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Council of Canadians taking action in Cancun and Canada
The climate crisis demands urgent action, but Canada is going in the wrong direction. The Canadian government remains committed to being an energy superpower focused on export-oriented energy trade, allowing this to trump much needed action on climate change and energy security.
A major round of UN climate negotiations took place in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10, 2010.
The Council of Canadians was in Copenhagen in 2009 during the UN climate negotiations and attended the influential People’s Conference in Cochabamba, Bolivia. While Copenhagen negotiations failed to produce a strong international agreement, the global movement for climate justice has grown dramatically.
Council of Canadians National Chairperson Maude Barlow, staff members Brent Patterson, Anil Naidoo, Emma Lui and Andrea Harden-Donahue and Board member Leticia Adair were in Mexico for the negotiations. The Council’s team provided updates on negotiations inside the conference, and organized and participated in events and climate justice movement activities happening outside. In Canada, People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice were held across the country during the Cancun negotiations.
The Council of Canadians delivering an open letter to a community leader in San Pedro, Mexico on November 28, 2010 during the UN climate negotiations. Read more about the letter here.
The Council of Canadians speaking to people at the Via Campesina march for climate justice during the UN negotiations on climate justice in Cancun on December 7, 2010.
Water and oil don't mix. Leave it in the ground: No offshore drilling in the Arctic! Message delivered by Andrea Harden-Donahue, Council of Canadians energy and climate justice campaigner, in Cancun during the UN negotiations on climate justice from November 29 to December 10, 2010. (YouTube)
Democracy Now! caught up with Maude Barlow and asked her to talk about the COP16 talks and the relationship between water and climate change and the need for climate justice, December 6, 2010
Interview with Maude Barlow about the COP 16 climate conference in Cancun by the Heinrich Boll Foundation, December 5, 2010. (YouTube).
Andrea Harden-Donahue at the International March for Social and Environmental Justice in Mexico speaking on local struggles and the connection to the global movement on climate, trade and water justice, December 2, 2010. (YouTube)
Relationship between water and climate crisis - Maude Barlow (YouTube)
Climate justice and real solutions - Andrea Harden-Donahue (YouTube)
Interview with Octavio: National Assembly of Environmentally Affected People (YouTube)
PHOTOSTREAM
CARAVAN
Campaigns and Communications Director Brent Patterson and Energy and Climate Justice Campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue joined an international caravan from November 27-29 marking the start of the UN climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. The caravans were coordinated by the National Assembly of People Affected by the Environment and the international peasant's movement La Via Campesina.
Blog posts from la caravana de denuncia y resistencia:
On November 27, Brent and Andrea joined other Canadian delegates from the Polaris Institute and the Public Service Alliance of Canada on a two-day route that made stops in four communities. The Canadian delegates delivered an open letter regarding the recent failure of Bill C-300, which had been supported by many Canadian organizations, to community members affected by the actions of the Canadian Gold Corp. in San Luis Potosi. All three caravans joined together in a mass protest for environmental and social justice in Mexico City on November 30.
Blogs and pictures to come!
Caravan details: Route No.1
This caravan started in San Luis Potosí and made stops in:
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
Salamanca, Hidalgo
Pachuca, Hidalgo
Ciudad de México, DF
The issues that were highlighted include:
Contamination by export agriculture: contamination of local communities and rivers by fertilizers and other chemicals.
Community resistance to development and industrial contamination.
Community resistance and struggles against toxic waste sites.
Workshop to be held December 5th, 3:00pm-5:00pm, Video Room, Casa de la Cultura
Location: Diálogo Climático-Espacio Mexicano, “Super Manzana 21″, located in the center of Cancun
Join the Council of Canadians and the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) for a workshop on the Arctic, climate change and the “final frontier” of oil and gas development.
