Thousands of people gathered in 250 cities around the world yesterday to demand action on climate change.
In an open letter to be published this week, environment and development groups including Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF have joined with trade unions and faith groups to call on world leaders to use the UN summit to take action on climate change.
“Politicians all over the world cite a lack of public support as a reason not to take bold action against climate change. So on 21 September we will meet this moment with unprecedented public mobilizations in cities around the world. Our goal is simple – to demonstrate the groundswell of demand that exists for ambitious climate action,” they wrote.
Celebrities backing the People’s Climate March include model Helena Christensen, musicians Jarvis Cocker and Peter Gabriel, actor Susan Sarandon, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and actor Edward Norton.
Naomi Klein is another vocal supporter for change. In this video, the author and activist speaks about what she has learned during the research for her latest book, This Changes Everything.
Far from being a message of despair, Klein offers some rays of hope in the form of grassroots movements doing all they can to stop corporations from destroying our planet further. During the construction of the Texas Keystone XL pipeline, people tried to stop the building with their bodies. These activist camps were coined ´Blockadia´. Klein, famous for her previous books No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, is sure that this kind of direct action and civil disobedience can work.
“Nowhere needs to be sacrificed in the name of progress. We are redefining what progress means,” she says. “There is huge opposition, and the flip side of the carbon boom. Companies have become so ravenous to get every last drop out of the earth that they have to go to places where they don´t have so much political power. There´s a resurgence in indigenous rights groups and many vibrant movements.”
It´s an interesting interview for anyone who feels powerless in the fight against climate change. As Klein says: “Regular people are stepping in where politicians are failing. In the courts, indigenous winning significant victories.” United, we can make a difference.
Highlights from the New York march can be seen here.
