Kate DeAngelis, Friends of the Earth US, kdeangelis@foe.org
Grace McRae, Sierra Club, grace.mcrae@sierraclub.org
Washington D.C.-- Today the Second Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit concluded after four days of virtual conversations among grassroots leaders from 44 organizations and across 20 countries in the Global South. Leaders and activists offered first-hand accounts and insight into how the climate crisis is threatening the health and safety of their communities and delivered specific demands directly to US officials ahead of the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit and the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow (COP26).
During the summit, which was hosted by Friends of the Earth US and Sierra Club, global grassroots leaders and activists met with the Climate and Foreign Policy Advisor Advisor to the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and US negotiators who will be leading on behalf of the US at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow (COP26). Grassroots leaders also participated in public events (recordings available here), sharing their top climate concerns and demands, including that the US stop the flow of financing to destructive fossil fuel projects around the world, increase support for renewable energy deployment in Global South countries, ensure that coal is replaced with renewable energy instead of gas, among other priorities.
Bringing the voices and demands of grassroots leaders to the forefront of the G20 Summit and COP26 will be essential if negotiators hope to create effective and just climate policy outcomes. The meetings through the grassroots climate summits are not just about creating a platform where grassroots voices can be heard, but also more importantly, about grassroots climate leaders having direct access to policy/decision makers and to exercise their power and influence. The decisions and policies coming out of these international climate talks should be evaluated by the benefits they bring to frontline communities, who bear the worst consequences of fossil fuel-driven climate change despite having contributed the least to the problem. The Second Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit sent a clear message: in order to protect a livable planet for all, powerful leaders of developed countries like the United States must answer to the voices and demands of grassroots leaders.
A list of quotes from summit participants follows. A full list of participating organizations and all of the webinars can be found online here. Several summit participants are being featured in a new audio series. Listen to the first two stories here and here.
Participant Quotes:
Melissa Kowara, Jeda Iklim - Indonesia
“Blind pursuit of GDP is the root cause of the climate crisis as well as climate injustice everywhere. In the case of Indonesia, growth focus in extractive industry is often done through land grabbing practices which not only exacerbates the climate crisis, but it also destroys the local informal economy and with it the people's livelihood. Grassroots activists have been voicing this deep systemic injustice for decades, yet the policy makers have been solely focusing on technology based solutions, with complete disregard to what is happening. Loss of biodiversity is not something that is driven by demand, but by greed to supply which, when coupled with advertising and media, creates demand. And this unfortunately has been done alongside systemic crime which sees killings of indigenous communities and activists. It is about time we stop these crimes... because let's face it, there is no economy on a dead planet.”
Tapuwa O'bren Nhachi, Centre for Natural Resource Governance - Zimbabwe
“It’s time for rich nations to pay reparations to the poor nations. And let's keep coal in the ground.”
Amy Orta-Rivera, El Puente- Latino Climate Action Network - Puerto Rico
"Grassroots activists and communities are the ones facing climate change and fighting against it. If we are not included in the conversations, then policy makers don't know how climate change is affecting differently in each place."
Dominic Amon Nyasulu, National Youth Network on Climate Change (NYNCC) - Malawi
“Developed countries need to diverge from funding fossil fuels and invest their 100 billion dollar commitment to adaptation and mitigation pathways.”
Olanrewaju Suraju, HEDA Resource Centre - Nigeria
“Stopping and effectively penalizing gas flaring in Nigeria is a fundamental step towards combating contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the environment, and saving [the] lives of its citizens.”
Edwin Mumbere, Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC) - Uganda
“Stop financing fossil fuel projects since they are not only causing climate catastrophes, but they have increased human rights abuses.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.