Campaigning for justice for the world's poor in Oxfordshire
On Sunday 21st there will be a mass mobilisation to protect the earth’s climate. It’s happening all over the world to coincide with a global summit on climate change. In the UK, it’s organised by a huge coalition of different groups, including Avaaz, Fuel Poverty Action, Greenpeace UK and 350.org. There will be a march from Temple Place to Parliament House.
We’ll probably be blogging more about this nearer the time! (It’s on Facebook too.)
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) have brought out a video report about the links between extreme poverty and climate change. It draws a bleak conclusion: there can be no end to extreme poverty unless we act on climate change.
The Oxfordshire local authorities and the University of Oxford have investment portfolios that include both direct and indirect investments in fossil fuel companies. But according to the IPCC, in order to avoid dangerous climate tipping points, 60-80% of known fossil fuel reserves must remain underground. They are “unburnable” assets from a climate perspective. Something doesn’t add up.
The Fossil Free Future rally in Oxford demands a stop to the “carbon bubble”, asking organisations such as Oxford City Council to stop investing in fossil fuels and start investing in a cleaner energy future. The march begins at 10:30 am from the Radcliffe Camera and finishes with a rally in Bonn Square at noon. This event is not organised by WDM.
A Yorkshire environmental group is trying to get MPs (and individuals) to sign up to a firm declaration on climate change. Kirklees Campaign Against Climate Change created the Tipping Point declaration, an 8-point summary of the current situation in regard to climate change. Key points include:
Individuals can sign the petition by emailing kirkleesccc@hotmail.co.uk with their name, house number and postcode. The group will then post a copy of the declaration to your local councillor and local MP on your behalf. The group is aiming to get as much support as possible from organisations and individuals before closing the petition on 11th April and releasing details of signatories to the media.
This petition is not organised by WDM. At our April meeting, Oxford WDM will be discussing whether or not to add our name as a group signatory to this petition.
We know that climate change increases migration, as parts of the world become difficult or impossible to inhabit. But we don’t often hear from the migrants themselves. The Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) presents an evening of stories from people who have been displaced from their homes as a result of climate change.
Moving Stories will take place at the Oxford Quaker Meeting House on St Giles. It’s free but places are limited so you will need to register in advance.
This event is not organised by WDM.
Do you prefer your info in video form? New Internationalist has teamed up with carbon footprint analyst (and poet!) Danny Chivers to create a series of short videos explaining climate science. The first one attempts to explain the basics in just four minutes.
We’re part of Global Justice Now, a democratic membership organisation which campaigns against inequality and injustice in the global economy. We want to see a world where ordinary people control the resources they need to live a decent life, rather than corporations and the super rich calling the shots.