Thanks Neil. <br><br>I think we need to really make sure that we emphasize the CJA action (on the 16th) above and beyond all others..... as it was this event that was our major focus. The new CJN statement that came out today is much stronger than Oliver's text, and additionally does not need editing so I would suggest we just publish this statement and replace the main picture. Ideally a good empowering image of something positive not police related. I will try and find one on twitter and send you something. Does this sound okay? <br>
<br>Additionally it would be great to have a more descriptive blog or statement about 'The People's Assembly' - as from my understanding this assembly process is something we (CJA) are going to try and build into a central movement building strategy so it would be good to really big up this first symbolic assembly as a building block for our movement.<br>
<br>So ideally the top band would have five red boxes: the three there already and two more: 1) CJN statement 2) The People's Assemblies<br><br>And we would get rid of '<i>Thousands ignore police intimidaton at No Borders protest to demand justice for climate refugees'</i> - since as important as this is - it is not the MAIN point of our action.<br>
<br>If this is okay with everyone I will write something about People's Assemblies and post it on this list before asking Neil to put it on-line. But can we go ahead with the CJN statement relatively soon? <br><br>Jody<br>
<br><br><br>Here is the statement:<br><br><div><i>Statement of Climate Justice Now! on the outcomes of COP15</i></div><br><div><div align=""><b>Call
for “system change not climate change” unites global movement</b></div> <div align=""><b>Corrupt Copenhagen ‘accord’
exposes gulf between peoples demands and elite interests</b></div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The highly anticipated UN
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen ended with a fraudulent
agreement, engineered by the United States and dropped into the
conference at the last moment. The "agreement" was not
adopted. Instead, it was "noted" in an absurd parliamentary
invention designed to accommodate the United States and permit Ban
Ki-moon to utter the ridiculous pronouncement "We have a deal."</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The UN conference was unable to
deliver solutions to the climate crisis, or even minimal progress
toward them. Instead, the talks were a complete betrayal of
impoverished nations and island states, producing embarrassment for
the United Nations and the Danish government. In a conference
designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions there was very little talk
of emission reductions. Rich, developed countries continued to delay
any talk of deep and binding cuts, instead shifting the burden to
less developed countries and showing no willingness to make
reparations for the damage they have caused.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The
Climate
Justice Now!
coalition, alongside other networks, was united here at COP15 in the
call for System Change, Not Climate Change. In contrast, the
Copenhagen climate conference itself demonstrated that real
solutions, as opposed to false, market-based solutions, will not be
adopted until we overcome the existing unjust political and economic
system.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">Government and corporate elites
here in Copenhagen made no attempt to satisfy the expectations of the
world. False solutions and corporations completely co-opted the
United Nations process. The global elite would like to privatize the
atmosphere through carbon markets; carve up the remaining forests,
bush and grasslands of the world through the violation of indigenous
rights and land-grabbing; promote high-risk technologies to
restructure the climate; convert real forests into monoculture tree
plantations and agricultural soils into carbon sinks; and complete
the enclosure and privatisation of the commons. Virtually every
proposal discussed in Copenhagen was based on a desire to create
opportunities for profit rather than to reduce emissions, and even
the small amounts of financing promised could end up paying for the
transfer of risky technologies. </div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The only discussions of real
solutions in Copenhagen took place in social movements. Climate
Justice Now!, Climate Justice Action and Klimaforum09 articulated
many creative ideas and attempted to deliver those ideas to the UN
Climate Change Conference through the Klimaforum09 People's
Declaration and the Reclaim Power People's Assembly. Among nations,
the ALBA countries, many African nations and AOSIS often echoed the
messages of the climate justice movement, speaking of the need to
repay climate debt, create mitigation and adaptation funds outside of
neoliberal institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, and keep
global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The UN and the Danish government
served the interests of the rich, industrialized countries, excluding
our voices and the voices of the least powerful throughout the world,
and attempting to silence our demands to talk about real solutions.
Nevertheless, our voices grew stronger and more united day by day
during the two-week conference. As we grew stronger, the mechanisms
implemented by the UN and the Danish authorities for the
participation of civil society grew more dysfunctional, repressive
and undemocratic, very much like the WTO and Davos. </div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">Social movement participation
was limited throughout the conference, drastically curtailed in week
two, and several civil society organizations even had their admission
credentials revoked midway through the second week. At the same time,
corporations continued lobbying inside the Bella Center.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">Outside the conference,the
Danish police extended the repressive framework, launching a massive
clampdown on the right to free expression and arresting and beating
thousands, including civil society delegates to the climate
conference. Our movement overcame this repression to raise our voices
in protest over and over again. Our demonstrations mobilized more
than 100,000 people in Denmark to press for climate justice, while
social movements around the world mobilized hundreds of thousands
more in local climate justice demonstrations. In spite of repression
by the Danish government and exclusion by the United Nations, the
movement for system change not climate change is now stronger than
when we arrived in Denmark.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">While Copenhagen has been a
disaster for just and equitable climate solutions, it has been an
inspiring watershed moment in the battle for climate justice. The
governments of the elite have no solutions to offer, but the climate
justice movement has provided strong vision and clear alternatives.
Copenhagen will be remembered as an historic event for global social
movements. It will be remembered, along with Seattle and Cancun, as a
critical moment when the diverse agendas of many social movements
coalesced and became stronger, asking in one voice for system change,
not climate change.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">The Climate Justice Now!
coalition calls for social movements around the world to mobilize in
support of climate justice. </div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">We will take our struggle
forward not just in climate talks, but on the ground and in the
streets, to promote genuine solutions that include:</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">- leaving fossil fuels in the
ground and investing instead in appropriate energy-efficiency and
safe, clean and community-led renewable energy</div> <div align="">- radically reducing wasteful
consumption, first and foremost in the North, but also by Southern
elites</div> <div align="">- huge financial transfers from
North to South, based on the repayment of climate debts and subject
to democratic control. The costs of adaptation and mitigation should
be paid for by redirecting military budgets, progressive and
innovative taxes, and debt cancellation</div> <div align="">- rights-based resource
conservation that enforces Indigenous land rights and promotes
peoples' sovereignty over energy, forests, land and water</div> <div align="">- sustainable family farming and
fishing, and peoples' food sovereignty.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">We
are committed to building a diverse movement – locally and globally
– for a better world.</div> <div align=""><br></div> <div align="">Climate
Justice Now! </div> <div align="">Copenhagen
</div> <div align="">19
December 2009</div> <div align=""><a href="http://www.climate-justice-now.org/" target="_blank">www.climate-justice-now.org</a></div></div><br>