#70: How will history remember climate activists?

On flowers, rugby, and snooker making history

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!

Climate activism is in the news! On Friday we were inspired yet again by our courageous young people who organised another successful Fridays for Future climate strike. Then on Saturday we saw Just Stop Oil protestors disrupt the Rugby premiership final – this comes hot on the heels of recent disruption at the Chelsea Flower show and World Snooker Championships.

The climate strike marching down Lambton Quay in Wellington (see here for more!)

In the face of rising controversy and discussions about the supposedly “right way” to protest, I wanted to take a moment this week to acknowledge a hard historical truth: Activism Is Politically Essential.

Every major progressive change in our society can be traced back to activism. The 40-hour work week, child labour laws, voting rights for women and people of colour, rights for LGBTQ+ communities, anti-pollution policies are the successes of protest action, to name just a few. The lesson of history is pretty clear: the system doesn’t change itself. Disruptive marches, nation halting strikes, sit-ins, or illegal occupation of public and private spaces are essential time-tested tools to create the transformation we need.

But why does it need to be so disruptive to the public?

Protest is about ordinary citizens showing politicians that they are only in their positions of power because we put them there. By blocking roads, walking out of offices, or disrupting sporting events we show that ordinary people have the power to stop business as usual. For more on this, read our deep dive on civil disobedience here.

The media, businesses, and the government often undermine protestors. They do this making them sound like a small, extremist faction off to the side - basically gaslighting them by saying “Oh stop being so dramatic!”. The protestors are labelled selfish, mad, dangerous, and misguided - just as Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, Martin Luther King, Tāme Iti, Dame Whina Cooper, Rosa Parks, and the hundreds of activists before them. 

Media at the time also labelled suffragettes like Kate Sheppard as extremists, set apart from “all right-minded people”. Looking back now, this Henry Wright’s perspective seems extreme!

Remember that the future is in the hands of the many, not the few – a liveable planet is all these protesters are asking for. How will history remember climate protests – disruptive folly, or necessary urgency?

What can we do today?

The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was an email template asking Chris Hipkins to bring ag into the ETS.

🐝 If you have 5 minutes: There aren’t plenty of other fish in the sea

• Our oceans are our biggest ally against climate change as our biggest carbon and heat sink. This relies on thriving ocean ecosystems. Bottom trawling emits as much carbon as the entire aviation industry, and it happens right here in Aotearoa.
  Action: Submit on MPI’s Draft Fisheries Transformation Plan using their quick survey (1 min for just do the first question, 15 mins for detailed feedback).
  If you have more time: Email a submission with these guides for talking points: Greenpeace, Green Party. 

• Let’s keep fair tax on politician’s minds as they release pre-election policies. ActionStation are calling for higher corporate taxes to avoid spiralling prices, to top up our collective pool of funds and to contribute more to the services and infrastructure that look after all of us.
  Action: Sign ActionStation’s petition for higher corporate taxes

🐇 If you have 15 minutes: A stitch in time…

• The right to repair movement campaigns to allow anyone to freely modify or repair products they own. As uncontroversial as this may sound, companies continue to design for “planned obsolescence” which traps us to buy more!
  Action: Check out your local Repair Cafe to save money and reduce your consumption

💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Get us on track for system change 

• Restore Passenger Rail is only just getting started with their mission and they need your help to keep up the momentum and force the government into action.

  Action: Find your local intro meeting to learn about the movement and how you can help.

• Tāmaki/Auckland: At this stage we’ve realised pure capitalism won’t solve climate change. But what alternatives are out there? 

  Action: Join System Change Aotearoa on the 8th of June at 7pm for an open-ended discussion: Ecosocialism and Degrowth — What Is the Alternative to Capitalism?

• Ōtautahi/Christchurch: Lincoln University is running a workshop to give people a chance to discuss the second emissions reduction plan.
  Action: Join them tomorrow from 2-4pm to focus on the emissions trading scheme

In case you missed it!

• Auckland Council has proposed sweeping cuts to arts, community, environmental and climate change services. The public backlash (including from some of us!) has forced many of our elected representatives to reconsider their position on the budget, and the chance for a better budget that properly funds our climate and our communities is now in sight. Join 350 Aotearoa at their Zoom party at 7pm this Thursday 1 June (direct Zoom link) to write to your local councillor together and to find out other ways we can keep the public pressure on!

Wins!

• Last week, the Minister of Energy & Resources Megan Woods announced $30 million in funding for the Community Renewable Energy Fund. Big claps to 350 Aotearoa for their campaigning on this issue. We need to keep pushing to make it easier for any community energy project to get off the ground. If you’re into grassroots renewable energy, join their kaupapa here.

• Investment in solar oustripped oil for the first time this year. Oil investment still has a long way to fall (to zero, ideally), and we can’t rely on renewables to power our current levels of overconsumption, but it’s a step.

• Mindful Money & Responsible Investment Association Australasia have released their latest report on consumer demand (that’s us) for ethical investment in NZ. Highlights: even more people (59%, up from 55%) are willing to move their funds if investments don’t align with their values (e.g. fossil fuels, weapons, child labour), and more and more NZers are becoming aware of greenwashing and investing in funds that can demonstrate positive impact.

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That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this video of one of my favourite climate activists, George Monbiot, and his lifetime struggle for climate action.

See you next week, 

Cathy & the Climate Club team