Global Justice Now Edinburgh and Lothians

 

Global Justice Now is committed to Climate Justice and Economic Justice. The two are inextricably interlinked.

Unfortunately, global warming is, itself, only one of a network of problems associated with the destruction of the soils, seas, and atmosphere.

Examples of the destruction of the soils include the effects of chemical intensive agriculture, examples of the destruction of the seas include the dumping of plastic and other waste, and examples of the destruction of the atmosphere include atmospheric pollution and space debris.

Basically, picking off any one of these for attention does little to ameliorate the whole.

Worse still, single factor intervention in complex systems always has counterintuitive, and usually counterproductive, effects.

Added to this, it would require 3 to 5 back-up planets engaged in nothing but agriculture for all the world to live as we live.

It follows that, to survive as a species, we have to radically change the way we live.

We have to get rid of our cars, our energy-consuming lifestyles, our chemically-intensive agriculture, international trade as we know it.

It follows that, despite short term benefits, attempts to pursue economic justice and climate justice on their own will have little effect on the network of problems that need to be addressed.

Put another way, it follows that radical degrowth is required.

This is why Global Justice Now needs to give pride of place to activities designed to promote degrowth.

Success in such an endeavour is crucial to our achievement of our espoused objectives.

This need for degrowth has, in fact, come to be widely recognised and resulted in huge international conferences on the topic, culminating in one in the European Parliament building last year.

Unfortunately, few of the participants seem to recognise either the systemic nature of the problem or the seriousness of the situation.

They end up proposing what are, in effect, minor developments which they hope will cumulate. 

Unfortunately, the reality is that, as is almost always the case with single factor interventions in complex systems, such small developments will be eliminated by the reactions of the rest of the system.

This step by step philosophy is, however, embedded in even the title of the 50th anniversary “Club of Rome” report Come On! Capitalism, Short-termism, Population and the Destruction of the Planet.

Despite including much useful information, the report fails to build on the systemic studies embedded in the original Limits to Growth report or challenge that report’s major failing – its reliance on single factor interventions to fix the problem.

If Global Justice Now is serious in its intent to tackle the problems posed by climate and economic injustice it must place the promotion of a radical version of degrowth at the heart of its policy agenda.

By John R

Although we are constantly bombarded with the injustices that are occurring globally, I have always found myself to be reticent to do anything about it.

Whether due to my generations supposed apathy to global justice issues, a certain amount of purposeful ignorance so as to defend against taking off the rose tinted frames that are used to hide many of the inequalities in society, having the feeling common to many of “what difference can one person make?”, or a combination of the above, it led to me condemning events privately whilst doing nothing to challenge it.

Encouraged, a polite term for dragged, by my boyfriend to attend a series of Global Justice Now (GJN) Scotland events, I initially thought this would be a quiet way to pass a couple of hours on a weekday evening (and keep him happy). However, upon being introduced to GJN I realised that this could be a way of trying to make a contribution towards the issues I had spent so much of my time reading about and listening to and to finally break through the bubble of apathy and ignorance which I had spent a great deal of my time being quite happy and contented within.

In the first 25 years of my life I had never been to a protest, community meeting or rally. I had never been to an environmental film screening, sustainability seminar or held up a banner to express the opinions I had previously held to myself. That changed upon my joining Global Justice Now Edinburgh. Having joined the group in the latter half of 2018 I have had the opportunity to be a part of a whole host of events relating to environmental, social and economic injustices hosted by GJN or one of the myriad other fantastic organisations in Edinburgh. Invaluably I have been able to do this with an inviting and enthusiastic group of people with whom I can share and enjoy these experiences, which has only pushed me more in wanting to participate further (up to and including writing this).

I would sincerely encourage anyone who is reading this to pop along to a meeting or attend any of the numerous events/actions that GJN Edinburgh support, or if that’s a little much for now just follow what we’re up to. I hope to be able to carry playing my small part in working against global injustices with as many of you reading this as possible in the future.

 

We were outside The Scottish Parliament on 6th February with Edinburgh University Amnesty International making sure the message was loud and clear: preventing a crime is NOT a crime. We stand in solidarity with the brave actions of the #stansted15.

Stansted 2

#migrantswelcome

On a cold December morning we joined forces with Friends of the Earth Scotland and Extinction Rebellion Scotland, amongst others, to ring the alarm for catastrophic climate change and urgently demand governments and corporations to do more to act to prevent ecological breakdown.

Starting off from the Usher Hall, we journeyed to the First Minister’s residence in Charlotte Square and finished outside RBS – making noise, demanding action and sounding the alarm all the way.

Here are a few images from the day

Global Justice Edinburgh supporters came together once again on the 15th September 2018 to kickstart their activism within the capital!

The group had a successful meet and greet at the Forest Cafe before moving on to mark the 10 year anniversary of the Global Financial Crash with other local activist groups. This action saw the group mark the 10 years anniversary of the Global Financial Crash and drew attention to the fact that whilst the public bailed out RBS to the tune of £45.5bn, we have seen nothing in return but austerity and billions in losses from government RBS share sales. So, to make the point clear that we believe the taxpayer has been dealt a grave injustice whereas the financial system remains largely unchanged, we decided to help Jubilee Scotland in turning the RBS in St Andrew’s Square into a crime scene (pictures below).

Moving forward, this group will be open to absolutely anyone who wants to join in the movement towards a fairer world. Please follow our Facebook group or Twitter for more information or email gjnedinburgh@gmail.com if you would like to get in contact about joining the group and making an impact in Edinburgh and the Lothians!

Be sure to join us at our next meet-up at The Forest Cafe at 6:30pm on October 29th.

We held a stall at the Edinburgh farmer’s market at the end of June. Passers-by were interested in our migration leaflets, and took away CETA postcards to sign