[ad_1]
Quan Nguyen was the Scottish Coordinator of the COP26 Coalition. Here he reflects on lessons learned about protests and movement building behind the scenes of COP26.
This time last year, we were preparing. I remember the police threatening to arrest us for hanging banners in Glasgow Central where hundreds of climate change activists (including Greta Thunberg) stepped off a train. The Scottish Parliament’s hilarious ‘discussion’ about the desperate situation Scottish activists were trying to find accommodation for newly arrived people and the homestay network set up by Glaswegians to share rooms with activists I remember The SNP backed it, the Tories warned against it – even though the network was dead months before COP26, all the rooms were booked and thousands of activists still didn’t know where to sleep. Z. The absurdity of hosting a large conference in the midst of a deadly Delta-Covid wave, Indigenous families waiting for hours at Edinburgh airport with nowhere to go, and XR activists camping I remember the stubborn defiance preparing to prepare the Bella Houston Park.
The United Nations Climate Conference, the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, said:Blah, blah, blah – meeting$100 billion non-binding pledge for climate finance already watered down to avoid REFERENCES TO LOSS AND DAMAGE From the fires and floods that have already ravaged frontline communities, it is forgotten among the many other crises facing governments. Solidarity with those most affected by climate change has only been postponed, with some expressing hope that COP27 in Egypt can “keep the conversation going”.
But from the start, that conversation at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh is set for farce. Greenwashing one of the worst police states in the world:
“The Egyptian regime is eager to celebrate the official Climate Youth Leaders, holding them up as a symbol of hope in the fight against climate change. But I can’t help but think of the brave young leaders of the Arab Spring. Due to the harassment, I am now a premature old man.
cynical usage Videos of plastic-free straws and biodegradable lunch boxes It has never seemed more absurd to cover up the oppression, poverty and corruption sustained by Western governments desperately seeking new sources of gas. We need to listen to what they say about the oppression of women, because they provide a green cover for the same kind of totalitarianism in Egypt. Hope feels like an insult, not just to climate change activists, but to the young Egyptians who had the courage to dream of a better future, and often paid the price.
So what remains of the COP in Glasgow is Hundreds of new oil and gas licenses to be approved by UK government,and European Union sees gas and nuclear as clean energy?COP26 was important to the Scottish climate movement not because of watered-down agreements, PR stunts or marching nowhere.? For us it was something different. It was a moment of global responsibility to host a global climate movement facing insurmountable obstacles. In the face of the deadliest Covid-Waves and incompetent governments, we ensured the health and safety of activists and communities. If London-centrism is at stake, we face incompetent British NGOs who have failed to shake it, or Scottish NGO counterparts who have failed to show the leadership needed in this global moment. So we created a space in Glasgow for activists around the world. world. Despite losing momentum amid waves of Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future protests, climate change activists in Scotland took responsibility and prevented our movement from collapsing. Nevertheless, we are still here.
I am sometimes asked what we can learn from COP26 next year. The question is not only difficult, but almost incomprehensible given that Scotland will never again host a climate conference of this magnitude. .
First, it’s hard to keep up with the growing number of greenwash words celebrating “climate change success.” To conceptual hijacking, governments and corporations are eroding our concepts and language faster than the climate movement can react. This can be disorienting and demoralizing because it is not clear what we are up against. Finding sustainable ways to expose “climate success” and building a central narrative against greenwashing to prevent conceptual erosion will be central in the coming years.
*
Secondly: Protest in its current form no longer works. I had a panel discussion with his Gehan Macleod in Galgael after his COP26. So she said one of her things to learn from the Occupy movement is that marches, occupations and mobilizations have failed to achieve what they wanted to achieve. Governments, and often businesses too, can successfully weather some of the biggest and most disruptive actions and mobilizations. This is seen not only in the XR rebellion and waves of school strikes, but also in his All-Under-One banner independence march, which has been accepted as the backdrop to the independence debate, and his Also seen in UCU Strike. Governments and corporations don’t have to react meaningfully if they believe their power is secure enough. Something is missing and we understand what is important to all of us.
