Saturday, December 3 Today was the Global Day of Action against the UN COP17. Here in Durban, a large and very spirited crowd wound through the city towards the site of COP17 negotiations. Here are photos of the day, all … Continue reading “Global Day of Action”
Tag: copenhagen
REDD Teach-In
Ashley DawsonFriday, December 2 REDD stands for the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. The idea is that forest-dwelling peoples around the world will be paid not to cut down their habitats. … Continue reading “REDD Teach-In”
groundWork – building social movements in and beyond Durban
Ashley Dawson
Thursday, December 1 This session was organized by groundWork, a South African environmental justice and service organization. The panel began with a presentation by Mithica, a worker with the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, a coalition of African civil … Continue reading “groundWork – building social movements in and beyond Durban”
Climate Justice Durban – Arrival
Ashley Dawson
Wednesday, November 17 COP17 — the 17th annual Conference of Parties, aka the Conference of Polluters — began on Monday in Durban, South Africa. The Kyoto Protocol, to which most attendee nations (but not the U.S.) are signatories, is widely … Continue reading “Climate Justice Durban – Arrival”
Arrival
Ashley Dawson
The NYC delegation arrived on a red-eye flight from a stormy Miami early this morning. The delegation, assembled by the Bolivian embassy in NYC based on submitted applications, is an extremely diverse group, including grassroots housing activists, union representatives, media … Continue reading “Arrival”
Inaugural Ceremony for the Conference
Ashley Dawson
We arrive in the stadium of the University of Univalle at 8am, walking through a gauntlet of military police, naval police, army officers, cobra special SWAT troops, etc. The bleachers are sparsely populated by Bolivians with their union banners hanging … Continue reading “Inaugural Ceremony for the Conference”
Analysis of Day 3
Ashley Dawson
I have the feeling that a lot is going on behind the scenes. Day three featured a mix of panels with expert testimony and reports by Working Groups. I’ll talk first about the latter. I attended presentations for the working … Continue reading “Analysis of Day 3”
From Copenhagen to Cochabamba
Ashley DawsonBefore everything else, the Cochabamba conference was remarkable for bringing together a large group of radical activists from all around the world. The social connections and sense of possibility that resulted from the exchanges that unfolded in this setting were … Continue reading “From Copenhagen to Cochabamba”
Introduction
Ashley DawsonWe live in a time when the confrontation of reality with reason requires us to dwell on apocalyptic questions. Unfortunately, as Fredric Jameson observed over a decade ago, “It seems to be easier for us today to imagine the thoroughgoing … Continue reading “Introduction”
Minority report from Copenhagen
tadzio mueller
Scene: The dark, vaguely panoptic courtyard of Vestre Faengsel, one of the ‘correction facilities’ that has been turned into an aptly named ‘climate prison’ for the duration of the ‘COP15’ United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The ‘climate … Continue reading “Minority report from Copenhagen”
Considering Polyvalent Counter-Hegemonic Climate Justice Resistance Movements
michael k. dorsey
What happened after Copenhagen? Claims of success and blame for who collapsed the talks fly from many sides of many aisles. In his 18 December 2010 plenary speech to the heads of state attending the 15th Conference of the Parties … Continue reading “Considering Polyvalent Counter-Hegemonic Climate Justice Resistance Movements”
The Continuity of US Imperial Discourse
Ashley DawsonPresident Obama recently gave two speeches that should be seen as signposts of contemporary U.S. empire. Their continuity with American exceptionalist rhetoric of the past is striking, underlining the extent to which Obama is trapped within the paradigms of the past.
Repackaging Copenhagen: Will There Be a Global Climate Agreement?
brian tokar
On the eve of the UN’s long-awaited Copenhagen climate summit, officials are pulling out all the stops to spin the conference as a success, no matter what actually happens. Barack Obama’s announcement that he will briefly pass through Copenhagen … Continue reading “Repackaging Copenhagen: Will There Be a Global Climate Agreement?”
Apocalypto
Ashley DawsonToday should be remembered as the beginning of the end. According to an article in the Guardian, President Obama has acknowledged that it is now too late to secure a legally binding climate deal at the Copenhagen summit. We will … Continue reading “Apocalypto”