three continents were displaying such unity Europe decided to divide all of its points between them.
For us, it was the first time the climate justice game had shifted in this way: it was completely unscripted, and mirrored almost perfectly real-life scenes from the UN annual climate talks. It was a great way to start our week of mobilisation!
Join us in Brussels to mobilise for climate justice!
"Lima in Brussels" 6th-13th December
Join us in Brussels to follow the climate negotiations, meet young Europeans and mobilise for change!
From December 6th-13th, 60 young people from all over Europe will come together in Brussels to mobilise around the annual UN climate negotiations in Lima, Peru. It will be a week of workshops, actions and planning for the year ahead.
Join us, and let's:
follow the negotiations as they unfold in Lima, Peru, and link up with activists and civil society
share skills and learn about climate justice
act in solidarity to put pressure on government delegations and institutions
learn about our different regional struggles
plan for 2015 and beyond : a crucial year for the climate movement as we build up towards the climate negotiations in Paris in December 2015.
have fun and get to know each other!
Paris in December 2015 is not the endgame, but with rising momentum, it will be a great opportunity to shine the light on our national struggles and send a powerful message: enough talk, climate justice now !
Dates: 6th-13th December
Who: We have 60 spaces at the event, available to people between the ages of 16-32, legally resident in Europe.
The event is open to anyone to apply! We have four spaces available for participants from each of the following countries: Poland, Belgium, UK, Bosnia, Netherlands, Hungary, Macedonia, Sweden, Croatia, Ireland, Germany, France, and an additional 10 spaces available to people legally resident in any other European country. The event is a project funded by the Flemish Erasmus+ agency Jint, and is supported by partner organisations in the above 12 countries.
Participants will be selected on the basis of their application form, and will need to demonstrate a motivation to be proactively involved in the event and their commitment to stay involved on a local, national or international level with us following the event.
Costs: For the 60 successful participants from eligible countries, we will cover food & accommodation for the whole week. We can also offer a travel grant for all or part of your travel costs, based upon your needs, to ensure everyone has the chance to participate regardless of your income.
There is an optional participation fee of 5/10/15 euro, which you can donate to Young Friends of the Earth Europe to help towards the organising costs.
We encourage everyone to travel to Brussels in the most environmentally friendly (and cheapest!) ways possible (i.e by bus, train, car-share, etc). For example, you can travel by inter-rail (a 10 day pass for 22 days of travel).
Where: The event will take place in Mundo B in Brussels, an ecologically renovated and managed office, housing more than 30 environmental and development organisations from across Europe. Accommodation will be arranged in a nearby hostel.
Applications are open! Apply before 10th November
Fill in the application form by midnight (GMT+1) on November 10th 2014. For any clarifications or need more information, please contact us!
To give you a better idea of "Lima in Brussels", here are some reports, photos and videos of our past events: Cancun in Brussels in 2010, Durban in Brussels in 2011, and Qatar in Brussels in 2012.
Young Friends of the Earth Europe gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from JINT, the Belgian Agency of the European Union Commission's Erasmus + programme.