By International Viewpoint, August 2012
Humans and nature are under attack. The endless growth model has
pushed the planet to its limits. Governments are making people pay for the
excesses of banks and transnational corporations through more and more severe
austerity measures. There are now 1 billion people living in hunger. There are now
climate migrants and refugees. Already, we are witnessing a war over who
controls the remaining resources on the planet – land, water, forests, and,
biodiversity. As the earth becomes hotter and the system continues to implode,
things will only get worse. We need to act and act swiftly if we are to avoid
this impending disaster. We need regain our momentum and defeat the system by
targeting the source. We need to unify our different struggles if we want to
succeed in our fight for our future.
Disastrous Climate Deals
The agreements that came out of Cancún (2010) and Durban (2011) have
not only moved so far away from getting developed countries to pay for their
historical responsibility, they have also moved in the opposite direction of
the original goal of addressing climate change and preventing the world
descending into climate chaos. Instead, these deals have agreed to such little
cuts of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) until 2020, that calculations have
shown, this will lead to an increase in the global temperature from 4 to 8
degrees centigrade. Couple this with the disastrous results of Rio+20 that
pushes for the “green economy” or a new way of privatizing nature and
rebranding capitalism, then, you really have a future too bleak to imagine.
The impacts of climate change are real and are happening now. Glaciers
are melting at an alarming rate; small islands are slowly being reclaimed by
oceans; natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more destructive; and
the extremities of weather patterns, floods, and droughts are increasingly more
difficult to predict and prepare for. There are now climate migrants and
refugees, moving to flee from the devastation. There are deaths. Both humans
and animals are dying in the hundreds and thousands. There are now 350,000
humans dead because of climate change. There is no shortage of examples around
the world, to illustrate the gravity of the situation. In Southeast Asia alone,
more than 1 million hectares of rice land, from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and
the Philippines, were inundated with floods and typhoons, wiping out more than
100,000 metric tons of rice crops.
A Worsening Global Crisis
This is also happening in the context of a global crisis, the worst
since the Global Depression in the 1930’s. The multiple crises of food, jobs,
livelihood, climate, biodiversity, energy, and finance, coupled with the
staggering numbers of worsening poverty, inequality, hunger and environmental
destruction all stand testament to the destruction that capitalism and the
neoliberal policies have wrought. The waves of financial crises that have hit
the US and Europe, will soon hit Asia. Globalization has made it possible to
spread the ills of neoliberalism faster. But the people are paying dearly for
this failed neoliberal project – the numbers are staggering – of people
unemployed, living in poverty, living in hunger, landless, and with no access
to healthcare and other social services.
Our Moment, Our Future
The climate talks are coming to Bangkok this August 2012 and we can
use this moment to reimagine our struggles and connect them in order to not
only fight against the system but to begin to change the system. Because our
struggles against climate change, land grabbing, financial speculation, free
trade and investment agreements, austerity measures, and, job and wage cuts,
are all connected and if we fight together, the potential of our collective
strength is staggering.
Bangkok is also an important venue to express our solidarity with the
Thai social movements and activists who are being criminalized and punished for
their fight against climate change.
We call on all social movements, people’s organizations, civil society
and activists to come to Bangkok to join us in actions, activities and most
importantly for a discussion on August 31, 2012, Friday: An open meeting of
social movements to discuss the building of solidarity between struggles around
the world. How can we link and better articulate our struggles in order to
confront and to discussed this proposed agenda:
1) Analyze what is happening with social struggles in the world
(Spain, Greece, USA, Canada, Latin America etc.) and how we can express our
solidarity and articulate our struggle.
2) What is happening in relation to climate change and the
negotiations at the UN level and how social movements in Asia and around the
world should address this issue.
3) Agree on a road map to build the articulation of social movements
around the world (visits, solidarity statements, global action during or before
Qatar COP-18, communication strategy, etc.)
4) Express our support and solidarity to farmers and activist that are
being criminalized because of their struggle against climate change, in
particular the case of Thailand.
We hope that this will be a step forward in our struggle to reclaim
our future.
There will be other activities, press conferences, actions and
mobilizations around these days organized by the Thai Working Group for Climate
Justice, Jubilee South-APMDDD, La Via Campesina, Focus on the Global South and
others.
For those who are interested in attending this meeting, please contact
Indra Lubis and Mary Lou Malig of La Via Campesina at ilubis@viacampesina.org
or at marylouisemalig@gmail.com
SIGNED: (as of August 1, 2012)
Alliance of Genuine Labor Organizations (AGLO), Philippines
Alliance of Progressive Labor, Philippines
All Nepal’s Peasants’ Federation
Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA), Philippines
Asia Pacific Network on Food Sovereignty
ATTAC Japan
Bangladesh Krishok Federation
Bhartiya Kisan Union, BKU, India
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Philippines
Focus on the Global South
Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines
Jubilee South-Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development
Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI)
Kilusang Mangingisda (Fisherfolk Movement-Philippines)
Koalisi Anti-Utang, Indonesia
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, India
La Via Campesina
Migrant Forum in Asia
MONLAR, Sri Lanka
NOUMINREN, Japan
Partido ng Manggagawa, Philippines
Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI)
Sintesa Foundation, Indonesia
South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (SICCFM)
Thai Working Group for Climate Justice, Thailand
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Ecology and Socialism
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Durban, Climate & COP17: Women as last priority - December 2011
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