[September 19 – 23, New York] (Français, Español, Italiano) When we, as human beings, get a fever, we immediately get worried and take action. After all, we know that if our body temperature rises to 1.5ºC, let alone 2ºC [3.6 ºF] above the normal average, there can be severe damage, while an increase of 4-6ºC [7.2-10.8 ºF] or more can cause a comatose situation and even death.
So it is when planet Earth gets a fever. For the past 11,000 years, the average temperature of the Earth has been around 14ºC [57.2ºF]. It is now about to reach an increase of 1ºC. And, if we do not take appropriate measures now to stop this fever from spreading, the forecast is that our planet will be well on its way to anywhere between 2ºC to 6ºC rise in temperature before the end of this century. Under such feverish conditions, life as we know it will dramatically change on planet Earth.
We have no other recourse but to take action now. Not just any action but the right action and at the right time. When, for example, a human person has a fever, we urge them to rest their body, give them a lot of liquids, prescribe the right medicine, and if the fever goes up we bring them to the hospital and try to find the underlying cause of the fever, which can range from a simple infection to life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Right Prescriptions
In the case of a planetary fever, the right prescription requires at least 10 actions to be undertaken and applied.
- Make immediate binding commitments — not voluntary pledges — to control planetary temperature rise to no more than 1.5ºC [2.7 ºF] this century by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions per year to 38 Gigatons by 2020.
- Let the Earth rest by making binding commitments to leave more than 80% of known fossil fuel reserves under the soil and beneath the ocean floor.
- Move away from resource extractivism by placing bans on all new exploration and exploitation of oil, bitumen sands, oil shale, coal, uranium, and natural gas including pipeline infrastructure like Keystone XL.
- Accelerate the development and transition to renewable energy alternatives such as wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power with more public and community ownership and control.
- Promote local production and consumption of durable goods to satisfy the fundamental needs of the people and avoid the transport of goods that can be produced locally.
- Stimulate the transition from industrialized, export-oriented agriculture for the global supermarket to community-based production to meet local food needs based on food sovereignty.
- Adopt and apply Zero Waste strategies for the recycling and disposal of trash and the retrofitting of buildings to conserve energy for heating and cooling.
- Improve and expand public transportation for moving people and freight within urban centres and between cities within urban regions through efficient trains.
- Develop new sectors of the economy designed to create new jobs that restore the balance and equilibrium of the Earth system such as climate jobs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Earth restoration jobs.
- Dismantle the war industry and military infrastructure in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by warfare, and divert war budgets to promote genuine peace.
Wrong Prescriptions
At the same time, we must also be aware that all actions are not appropriate actions and that some initiatives can worsen the situation. Perhaps our most pressing challenge is the fact that big corporations are capturing the climate agenda to make new businesses designed to take advantage of the crises. In response, we need to send a message, loud and clear, to corporations: ‘Stop Exploiting the Tragedy of Climate Change!’
More specifically, we need to resist the ‘greening of capital’ as the solution by rejecting the following policies, strategies and measures:
- The commodification, financialization and privatization of the functions of nature through the promotion of a false “green economy” agenda which places a price on nature and creates new derivative markets that will only increase inequality and expedite the destruction of nature.
- This means saying No to REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) … No to Climate Smart Agriculture, Blue Carbon and Biodiversity offsetting — all of which are designed to create new for-profit business for corporations.
- Techno-fix “solutions” like geo-engineering, genetically modified organisms, agrofuels, industrial bioenergy, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, hydraulic fracking, nuclear projects, waste-to-energy generation based on incineration, and others.
- Mega and unnecessary infrastructure projects that do not benefit the population and are net contributors to greenhouse gasses like, mega dams, excessively huge highways, stadiums for world cups, etc.
- Free trade and investment regimes that promote trade for profit and undercut domestic labor, destroy nature, and substantially reduce the capacity of nations to define their own economic, social and environmental priorities.
Preventative Cure
Finally, we also need to go beyond identifying right and wrong prescriptions to naming the disease that constantly causes and drives this planetary fever
. If we don’t take this step, the fever will keep coming back again and again in a much more aggressive way. We need to take stock of the roots of the disease in order to weather the storm.
Scientists have clearly traced the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions back to the industrial revolution 250 years ago while tracking the spurt that has taken place during the past century. From this analysis, it is clear that the industrial model of increased extraction and productivism for the profit of a few is the prime cause of the problem. We need to replace capitalism with a new system that seeks harmony between humans and nature and not an endless growth model that the capitalist system promotes in order to make more and more profit. We need a system that links climate change and human rights and provides for the protection of most vulnerable communities like migrants, and recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Mother Earth and her natural resources cannot sustain the consumption and production needs of this globalized modern industrialized society. We require a new system that addresses the needs of the majority and not of the few. To move in this direction, we need a redistribution of the wealth that is now controlled by the 1%. In turn, this requires a new definition of wellbeing and prosperity for all life on the planet under the limits and in recognition of the rights of our Mother Earth and Nature.
