Global — For 30 years the UN IPCC reports have proven beyond doubt that Climate impacts are increasingly frequent and devastating. Frontline communities, who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, are increasingly experiencing the worst impacts. 350.org leaders from around the globe respond:
May Boeve
” Since the Ukraine war started, fossil fuel companies and their executives have been profiting off the skyrocketing energy prices, while many people can barely afford heating or gas. It’s time for a rapid pivot to clean energy.”
Namrata Chowdhary
“How much more destruction must we witness, and how many more scientific reports will it take, before governments finally acknowledge fossil fuels as the real culprits behind the human suffering being felt across the globe? As we come ever closer to the tipping points for human existence, once again scientists are sounding a clear alarm: massive cuts in emissions are unavoidable to avert the worst.”
Fenton Lutunatabua
“The climate crisis touches all of us, but the IPCC report shows that fossil fuel consumption by the wealthiest is causing serious damage, and the people who must survive the worst impacts are also often on the frontlines of social and economic injustice. Yet the antidote to fear is hope: these same people are leading the way toward community-based solutions all over the world. Together, we’ll fight to cut off the money flowing to fossil fuels, and build the safe, just future we all deserve.”
Asia: Chuck Baclagon
“It is clear beyond doubt that fossil fuel consumption has put us in this dire situation and we must acknowledge that Asian banks are still the top lenders and underwriters for coal globally. The way out of this crisis is if we turn off the money tap to the fossil fuel industry and redirect it to community-led local solutions. The IPCC report points to mitigation measures that governments can take but it is crucial that we, the people, keep our financial institutions under the microscope, and demand an end to fossil fuel finance.”
Pacific: Joseph Sikulu
“We are in a critical stage and it is clear that current mitigation measures are not enough. What we in the Pacific know is that our very survival depends on drastically reducing carbon emissions – and the fastest way to bring us back on track for our goal of 1.5 degrees celsius is by keeping all fossil fuels in the ground. How do we end the reign of fossil fuels? Turn off their money tap. We are asking that global leaders and financial institutions stop financing fossil fuels, and start funding just, community-led solutions to this crisis.”
Africa: Landry Ninteretse
“Fossil fuels continue to fuel the climate crisis, leading to widespread devastation in vulnerable regions such as Africa where extreme and frequent weather events are being regularly experienced. The IPCC has not only called for urgent action, but also outlined crucial interventions needed to meet mitigation and development goals. This means developed nations need to not only fulfill their promise of drastically reducing their emissions, and also commit finances towards adaptation, but also clean energy transition, technology transfer and mitigation in the Global South.
South Africa: Glen Tyler-Davies
“As we continue to experience increasingly severe climate impacts, the IPCC has emphasized the speed at which we need to act, and highlighted solutions to scale up mitigation interventions. For South Africa, this is a call to put in place ambitious, national plans for a just transition away from coal, to socially owned renewable energy. Our public finance institutions must immediately stop funding fossil fuel projects, and facilitate the funding of a Green New Eskom. We must also hold the government to account to get us on track with this transition.
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Footage and photos of the mobilisations across the world are available in a searchable database here:
https://350org.widencollective.com/c/wvvj4vha
Images are available free of charge to press.
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Contact:
Jason Kirkpatrick, US Communications Specialist, [email protected]
350.org is an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.