The workshop will begin with a screening of Qapirangajuq, a new documentary by renowned filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk) on Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change. This will be followed by a short account from an Indigenous Environmental Network delegate on the ongoing fight against offshore drilling in Arctic Alaska. After an opportunity for questions and answers, the Council of Canadians and IEN hope to engage in a strategic discussion, particularly with climate justice activists in Arctic Coastal states including Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Greenland and the United States. This discussion will focus on opportunities to raise awareness of the emerging threat of the Arctic as a final frontier for fossil fuel development (90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were recently discovered under melting ice), and building international solidarity around “leaving it in the ground” – particularly in the case of offshore drilling – as part of a strengthened movement demanding that developed countries reach an agreement to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Panel to be held at the alternative space Diálogo Climático-Espacio Mexicano and proposed for the La Via Campesina Alternative Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice. Date, location and time TBC
Does a river have a right to flow? Is nature a commodity, or an entity? International law often recognizes nature as property – to be hoarded and exploited – not as an ecosystem with the right to exist, flourish and regenerate. How do we begin to change non-Indigenous culture and law to recognize the Rights of Mother Earth? The time has come for a new paradigm. The time has come to present the case for the Rights of Nature. The panel will dialogue on the meaning and significance of this paradigm shift.
The Council of Canadians, Fundacion Pachamama and Global Exchange will host Maude Barlow, Shannon Biggs, Belen Paez and Tom Goldtooth for a panel on the Rights of Mother Earth, also known as the Rights of Nature.
Workshop to be held at the alternative space Diálogo Climático-Espacio Mexicano and proposed for the La Via Campesina Alternative Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice. Date, location and time TBC
Does a river have a right to flow? Is nature a commodity, or an entity? International law often recognizes nature as property – to be hoarded and exploited – not as an ecosystem with the right to exist, flourish and regenerate. How do we begin to change non-Indigenous culture and law to recognize the Rights of Mother Earth? The time has come for a new paradigm. The time has come to present the case for the Rights of Nature.
Join the Global Exchange, the Council of Canadians and Fundacion Pachamama in a working strategy session on the Rights of Mother Earth (the Rights of Nature). This workshop accompanies a public panel discussion on Rights of Mother Earth and aims to bring together global activists to focus on the next steps of this work. Following three brief themed introductions, breakout groups will tackle the themes of 1) Rights of Nature in our communities; 2) international solidarity and moving forward a UN Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth; and 3) strengthening the Global Alliance with a focus on national and international solidarity strategies. All tracks will emphasize coalition work and international coordination.
We will strategize how we can leverage this important concept to help build our movements for climate justice, water justice, trade justice, and more.
Roundtable to be held at the alternative space Diálogo Climático-Espacio Mexicano. Date, location and time TBC
Co-sponsors: The Council of Canadians, Common Frontiers, Hemispheric Social Alliance, The Indigenous Environmental Network, Jubilee South Americas, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC)
The call for a global referendum and popular “consultas” (consultations) on climate change coming out of the momentous World People’s Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights in Cochabamba, Bolivia is an exciting proposal that is galvanizing people.
While we are hoping for the best possible results that advance climate justice at the Cancun negotiations, social movements need to prepare short and long term plans to apply pressure on our governments for system change, not climate change.
Join us for a roundtable discussion on opportunities for coordinating a global referendum and consultas in the aftermath of the Cancun negotiations. Updates on ongoing referendum and consultas initiatives are encouraged and welcomed. We will discuss the Cochabamba proposal and strategies for holding a referendum and consultas in 2011.
Take Action! People's Assemblies on Climate Justice
During the next major round of climate negotiations in Cancun Mexico (Nov. 29 to Dec. 10), People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice (PACJ) will be taking place across Canada. People’s Assemblies are movement-building and organizing events. The focus is on dialogue and transforming awareness into action through community-based climate justice actions.
Tweet with #COCcancun
When posting Tweets on Twitter, please use the hashtag #COCcancun. This will help us link the Cancun negotiations with other actions, such as the People's Assemblies for Climate Justice (#pacj) )during the December 2010.