We urgently need to organize and mobilize in September in New York and the world to push for a process of transformation that can address the structural causes that are driving the climate crisis.
INITIATORS
Alternatives InternationalATTAC – FranceCoordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo – La Via Campesina (CLOC-LVC)Corporate Europe ObservatoryEcologistas en AcciónETC GroupFairwatch – ItalyFocus on the Global SouthFundación Solón – BoliviaGlobal Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and end TNCs’ impunityGlobal Forest Coalition Grassroots Global Justice AllianceHealth of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) – NigeriaIndigenous Environmental NetworkLa Via CampesinaMigrants Rights InternationalNo-REDD Africa NetworkOilWatch InternationalPolaris Institute – Canada
SENTRO – PhilippinesThai Climate Justice Working Group (TCJ)Transnational InstituteENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS
Acção Académica para o Desenvolvimento das Comunidades Rurais (ADECRU), MozambiqueAction Jeunesse pour le Développement (AJED-Congo)ActionAidAdéquations, FranceADENY, FranceAFRICANDO, Gran Canaria, EspañaAitec-IPAM, FranceAlianza politica sector de mujeres, GuatemalaAlliance for Democracy, USAlofa, TuvaluAlter EquoAlternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC), South AfricaAlyansa Tigil Mina (Alliance Against Mining) – PhilippinesAmigos da Terra Brasil – FoE BrazilAmigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC)Amigos de la Tierra – FoE SpainAmigu di Tera – FoE CuraçaoAmis de la Confédération Paysanne AlsaceAmis de la Terre FranceAniban ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA) – PilipinasAprilia in MovimentoAsamblea Nacional de Afectados Ambientales, MéxicoAsamblea Permanente del Comahue por el Agua (A.P.C.A.) de Neuquén, ArgentinaAssembly of the Poor, ThailandAsian Pacific Environmental NetworkAsia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)Asociación Argentina de Abogados Ambientalistas (AAdeAA)Asociación aurora vivar, PeruAsociación Catalana para el Agua y el Ambiente (ASCA), Catalunya, SpainAsociación Civil Árbol de Pie, Bariloche – ArgentinaAsociación de Pobladores del Departamento de La Paz (ASPODEPAZ)Asociación humanidad libre, PeruAsociación Indígena Ambiental – AIAAsociación Regional Centroamericana para el Agua y el Ambiente (ARCA), Costa RicaAssociation For Promotion Sustainable Development Hisar IndiaAssociation pour la Protection de l’Environnement et le Développement Durable de Bizerte – APEDDUBAssociation of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)Association pour la défense des droits de l’eau et de l’assainissement, SénégalAssociazione Marco MascagnaAthens SAVEGREEKWATER, GreeceATTAC ArgentinaATTAC AustriaATTAC/CADTM MarocATTAC GermanyATTAC HellasATTAC IrelandATTAC ItaliaATTAC JapanATTAC PolandATTAC SpainATTAC TogoBangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF)Beyond Copenhagen Collective, IndiaBharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (India peoples science campaign), IndiaBiofuelwatch, UK/USBiowatch South AfricaBizi! – Pays BasqueBorder Agricultural Workers ProjectBrigada Cimarrona Sebastian Lemba, Republica DominicanaCampaign for a Life of Dignity for All (KAMP)Campaign for Peace and DemocracyCampaña de Afectados por Repsol- Repsolmata, CatalunyaCEEweb for BiodiversityCENSAT agua viva – FoE ColombiaCentro de Estudios para la Gobernabilidad y Democracia – CEGODEMCentre for alternative technology, UKCentre for Civil Society, Durban, South AfricaCenter for Earth Energy & Democracy, USCenter for Encounter and active Non-Violence, AustriaCentre for National-Democracy Studies, IndonesiaCentre for 21st Century Issues (C21st), NigeriaCercle Modesto Cugnolio, ItaliaCESTA – FoE El SalvadorCETRI – Centre tricontinentalClimate and Capitalism, CanadaClimate Justice Alliance (US)Coal-free central luzon movement, PhilippinesCoalition nationale Malgache pour l’Education Pour Tous – CONAMEPTCoalition pour la Protection du Patrimoine Génétique Africain (COPAGEN)COECOCEIBA – FoE Costa RicaCol·lectiu RETS, Catalunya, SpainColectivo VientoSur, ChileCollectif 07 Stop aux Gaz et Huiles de Schiste, FranceCollectif citoyen les Engraineurs, FranceCollectif pour le triangle de Gonesse, FranceCollectif Stop aux Hydrocarbures extrêmes (38), FranceComitato Abruzzese per la Difesa dei Beni Comuni, ItalieComité de Derechos Humanos de Base de Chiapas Digna