Since 5pm, a group of approximately 20 youth from across the globe started a sit-in inside of the Bella Center outside of the Plenary and continue to stay put. They are reading the names of 12 million people who want a fair and just climate treaty as well as transparency in the process. Among them, my friend Lisa Curtis.
Sen. John Kerry passed by and greeted the youth sitting-in as well as other delegates.
Please help spread the word. Let the whole world know we want real long-term solutions!
UPDATE:
UN security told youth that if they do not leave now, then they will be arrested and civil society will not be allowed to come into the building Thursday or Friday. Group has agreed to walk out to allow the few civil society has been guaranteed for Thursday and Friday.
With access restricted to NGOs, no transparency in the UN negotiations, absurd emission target proposals that would rise emissions to 770ppm by the year 2100, and two decades of people organizing for environmental justice, the people took it to the streets…and to Bella Center!
Chanting “Reclaim Power,” hundreds of people from all over the world participated in this action to send the message to the UN and the World that real solutions are not discussed in the climate negotiations and the people are completely left out of the process.
Even though some NGOs were given the secondary badge to access the Bella Center today, Friends of the Earth were denied access to the center without any given reason. They sat in for two hours by registration and credentials desk until Yvo de Boer came by and said he wouldn’t listen to them until they act civilized and stop insulting him.
Quiet honestly, the ones that need to be civilized are the ones negotiating our future! There is nothing civilized about letting small island states submerge in water or allowing the continuation of emissions that not only harm the environment but also public health.
The people are fed up with the injustice and want long-term solutions not false solutions that continue to increase the gap between the rich and poor.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the UN negotiations because access was further restricted despite the fact that I have the proper accreditation and second badge. However, I did ride the train with Kat and Brenna and got off one stop down from Bella Center. We got a great view of the Reclaim the Power action and I got footage of it. We rode the train about four times…trying to figure out what to do next since we couldn’t enter Bella Center and the Reclaim the Power action was blocked by approximately 20 police vans/busses from all sides. During those four rides, we took pictures and video of the action.
Check it out: Reclaim Power! The People’s Assembly
(I will try posting a high quality version of this soon. Pardon the awful pixels for the meantime).
Video from the inside of Bella Center
by TreehuggerTV
Other videos of Reclaim Power action
by naturerights
We must work for justice at home and abroad, connecting our local struggle for democracy with the global one and live by the principle that as working and poor people globally, we have the right to control our lives and resources.
“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose, should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life” by Rachel Carson
