Category Archives: Ending the Era of Extreme Energy

by | 2012-06-18 · 17:30

Video: Grassroots Global Justice Alliance members speak about “toxic tour” in Rio de Janeiro

On June 16, as part of the Rio+ 20 Peoples’ Summit, organizers in Rio de Janeiro organized a “toxic tour” of communities in the city overburdened by industrial pollution and associated health and social problems. In the videos that follow, two members of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance share their impressions from the tour.

Naeema Muhammed tells of her visit to the community of Santa Cruz.

Lottie Spady of East Michigan Environmental Action Council speaks about the toxic burdens faced by marginalized communities in Detroit and in Brazil.

Throughout the week, Climate Connections will be posting short videos of participants in Rio+20 Earth Summit and the alternative Peoples’ Summit.

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Filed under Ending the Era of Extreme Energy, Pollution, Rights, Resilience, and Restoration, Rio+20

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by | 2012-06-16 · 20:37

Rio+20 Action Alert: “The future we don’t want” e-petition

Today ANPED, the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, with the support of other civil society organizations active in the Rio+20 negotiations, has launched “THE FUTURE WE DONT WANT” e-petition campaign, and they are asking people to sign and share it with others.

The petition was written as “a response to the new negotiating text [for the Rio +20 agreement] presented today by the Brazilian government, and tomorrow we will bring this to the attention of European Commission delegates and the press.  The text does not make a single mention of environmental justice, Principle 10 or a high-level representative for  the future. While efficiency is quoted 14 times and economic growth 20 times, there is not a single quote on sufficiency, planetary boundaries or limits. That does not reflect what the people want.”

This petition urges the Government of Brazil, the UN Sustainable Development Conference Secretary General and all Member States to stop negotiating their short-term national agendas and to urgently agree now on transitional actions for global sustainable progress.

The organizers urge their fellow citizens, the 99% of the world, to stand up for the future we really want, and not this one imposed by a few: the 1% negotiators and their elite constituencies — so that the voices of the majority finally shape the future.

TO SIGN AND SHARE THE “FUTURE WE DONT WANT” E-PETITION

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by | 2012-06-12 · 10:10

Civil society groups denounce Sustainable Energy for All initiative promoted at Rio+20 Earth Summit

As the final negotiations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 conference get underway in Rio de Janeiro, almost 50 civil society groups have published an open letter denouncing the UN Secretary General’s new “Sustainable Energy For All Initiative” (SEFA). The letter states: “The SEFA process and Action Agenda are deeply flawed and threaten to further entrench destructive, polluting and unjust energy policies for corporate profit under the guise of alleviating energy poverty, while undermining community rights to energy sovereignty and self determination.”

The “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative was announced in September 2011, and a “high level panel” was established by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon. The panel includes major investors in the fossil fuel economy including, Statoil, Eskom, Siemens and Riverstone Holdings. The initiative’s stated goals are to 1) double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency, 2) double the share of renewables in the global energy mix by 2030, and 3) provide access to modern energy services for all of humanity. An action agenda is being put forward for endorsement at Rio+20, along with commitments for action from countries and groups.

Groups denouncing the initiative view it as an attempt to use claims of poverty alleviation to further expand corporate control over energy policies with the aim of gaining access to new markets and investment opportunities. The letter points out that the initiative’s goals are inadequate,that it promotes dangerous and unsustainable forms of energy and that there is a deplorable lack of transparency and democratic participation in the process thus far.
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Filed under Actions / Protest, Africa, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Corporate Globalization, Ending the Era of Extreme Energy, Energy, False Solutions to Climate Change, Green Economy, Greenwashing, Industrial agriculture, Land Grabs, Rio+20

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