Ochoa, Chiapas, MéxicoComité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine, CanadaCommon FrontiersConfédération paysanne, FranceConseil pour la Terre des Ancêtres, Democratic Republic of the CongoConsejo de Defensa de la Patagonia, ChileCooperativa de Producción, Trabajo y Servicios Múltiples La Union Integral (COOPUNINTE), República DominicanaCoordination Climat et Justice Sociale de Genève, SuisseCritical Information CollectiveCulture and Ecology (ICE)-KenyaDemocracy Center, BoliviaDIÁLOGO 2000 – JUBILEO SUR ARGENTINADichiariamo Illegale la Povertà’ (DIP), ItalyDimensioni Diverse – MilanoDiverse Voices and Action for Equality, FijiEarth Law Center, USEast Africa Climate Change NetworkECA Watch – AustriaEchoes of Silence, United KingdomEcohermanasEcoNexusEcos del Silencio NicaraguaEcomujer Germany, GermanyEcuador decideEcumenical Advocacy Network, PhilippinesEffet de serre toi-même, FranceEmmaüs InternationalEnd Ecocide on EarthEnvironmental Justice League of Rhode Island, USEnvironmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth NigeriaEarth in BracketsFarmworker Association of Florida, USFédération Artisans du Monde, FranceFederación de Estudiantes del PerúFederación nacional de Trabajadores del Agua Potable y Alcantarillado del Perú – FENTAPFinance & Trade WatchFÍS NUA, IrelandForo Ciudadano de Participación – FOCO, ArgentinaFondation Sciences Citoyennes, FranceFood First/Institute for Food and Development PolicyForeste per Sempre, ItaliaFórum Mudanças Climáticas e Justiça Social, BrasilForum per i bieni comuni e l’economia solidale del Friuli Venezia Giulia – ItalyForum Solidarida PeruFrance Libertés – la Fondation Danielle Mitterrand, FranceFranciscans InternationalFrente Nacional de Resistencia Popular de HondurasFrente nacional por la vida y soberanía (FRENVIDAS), PeruFreshwater Action Network (FAN)Freshwater Action Network America del Sur (FANAS)Freshwater Action Network – Central America (FANCA)Freshwater Action Network – Mexico (FANMex)Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA)Fresh Eyes – People to People Travel, UKFriche En Ville, FranceFriends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern IrelandFriends of the Earth MaltaFriends of the Earth Sierra LeoneFriends of the Earth SwedenFundación Mundubat, EspañaGarjan.org, NepalGénérations Futur, FranceGlobal Alliance for the Rights of NatureGlobal ExchangeGlobalization Watch Hiroshima, JapanGlobal Justice Ecology Project, USGlobal Social Justice – BelgiumGRAINGreen Cross France et TerritoiresGroundWork, Friends of the Earth, South AfricaGrupo Carta de Belém – BrasilGruppo d’Acquisto Solidale Il Melograno Associazione di Siena (GAS)Grupo de Estudios Ambientales (GEA), MexiqueGrupo de Solidaridad-Arenal (GRUDESA) – NICARAGUAGrupo de Trabajo de Cambio Climático y Justicia (GTCCJ) de BoliviaHuman Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, UKHumanitarian Group for Social Development (HGSD), LebanonICCA ConsortiumIDEASforus TogoILLA centro de educación y comunicación, PeruInitiatives for International Dialogue (IID)Institut Européen de Recherche sur la Politique de l’Eau (IERPE)Institute for Agriculture and Trade PolicyInstitute for Policy Studies, Climate Policy Program, USInstituto de Estudios sobre Desarrollo y Cooperación Internacional del País VascoInsurrectas Autónomas, HondurasInternational Institute of Climate Action and TheoryInternational Network on Migration and DevelopmentIRPAD/Afrique, Bamako (MALI)Jóvenes Ante la Emergencia Nacional, MéxicoJubileo Sur/AméricasJubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JSAPMDD)Justiça Ambiental – FoE MozambiqueJusticia Climatica, Republica DominicanaKalpavriksh – Environment Action Group, IndiaKeep Ireland Fracking Free, IrelandKFEM (Korea Federation for Environmental Movement) – FoE KoreaKilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (KILOS KA), PhilippinesKRuHA (people’s coalition for the right to water), IndonesiaLa Belle CauseLa Nature en Ville, FranceLandless Peoples Movement South AfricaLigue Internationale des Femmes pour la Paix et la LibertéLILAK – Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights, PhilippinesMaison de la Nature et de l’Environnement “la Porcherie” (MNE.P), Democratic Republic of the CongoMarcha mundial de las mujeres, PeruMarcha mundial de las mujeres macro region norteMaudesco – FoE MauritiusMedical Mission Sisters, USMedio Ambiente y Sociedad, MexicoMELCA, EthiopiaMindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement (MPPM), PhilippinesMindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), PhilippinesMigrant Rights Council of NepalMother Earth Action Co-operative Ltd, CanadaMouvement de la Paix, FranceMouvement pour une Alternative Non-violenteMouvement Utopia, FranceMovement Generation, USMovement no coke high lazioMovimiento de Liberación Nacional, MéxicoMovimiento Madre Tierra – Amigos de la Tierra HondurasMovimiento Migrante MesoamerianoMovimiento por il lavoro i diritti l’ambienteMST-ItaliaMujeres de negro contra la guerra, SpainMujeres para el dialogo, MexicoNatural Bonder, South AfricaNepalese youth for Climate Action (NYCA)NOAH – Friends of the Earth DenmarkNorthwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, USNoviciado franciscano de la provincia de San Pabl Apostol, ColombiaNo Vox InternationalNuclear-free bataan movement, PhilippinesObservatorio de Multinacionales en América Latina – Asociación Paz con DignidadOceanium TogoOltre La Crescita, ItalyOregina di Genova, ItalyOsmonde XXI, FranceOtros Mundos Chiapas – Amigos de la Tierra MéxicoPachamama Alliance, USPakistan rural workers social welfare organization (PRWSWO)Pambasang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan – National Rural Women Coalition – PhilippinesPAPDA – HaitiPhilippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ)Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)Plataforma Boliviana Frente al Cambio ClimaticoPlataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo (PIDHDD)Plataforma Rural, SpainPolicy Alert, NigeriaPrograma de Extensión “Por una nueva economía, humana y sustentable” de la carrera de Comunicación Social de la UNER, ArgentinaPrograma FEES del CLAIPublic Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) PhilippinesQuaker Earthcare Witness, USRebrip, BrasilRed de Cooperacion Amazonica – REDCAMRed de Coordinación en Biodiversidad, Costa RicaRed educacion popular entre mujeres (REPEM)Red Latinoamericana de Mujeres Transformando la Economía (REMTE)Redes – Amigos de la Tierra UruguayRed nacional genero y economia, MexicoRéseau international CADTMRéseau Femmes RuralesRéseau Féministe « Ruptures »Réseau International Enda Tiers MondeRete ClimaRettet den Regenwald, GermanyRIM Youth Climate MovementRobin des Toits, FranceRural Coalition, USSanctuary Asia, IndiaServe – Net (Service Education Research Volunteers and pro-Environment Network)SERR – Servicios Ecumenicos para Reconcilacion y ReconstruccionShare The World’s Resources, UKSiembra, MexicoSobrevivencia/Friends of the Earth-ParaguaySocial Movements for an Alternative Asia (SMAA)Sociedad Civil Amigos del Viento Meteorología Ambiente Desarrollo, UruguaySociedade Sinhá Laurinha – Slau, BrazilSOLdePaz.Pachakuti, Asturias, SpainSolidaires – FranceSouth Durban Community Environmental Alliance, Durban, South AfricaStop Fessenheim, FranceStop nucléaire Besançon, FranceStop gaz de schiste Anduze (30), FranceSUMPAY Mindanao, PhilippinesSupport for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN), UgandaSyndicat Autonome des Travailleurs de la Sénégalaise des Eaux (SAT-SDE)Swarna Hansa Foundation, Sri LankaSystem Change not Climate Change, Canada & USTaca Agir pour le climatTerra NuovaThai Poor Act, ThailandThe Corner HouseThe International Grail MovementThe Woodlandleague, IrelandThird World Health Aid, BelgiumTimberwatch CoalitionTouche pas à mon schiste, FranceTripleA Marbella, SpainUganda Coalition for Sustainable DevelopmentUmphilo waManzi, South AfricaUnion des associations pour la création d’un PARC NATUREL RÉGIONAL La BRIE et les deux MORINUniversité Nomade, FranceUrgenci Community Supported Agriculture network EuropeVirage-énergie Nord-Pas-de-Calais, FranceVOICE, BangladeshVrouwenraad, BelgiumWARBE, BangladeshWomanHealth PhilippinesWorld March of WomenWorld March of Women – PhilippinesWorld Rural ForumYouth Action, NepalYoung Environment Leaders League (YELL), PhilippinesYoung Leaders Initiative – CAR, PhilippinesYoung People We Care – YPWC, GhanaWomen’s International League for Peace and Freedom – WILPF USWorld Rainforest Movement ADHERING POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
Mouvement des objecteurs de croissance MOCEELV Les Jalles 33160 Saint Médard en JallesEurope Ecologie les Verts des Landesl’Altra Europa con Tsipras – Comitato di PadovaComitato saronnese “L’Altra Europa con Tsipras”Jeunes Verts TogoThe Brooklyn Greens/Green Party of NYLabor Party-Philippines 
