COP26 – time to become utterly relentless says Jonathan Fuller of XR
COP26 - time to become utterly relentless
As we approach COP26 in Glasgow, and as we begin to gain a little more freedom from all that Covid 19 has imposed upon us, we need to call to everyone, everywhere, to make the lead up to COP26 the most dynamic, powerful and spectacular of demonstrations our nation has ever seen.
We don't merely have to convince British politicians to take climate breakdown seriously, we have to show all governments around the world that we speak for everyone in demanding radical action to slash greenhouse gas emissions incredibly quickly.
For years activists have marched for polar bears and wildlife; we've warned there is 'No Planet B' and done everything we can to appeal to politicians to respect human life, to care about wildlife and put protection of the environment ahead of endless economic growth.
But the change to the UK's and other nations' Net-Zero targets, and the scale of media coverage, did not come about because we asked nicely; the mood in politics began to change when young people went on school strike and Extinction Rebellion had torn up the campaigning rule book.
Not only were people demanding change, the language and the demands had changed.
The young were beginning to realise the polar bears could not be saved, so the language was changing to "we want to live" and ever more activists were telling it as it is - this is genocide on an epic scale. The Prime Minster of Barbados was the first world leader to use the expression "Climate Genocide" warning world leaders at the December 2020 Climate Ambition Summit where we are heading.
At the MockCOP26 online meeting of young people from around the globe the 'Treaty' adopted at the end of the conference didn't merely call for a new criminal law of 'Ecocide', the Treaty also called for level of criminal penalties that properly reflect the scale of harm caused.
Here in the UK we also saw the first attempt to prosecute three senior politicians for Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide in connection with a huge range of British policies that have contributed to mass loss of life as climate breaks down and it became apparent that a number of low-lying island states were guaranteed to be annihilated. That case has worked its way through the British legal processes and now sits with the International Criminal Court in the Hague, awaiting a decision as to whether its mandate permits it to consider the mass killings associated with climate breakdown.
So, in light of the unprecedented scale of the threat to the poorest people on the frontline of climate breakdown and to the youngest members of every family, the time has come to speak out in [un] compromising terms and demand an end to 'Climate Genocide'.
At the centre of every protest going forward to COP26, whether at the G7 meeting or elsewhere, we must put STOP CLIMATE GENOCIDE on our biggest, boldest, brightest banners and adopt a totally uncompromising approach to government ministers and the polluting industries.
If we want to save our young from utter horror, we must get our friends, colleagues, and family out on to the streets protesting.
It is time to shed inhibitions, this is no a time for polite, unprovocative language.
Demand it today, do it now, and keep on demanding it right up to COP26 - STOP CLIMATE GENOCIDE.
Jonathan Fuller is a radical climate activist who has been campaigning to prevent climate breakdown for 40 years. He has undertaken the full range of climate campaigning from Friends of the Earth, standing for Parliament, launching a series of one off projects such as 'Climate Genocide Act Now' and 'Tell The Truth' campaigning with Extinction Rebellion (which led to his arrest beside the world famous pink boat parked in Oxford Circus in sight of the BBC's HQ).
https://www.facebook.com/JNFClimate/
shortcode to this page = http://grn.lib.dm/a31dzM