Photo courtesy of Otuo-Akyampong Boakye, Eco Warriors Movement - Ghana
All too often, the people who are most affected by climate catastrophe and disastrous fossil fuel development seem to be an after-thought at official international climate meetings. Engagement with grassroots and affected communities can at times be reactive, inconsistent, tokenizing, and unhelpful.
The Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth US have been working with grassroots organizations around the world to facilitate virtual meetings where leaders from communities that will be the most affected by the climate crisis can directly raise their issues, center localized demands, and plan for inclusive and just pathways forward to address climate change.
We are convening a second Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit from October 19 to 22. The goal of the Summit is to continue to bring grassroots climate leaders and activists from outside the US to the table to speak directly with US decision-makers prior to critical international summits so their voices and demands can be addressed. Over the next two months, world leaders -- particularly ones from wealthy, developed countries -- will be deciding whether or not they will raise their ambitions and make progress toward meeting international climate commitments. The annual Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit will convene later this month in Rome. Days later, climate negotiators will head to the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow (COP26). But the obstacles to participation for many developing countries and grassroots leaders have never been greater, due to inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, burdensome travel restrictions, and the rising financial cost of attendance.
When US decision-makers respond to the voices and demands of grassroots leaders and activists, meaningful change can happen. The upcoming Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit will be building on the success of the First Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit, which occured in June. At the first Summit, grassroots leaders representing 30 organizations from 17 countries met with key US decision-makers, including the US Treasury Department and the Office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and we’ve since seen important steps move forward.. At the G7 Summit, the US and fellow G7 countries acknowledged the need for a global transition off of coal and to begin the phaseout of fossil fuels. In August, the US Treasury Dept issued guidance restricting US finance of fossil fuels. Following this, grassroots leaders from 20 different countries and 37 organizations continued to engage decision makers by emphasizing the need to center localized demands as the US implements this pivotal guidance.
Starting on Tuesday, October 19, activists and grassroots leaders from around the world will convene virtually to meet with US government and other key policymakers to amplify their demands for world leaders to step up the speed and scale of global climate action at the G20 Summit and COP26. Specifically, they will be calling on US climate negotiators to:
-
Immediately stop the flow of financing to destructive fossil fuel projects across the globe, including from the US Export Import Bank and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
-
Greatly increase investments in renewable energy projects in developing countries to increase access to affordable clean energy.
-
Prioritize distributed renewables as they are more likely to provide affordable access to electricity for poor rural communities most in need.
-
Develop a financial framework and just transition guidelines for quickly decommissioning coal plants across the world while simultaneously ensuring that no workers or communities are left behind in the transition to clean energy.
-
Ensure that coal is replaced with renewable energy instead of gas while halting plans to build new gas plants around the world.
-
Greatly increase the financial commitments of wealthy nations to ensure that the countries most affected by climate change are able to adapt and respond.
2021 has been a year of unprecedented and intersecting crises, and the impacts of a warming and disrupted climate are being felt by people and communities around the world. These crises threaten our safety, our wellbeing, and our shared humanity. We’ve seen countless examples this year of the disproportionate impact the climate crisis and the global COVID-19 pandemic is having on developing countries, and we must challenge and hold world leaders accountable to addressing these inequities. Together, we must ensure that these communities are no longer forced to pay the price for polluting projects and that any decisions that will affect a community actually reflect that community’s input and demands. If you would like to join this collaborative effort and be part of the change, click here to learn more and RSVP here to join us at the Global Grassroots Leaders Climate Summit!