*
Third, and perhaps related, the climate movement is becoming increasingly desperate. Time is running out, and no answer or strategy has succeeded in fundamentally challenging fossil fuel capitalism. As a result, short, desperate acts of high-profile disruption (which by themselves probably won’t disrupt normal business enough) will become more frequent than ever. At the same time, more and more activists will burn out from these intense activities.
*
Fourth, As climate activists’ tactics evolve, so do police tactics. This was most evident during his COP26, when the police made few arrests but thwarted almost all disruptive actions. They achieved this through a large and intimidating police presence, but also by breaking into the “secure” channels that activists used to communicate their actions. No need for the police to send undercover agents or hack people’s phones when they can join Signal group chats and read up on activists’ claims, plans and conspiracies. We need to rethink how we can evade and defeat police operations without exposing ourselves to enormous risk.
*
Fifth, The escalation of tactics by the climate movement will continue. Vandalism and sabotage will become more common, but so will government backlash. This in itself is no reason not to escalate tactics, but remember that government crackdowns on protests will not only hurt climate change activists who may be ready to accept increased repression. is important. This will affect more vulnerable groups and make it more difficult for immigrants to mobilize judicial bodies, trade unions and others. All climate activists share the responsibility to take this into account when planning their next course of action.
*
And finally: Keeping activists hopeful and brave will be key in the years to come as the climate crisis worsens. Keeping the possibility of radical change open, openly challenging narratives by governments and corporations, and imagining a vision of a future without fossil capitalism will be a challenge even after 1.5 degrees. It is a central task that remains important. is. After his COP15 in Copenhagen, we need to prevent activists from falling into despair, like those who did everything in their power to make the COP a success. We need to prevent governments from dividing us like he did at COP21 in Paris. The climate movement was split on whether or not it was worth getting involved in the Paris Agreement. We need to recognize that without a UN climate conference, demands from governments often do nothing. We need to recognize that the climate crisis is worsening and that there is no blueprint for climate justice to follow for the climate movement.
*
believe in spring
Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, who has been imprisoned by the Egyptian government since 2011, said in a letter to the Human Rights Council in 2017:Unlike me, you haven’t lost yet”. If there’s one thing to say about Scottish climate activists after COP26, it’s that despite everything being thrown at us at the worst possible time, we haven’t been defeated yet. about it. Allaah Abd El Fatah (who describes himself as out of touch and a bit outdated) was asked for advice by activists outside the realm of authoritarianism on how they could help, and we states the theme to follow.
- fix your democracy
- don’t play the game of nations
- Defending Complexity and Diversity
- Claim your right to be a creator, not a consumer
All of these themes (not quite outdated) are things that the Scottish climate movement, and perhaps the Scottish Left in general, should take to heart. We need to fix our democracy and reject the efforts of the ruling coalition to become the image of our government, no matter how benign it may seem. We need to protect the complexity and diversity of our movement and create our own space.
He left Glasgow several times with £1000 in cash to give to Minga Indigena, an indigenous rights group who had failed to secure a British bank account before coming to Glasgow because all NGOs refused to accept them. I still remember cycling. Hand cash for them to buy food. I remember an old colleague trying to raise a small banner and being surrounded by two security guards and five police officers who interrogated him intensely. Exhausted from weeks of overwork, my team couldn’t hold back laughter when the Scottish Green party leader argued at his COP26 absurd debate about whether he deserved two days off. I remember I couldn’t. At the end of the 12 days, I remember how angry I felt. Angry with my bosses and Glasgow City Council, anger at having to torment the team, anger at myself, anger at my exhaustion.
After a year, the climate change movement in Scotland is exhausted. But we are still standing and can rise again to challenge ourselves on our own soil in the heart of European fossil fuel capitalism. It is our own rebellion, even in the face of defeat. As Edinburgh-based Egyptian author and activist Mohammed Tonsi writes in his new book You Must Believe in Spring:
“The revolution has had its setbacks and many failures, but it is not lost, nor is it over. […] Revolution can be revived even among counter-revolutionary forces. “Aish! Horeya! ‘Adala ‘egtema’eya! ring again. ”
Let’s believe in spring with him.
[ad_2]
Source link