Camp for Climate Action activists took over Trafalgar square in central London as part of their “Cop Out Camp Out” campaign to draw attention to “elitist and undemocratic talks in Copenhagen” which are “part of a political and economic system that put corporate profits before the needs of people.” Starting on December 5, they were able to hold the square for several days, in full view of the British Parliament.

source: http://climateimc.org/en/climate-actions/2009/12/06/climate-camp-take-trafalgar-square-cop15-action

Keeper of the Mountains, Larry Gibson, addresses the crowd at the rally.

Over 300 coalfield residents and allies rallied at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to stop the destruction of Coal River Mountain due to mountain-top removal coal mining. Coalfield residents and their allies are demanding the federal government outlaw this environmentally and socially destructive practice whereby the tops of mountains are blown up to get at the coal underneath. Additionally, some people are proposing to build a wind farm on the mountain to generate energy and provide jobs to coalfield residents, if blasting can be stopped. “Coal River Mountain stands today as a symbol of the choice we have to make for our energy future,” said Bo Webb of the Coal River Valley, one of the organizer’s of the rally.  “We can preserve our abundant forested mountains, which offer clean drinking water and enough wind potential to provide permanent jobs for our families. Or, we can allow mountaintop removal operations to blast our heritage into a pile of pulverized rock and poisoned water.”

“My home and the cemetery where my husband is buried are in jeopardy from mountaintop removal coal mining. I have to be out here to protect my family,” said Lorelei Scarbro, of Coal River Mountain Watch and a lifelong resident of Coal River Valley. “If we don’t start building a clean energy economy and diversifying jobs in West Virginia what will our children do for jobs in 20 years when the coal runs out?…. If we can save this mountain then we can begin developing sustainable jobs and renewable energy, and we can maybe have an impact on the climate crisis that faces us all.”

source: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/07/hundreds-rally-to-save-coal-river-mountain-today/

Today 19 Greenpeace activists scaled the roof of the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa. They were sending a message directly to Canadian Prime Minister Harper who will be attending the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen: ‘Climate Inaction Costs Lives’:

Multiple Members of Canadian Parliament watched our activists rappel past their office windows and shared pictures via their personal Twitter accounts! More – including video – on Greenpeace Canada’s website.

Source: http://weblog.greenpeace.org/climate/2009/12/activists_occupy_roof.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The Mobilization for Climate Justice West – a coalition representing more than 30 social justice, environmental, labor, and human rights groups- organized a protest and a non-violent blockade at Chevron headquarters in San Ramon, CA to coincide with the opening day of COP15. Protestors blocked the main entrance and two additional entrances to Chevron’s corporate campus for several hours. “By working to derail effective climate change policy in the U.S., Chevron is undermining the UN climate negotiations where other nations are looking to the U.S. to make binding commitments to reduce emissions,” said Cathy
Kunkel of Mobilization for Climate Justice. “Chevron’s opposition to significant action on climate change is in line with its history of environmental and human rights abuses in communities all over the world.”

Among these abuses are the deleterious effects of Chevron’s refinery in Richmond, Ca on nearby communities. In addition to global warming pollutants, this refinery emits toxic air pollution responsible for driving up rates of cancer and asthma in surrounding communities. “Chevron has to know that we’re not going away.  We’re breathing and feeling the effects of Chevron’s pollution every day.  While we go to the graveyard, Chevron goes to the bank. We’re determined let Chevron know that they’re killing us in the process of making money.  This has to change,” said Reverend Kenneth Davis from North Richmond, one of 31 people arrested in the course of the protest.

The Mobilization for Climate Justice West and allied groups are calling on Chevron to take these immediate actions:

1.  Support equitable, science-based emissions reduction targets and climate solutions in international climate change negotiations and domestically.

2. Pledge not to support fake “grassroots” campaigns against national climate change legislation.

3. Cap the crude and stop expanding into heavier, dirtier sources of crude oil.

Source: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/07/protest-and-non-violent-civil-disobedience-at-chevron-31-arrested/

Logo, Indigenous Environmental Network.

North American Indigenous Peoples Call for Strong Climate Action in Copenhagen

December 7, 2009

Copenhagen, Denmark – A multi-generational delegation of 21 Indigenous Peoples from North America have arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark this week to advocate for the incorporation of Indigenous Peoples rights in the language of a fair, binding, and science-based global climate treaty at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The delegation is comprised of Native American, Alaskan Native, and First Nation activists and leaders from the communities most affected by climate change and fossil fuel development in North America. They represent many Nations including Cree, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Blackfoot, Ojibwe, Kachiquel Mayan, Pasqua, Gwich’in, Navajo, Mikisew Cree, Inupiaq, Mohawk, Oneida, Zuni, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

The delegation, coordinated by the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), are attending the international climate negotiations to speak on behalf of their Nations, communities, and future generations in support of strong climate action and also to network with other Indigenous Peoples from across the world.

Nikke Alex, 24, an IEN youth delegate from the Navajo Nation, AZ, said, “My community has been greatly affected my climate change. In my community, many do not have basic utilities like running water and electricity, and over the summer, the wells and springs dried up forcing my family and many others to drive over 30 miles for water. I’m happy to see other Indigenous youth here to voice their concerns about decisions being made that will impact their future.”

In order to protect their homelands from climate chaos, the IEN delegation is pushing for not only strong targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also demanding effective, fair and equitable methods to address the climate issue. Global expectations for Copenhagen outcomes have dimmed in recent weeks, most prominently due to inaction by the world’s biggest emitters, such as the United States and Canada. IEN delegates will work to pressure their home governments to step up their efforts to combat climate change.

We are here to tell the world, as the Indigenous Peoples of North America we will not sit on the side lines as the American and Canadian governments systematically kill international climate negotiations in the interest of promoting dirty fossil fuel development such as the Tar sands in Northern Alberta, Canada,” says Clayton Thomas-Muller, Tar Sands Campaigner for IEN.

The delegation will also be working in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples from around the globe to advocate the inclusion of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ (UNDRIP) in any climate agreement. In addition to lobbying, the delegation will be educating other UNFCCC and Klimaforum 09 attendees through workshops, non-violent direct actions, and most importantly, informing their own communities about progress in Copenhagen.

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is a United States-based non-governmental (Indigenous) organization formed in 1990 addressing environmental and economic justice challenges. IEN is a network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous communities and Nations towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice, and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. Since 1998, IEN has been working on issues of climate change and global warming. IEN is one of the leading organizations/networks within the U.S. environmental justice movement involved in climate change policy – locally, nationally and globally. Visit http://www.ienearth.org for more information.

Contact: The Indigenous Environmental Network Media Team
Mobile Number: +45 526 85596
E-mail: indigenous.environmental.network@gmail.com

from: ienearth.org