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Our hope is that the Paris summit will send a signal that the age of fossil fuels is coming to an end. We already know that we can’t count on our politicians to send this signal alone: they’re still too much in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry to do everything we need. The most we can hope for out of the new climate treaty is clear targets, real money, and a strong framework to carry action forward.

But the treaty is only half the battle. The Paris moment will be defined not by what happens in the negotiating halls, but in the streets of Paris and around the world. Politicians aren’t the only ones with power. If enough people agree that it’s time for the world to move in a new direction, and push together, the world will begin to move.

The time for feeling powerless in the face of climate chaos is over. We know how to take action. First, we need to stop as many new fossil fuel projects as possible, and phase out existing ones, so that we can keep coal, oil and gas in the ground. Second, we need to weaken the political and financial power of the fossil fuel industry -- this is where fossil fuel divestment comes in. We need to stop giving money to the polluters and start giving power back to the people. Third, we need to show the world that solutions are underway and that a push to 100% renewable energy will help combat poverty and unemployment as well as pollution. Fourth, we need to show that there is a massive public demand for action, mobilizing around the world at an unprecedented scale.

This is our moment. The opportunity is before us. Together, as a global movement, we can make Paris about people and power, not polluters and politicians. This is also your moment.

No matter where government negotiators land in Paris, we know we will have to keep the pressure on to ensure we keep fossil fuels in the ground and make the just transition to 100% renewable energy a reality. In fact, we believe that after Paris we'll need to take things to a whole new level.

So on 12 December, just after the close of the big summit, people in Europe will stage a mass action on the ground in Paris to ensure that our movement has the final word -- check it out: d12.paris. That action will be a precursor to the actions we’re beginning to prepare for early 2016... UPDATE: Citing the heightened security situation in Paris, the French government is prohibiting the mass mobilisation planned in Paris for 12 December. While this tragedy makes it difficult to go forward with our original plans, we will still find a way for people in Paris to make the call for climate justice heard. We’re considering our alternatives for mobilisations and actions in Paris, especially on 12 December.

In May 2016, we are gearing up for bold escalation. We're still working out the details, but here is the gist of what we mean: We plan to team up with allied groups in many of the key places around the world fighting fossil fuels and pushing for a renewable revolution. During a set period of time, we'll jointly prepare coordinated and bold mass actions – non-violent and appropriate to each local context – that escalate the local struggles and increase the momentum to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

Unlike the Peoples Climate Mobilisation in 2014 or the upcoming Global Climate March, these mass actions will not be linked with any international governmental summit. These mass actions will be us, the movement, doing what’s necessary to keep fossil fuels in the ground and transition to 100% renewable energy.