Hear from Global Justice Now trade campaigner Jean Blaylock about the dangers that corporate courts pose for the climate and what we can do about them.
Thursday 5th May, 7.30pm, zoom Fossil fuel companies are using secret tribunals to sue governments for over $18bn over climate policy. Two governments have already admitted fear of these tribunals has limited their climate action and that’s probably the tip of the iceberg. These tribunals, or ‘corporate courts’, are written into trade deals. One of these deals, the Energy Charter Treaty, is being used by several of the fossil fuel companies. The call for the UK to exit the Energy Charter Treaty and stop signing new trade deals with corporate courts is growing. Register on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-corporate-courts-are-blocking-climate-action-and-how-we-can-stop-them-tickets-318953918757 for joining details. |
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Vaccines for profit or for the people? Tuesday 15th March, 7.30pm, zoom
The People’s Vaccine: changing the rules to allow countries to manufacture vaccines themselves
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep inequities in global health systems, with only 1 in 10 people in low-income countries receiving a single vaccine while the rest of the world rolls out huge booster programmes. Meanwhile, big pharma companies have made record profits from Covid-19 vaccines, even though the bulk of the research behind them came from government funds.
Led by South Africa and India, countries in the global south are demanding an end to big pharma’s monopoly control of vaccine patents. Changes in the rules would help many more countries produce their own vaccines and gain control over their pandemic response. Governments like the UK and EU have stood in the way of this move, while pharma companies continue to lobby against it with all their might.
But the green shoots of an alternative system are growing across the world. In South Africa, scientists have copied Moderna’s vaccine and plan to teach others how to make it. Cuba is sharing the technology for its vaccine and providing it cheaply. And even in the US, a team of researchers has committed to provide its vaccine patent-free and profit-free.
The talk will lay out the case for a more democratic, de-colonised global healthcare system and discuss how we can bring it about.
Speaker: Tim Bierley, Vaccines Campaigner at Global Justice Now, followed by a discussion.
Register on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vaccines-for-profit-or-for-the-people-tickets-276528643617 for joining details.
COP26 Coalition – Campaign for Climate Justice
LAUNCH: Notts COP26 Coalition, Thurs 16 September 7pm St Peter’s Church*, Nottingham
You and members of your organisation are warmly invited to join a launch event to bring people together in the run up to Nottingham’s COP26 day of action on November 6.
You will hear from global and local speakers about why climate justice urgently matters to us all, including
- Mary-Lou Malig, Bolivia-based activist researcher, and campaigner for economic justice
- Sally Longford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council with responsibility for the environment
- Dena Arya, an expert on environmental politics at Nottingham Trent University
But most of all, we want to hear from YOU at the launch, as we build a local campaign to demand climate justice – at home and abroad – and hold politicians to account.
We need your expertise, your knowledge and your voice. Please join us.
In November, world leaders converge on Glasgow for COP26 and here in Nottingham we are a regional hub for the COP26 Coalition.
We are coordinating activities in the weeks running up to November 6, with regular Zoom meetings every Thursday evening (please email us to join- we want you!) Here are our two main aims:
- organising to fill Nottingham city centre on Saturday November 6th as part of one of the biggest nationwide protests ever
- building a continuing local campaign of coherent political demands (e.g. a charter) for climate justice from the grassroots.
Please forward this email to your networks far and wide throughout Notts and beyond. We want to build a broad coalition. If your organisation is not listed below, let us know, and we will add you!
Contact email: nottingham@cop26coalition.com
September 16 venue: St Peter’s Church, *St Peter’s Square, NG1 2NW Nottingham.
Nottingham COP26 Coalition Members: (if your organisation would like to be added, please let us know)
Global Justice Nottingham, Nottingham Friends of the Earth, Notts Momentum, Extinction Rebellion Nottingham, Nottingham Climate Assembly, Nottingham Unite Community branch, Unite EM/NG58 Nottingham Central Branch, Nottingham Stand Up To Racism, Nottinghamshire, Mansfield and Nottingham Trades Union Council, Nottingham Green Party, Climate Action Nottingham, Nottingham Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Nottingham Climate Emergency Centre, New Lucas Plan, Health in Your Environment (HIYE), Christian Aid
Climate Justice – what can we do right now?
You are invited to the following event
Climate Justice – what can we do right now?
Event to be held at the following time and date over zoom:
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 from 19:30 to 21:00 (BST)
We need to act NOW to combat climate change, in a way that is fair to everyone. Hear a range of exciting speakers in the lead up to COP26.
To register go to Climate Justice – what can we do right now?
About this Event
To save our planet we need to act NOW to combat climate change, and in a way that is fair to everyone. People in the global south have done the least damage to the climate but are already suffering its effects, and we must find ways to combat climate change that do not worsen inequality.
Come and listen to our lineup of diverse speakers, and give us your views on what urgent action we need to take in the runup to COP 26 in November.
Mary Lou Malig, an activist researcher, policy analyst, and campaigner based in Bolivia, will give us a perspective from the global south.
Alice Bayes from youth-led, diverse action group Climate Action Nottingham, will talk about their campaigning on pension fund divestment from fossil fuels, the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, and biodiversity.
Kat Boettge from the Green Party, who has stood as its candidate in EU and general elections, will talk about the Green Party’s approach and the Green New Deal.
A speaker from the COP 26 Coalition (tbc) will address what we want from COP 26 and mobilising NOW to achieve it.
Justice for the global south: aid and debt cancellation in times of Covid
We held a public zoom event on Wednesday 10th February, 2021, where Nick Dearden , Global Justice Now and Nadia Whittome, MP spoke on defending aid, making it more effective and just, debt cancellation, and climate finance.
Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now (GJN), talked about how we can support justice for the global south in the times of Covid-19. He discussed GJN’s campaign to not just defend the aid budget, against the government’s merger of DfID and planned cuts to the 0.7% target, but also to make it more effective and just. He also highlighted how debt is built into the global financial system, and how we can support GJN’s work campaigning for debt cancellation.
Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, spoke about aid and debt cancellation from a Labour perspective, confirming that debt cancellation is Labour party policy, and pointing out the vested interest we all have in a global recovery and building economic resistance.
Both Nick and Nadia expressed optimism that change is possible.
To download an audio recording of the meeting, go to https://www.dropbox.com/t/MCWftiPEZ1ZZLpya (This is only available until 19th Feb)
(If you would like a copy of the recording after this, or would like a a video version (bearing in mind there was no screen sharing, just talking heads), contact globaljusticenottingham@gmail.com)
Campaigning to stop the US trade deal
We’ve been campaigning recently in Nottingham to stop the US/UK trade deal. Several of us were at the Green Festival stall in Sneinton Market on Saturday 3rd October, and as you can see we hung our banner against the deal at St Peter’s Church last Saturday, 24th October, on the national day of action. On Monday we took the banner to the London Road roundabout, outside the BBC building, during the morning rush hour.
For more details about the campaign and actions you can take, see https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/usdeal