Scots bring Climate Justice Peace message to Paris
Scottish activists joined thousands of people across streets of Paris to spell out a message of Climate Justice Peace as the UN climate summit inched towards a conclusion.
The UN deal is expected to fail to deliver what is needed in terms of ambitious cuts to carbon emissions, keeping us on course for over 2 degrees of temperature rises. It also fails to provide justice for people who already feeling the impacts of climate change.
The French Coalition Climat 21 organised the innovative action in the aftermath of the Paris attacks when large gatherings of people were forbidden. Small groups of people logged their arrival at over 1,200 pre-arranged points across the city. Hundreds of these points were displayed online to spell out ‘Climate Justice Peace’.
Norman Philip who has travelled from Falkirk to Paris for the action “It was great to get out on the streets of Paris and make our mark. The response from the locals and everyone we have met has been fantastic. “
Shannon Stephens, Friends of the Earth Scotland Climate Activism Organiser who has co-ordinated the group from Scotland said: “We are also here to stand in solidarity with our friends at Les Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth France) and all those who have come from around the world to demand justice for those on the front lines of climate change.
“By being visible on the streets we are showing the world that no matter what happens inside the negotiations, there is a growing movement of people who are continuing to work for climate justice. “Our story will contrast with the one world leaders want to tell, painting themselves as heroes when in fact they have failed to act with the urgency and fairness required.“
Dr Richard Dixon, Friends of the Earth Scotland Director, concluded:
“We have shown real people power today and will continue to build from here. In Scotland this means stopping fracking and getting public pension investments out of fossil fuels and into socially useful projects, putting the country on the path to becoming fossil free within a generation.
Around the world we see people resisting dirty energy, from new oil projects in the Adriatic to the unconventional gas industry in Australia and building the clean, safe alternatives we need.
Notes to Editors.
1. There were approximately 3,000 participants at over 1,200 locations across Paris. You can see the finished message and pictures at www.climatejusticepeace.org
2. FoE Scotland launched a new climate campaign, Fossil Free Scotland, on Friday 11th December http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/FossilFreeLaunch and fossilfree.scot
3. The United Nations climate summit is currently underway in Paris. Friends of the Earth has been in Paris for the past two weeks following the talks and taking part in civil society activities outside the official negotiations.
4. There are 50 activists in Paris who have travelled with Friends of the Earth Scotland. http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/scots-off-Paris-climate-talks
5. You can follow what’s happening through Twitter with @FoEScot, @mmachch and @Richard_Dixon and through the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland daily blogs http://stopclimatechaos.org/campaigns/un-international-climate-talks
6. Friends of the Earth International has print quality images available from the past two weeks in Paris.https://www.flickr.com/photos/foei/
7. Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
* Scotland's leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups. www.foe-scotland.org.uk