Social unrest in Chile at structural inequality and repression in leadup to COP25 climate conference

There was an estimated one million people on the streets of Santiago, Chile, and large numbers in cities up and down Chile on Friday 25 October, in peaceful protests calling for social justice, better pension system, addressing social inequality, resignation of President Piñera, and a new constitution.

This was triggered just over a week ago by a second fare hike to the Santiago Metro, with school students taking up the protests initially that broadened to general social protest at the cost of living and social inequalities with a deeply neoliberal economic system.

The social crisis is also an ecological crisis.

Escalating social unrest met with tanks and military on the streets of Chile in leadup to COP25

The last week has seen protests escalating in the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities. This was triggered initially by students reacting against Santiago metro fare increase, the second increase this year. But it highlights poor pensions, a deteriorating health care system, and major social inequalities.

The situation in Chile is tense with a state of emergency declared and curfews imposed, tanks in the streets and troops using live rounds. Reminiscent of the junta years under General Pinochet.

Chile is nominally a constitutional democracy since early 1990s, with the present President Sebastián Piñera a member of the centre right National Renewal Party and a billionaire.

“We all need to become everyday climate warriors” says John Englart Climate Action Moreland Convenor

John Englart accepting his award from Mayor Cr Natalie Abboud

John Englart, Convenor of Climate Action Moreland, received the annual Moreland Award for Environmental Sustainability at the Moreland Awards on 1st October, 2019 for his advocacy in climate action. More than 200 people attended the awards event at the Coburg Town Hall. Article originally published at Climate Action Moreland website.

Previous to his award, John Englart's name was mentioned during the evening ceremonies as part of three advisory groups: Sustainable Moreland Advisory Group, Moreland Transport Advisory Committee, Community Advisory Reference Group (on level crossing removal).

John has been a resident of Brunswick, Coburg North and Fawkner for 29 years, publishing on climate science and the need for action since 2004, and active in Climate Action Moreland since 2012. He has attended as an NGO Observer for Climate Action Network Australia the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Annual conferences in Paris in 2015 (COP21), Marrakech in 2016 (COP22), and Bonn in 2017 (COP23).

New IPCC report on Oceans and Cryosphere

The IPCC has released a new scientific report reviewing scientific research on global warming and how it impacts oceans and cryosphere, and knock on effects on marine ecosystems, fisheries, coastal systems and sea level rise, and water systems.

Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, said:
“Our oceans have absorbed the vast majority of extra heat added to the planet by heat-trapping gases emitted by humans. As the latest IPCC report shows, the consequences for the health of our oceans and the safety of coastal communities are already grave and will worsen as the planet continues to heat up.

“The report details how glaciers and ice sheets around the world are rapidly shrinking in response to human-caused warming. This loss of land-based ice will further accelerate rising seas levels, which will have stark implications for communities whose cultures, livelihoods or water supplies are glacier-dependent, as well for coastal communities across the globe more broadly.

Australian missing in action at UN Climate Action Summit

It has been well noted that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not attend the UN Climate Action Summit.

Indeed, the Secretary General made clear that only those nations that brought updated plans would be allowed to speak. But the Australian Prime Minister could still have attended. The Government chose not to, as the Morrison Government has no plan for extra ambition, no speech written, no climate and energy policy of substance.

Australian total emissions continue to rise, with National Greenhouse Gas Inventory to March 2019 showing a 0.6% increase.

Greta Thunberg at Climate Action Summit: "young people are starting to understand your betrayal"

Three speeches from the UN Climate Action Summit: Greta Thunberg, António Guterres UN Secretary General, and Pope Francis.

Greta Thunberg full speech at UN Climate Summit, New York

"This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to me for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

"For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away, and come here saying that you are doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

With today’s emissions levels, our remaining CO2 budget will be gone in less than 8.5 years.

You say you “hear” us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I don’t want to believe that. Because if you fully understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And I refuse to believe that.

The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5C degrees, and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

Maybe 50% is acceptable to you. But those numbers don’t include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of justice and equity. They also rely on my and my children’s generation sucking hundreds of billions of tonnes of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist. So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us – we who have to live with the consequences.

To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5C global temperature rise – the best odds given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the world had 420 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide left to emit back on 1 January 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatonnes. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with business-as-usual and some technical solutions. With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone in less than eight and a half years.

There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures today. Because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us I say we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

Gas expansion policy is Labor's climate policy problem

The Labor Party wants to act on climate change, yet on April 23rd during the election campaign Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announced reform of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund. As part of this reform process $1.5 billion would be allocated to constructing a gas pipeline network enabling development of new gas fields in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, and the Galilee Basin in Queensland, as well as the existing Bowen Basin gas fields.

This is new infrastructure that would enable export of gas, and the development of new gas fields. It is sharply at odds with reducing emissions and stopping development of new fossil fuel reserves.

Time to wake up to the climate emergency says Christina Figueres

Extinction Rebellion and student climate strike movement civil disobedience actions receives support from Christiana Figueres to wake us up to the climate emergency.

Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres, is an important architect of the Paris Agreement negotiated in 2015.

She has released a video statement on the importance of civil disobedience and protests by #ExtinctionRebellion and the Student #climatestrike in waking us up to the #climateemergency and need for political action on climate change.

Australian politicians and #climateelection candidates should all watch, take note, and undertake ambitious action if elected. There is no more time for delay or denial.

Here in Australia the student climate strike has 3 simple basic demands:

* Stop Adani coal mine
* No new coal or gas projects
* 100 percent renewables by 2030 target

Anything less than this, does not respect the science and the threat to society from climate breakdown.

"If our house were falling apart..." Greta Thunberg on the need to address climate breakdown

In the last week Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist, has travelled to Rome and met with Pope Francis, appeared before a 25,000 climate-strike Fridays for Future protest in Rome calling for increased climate action, and attended the Environment Committee of the Europoean Parliament in Strasbourg.

They were all significant events and highlighted her important role as a catalyst in speaking truth to power in facing the climate crisis and climate breakdown, in motivating change and action by politicians.

Greta Thunberg accepts German Golden Camera Award

Greta Thunberg was awarded a special Golden Camera award at Germany's media awards night. She dedicated the award in her speech to the activists fighting against the destruction of the Hambach Forest for lignite mining and to all activists fighting to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

She also called on the celebrities gathered to use their influence to raise awareness of the global crisis.

"I dedicate this award to the people fighting to protect the Hambach Forest. And to activists everywhere who are fighting to keep the fossil fuels in the ground.