We stand strong in solidarity with people of Paris and demand urgent action on climate change to build sustainable peaceful and just society!
In my name and on behalf of the Friends of the Earth International I would like to expresses deepest condolences to families and friends of victims of terrorism in Paris, and we also extend our solidarity to all the people affected by violence and terrorism.
Unfortunately, these are only the most recent attacks. There are too many parts of the world where deadly conflicts have become part of people’s daily life. The innocent and poorest are always the most affected. Meanwhile, warlords and war profiteers take advantage of the violence to seize resources and pad their bank accounts. It doesn’t have to be this way.
We stand for a sustainable world of justice and peace, where people live life in dignity, enjoy freedom of expression, in respect for future generations and the environment, and kindness towards strangers and refugees. To fulfil this dream we must act against violence, militarization and Islamophobia and avoid succumbing to fear.
Since the tragic attacks in Paris, the French government has unfortunately clamped down on civil liberties, announcing a state of emergency and cancelling planned mobilizations for climate justice around the UN climate negotiations taking place there in the first two weeks of December. But peoples’ voices will not be shut down. We are determined to ensure that the much-needed peoples’ call for climate justice will be heard loud and clear.
The new agreement politicians will adopt at the Paris climate conference will almost certainly fail to stop catastrophic climate change and this will lead to more poverty and hunger, loss of biodiversity and productive land and consequently to even more violence and wars. Acting on climate change in a just way is in fact the most important peace building action. The root causes of poverty and exploitation need to be addressed.
We are telling those who were planning to travel to Paris on Dec. 11-12 not to change their plans. We are exploring creative ways to modify our climate justice mobilizations in order to comply with the new security measures, because the final word will be from people not the politicians or the polluters.
It is high time we reclaim democratic decision making from corporate capture and influence and bring back power to the people not corporations that profit from pollution and destruction.
In Paris and around the World we will stand strong in solidarity, demanding climate justice, and we will not stop until we win!
Jagoda Munic
FOEI Chairperson
