#91: The movement continues

On the big wave of climate action

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday! I hope you had some nice time off on Labour Day. 

For many of us in climate activism, now is a time of reflection and a bit of recharging in the wake of what has been a very busy election period. But just because things seem a little quieter round here, that doesn’t mean we are beaten. To use a surfing metaphor, a lull doesn’t stay quiet for long - then along comes the next set. So paddle out while it’s quiet!

And if we zoom out, we can see that all around the world, climate campaigns are gaining momentum, and the movement continues to build and escalate. We’re all part of that bigger movement - which has highs and lows - but is moving in the right direction.

Here are some of my favourite recent wins from around the world:

• The EU reached a provisional agreement to phase out fluorinated gases (F-gases) in line with the Paris Agreement. (F-gases are potent greenhouse gases which are 25,000 times more warming than CO2.) This is an incredible win!

• Meanwhile in London: huge climate protests took place outside JP Morgan, and Greta Thurnberg got involved in some Oil Summit disruption.

• Last month, 600,000 people across every continent marched, rallied and took action for an end to the era of fossil fuels. 

• Kenya hosted the first Africa Climate Summit, which brought together representatives from eight countries and resulted in a declaration that included a call for a global carbon taxation regime.

We also want to say a big thank you to the Net Zero Fund for adding Climate Club to its list of organisations! Net Zero allows you to easily donate to international and local climate organisations - we’re very grateful to be included in their fund. 

What can we do today?

The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was Greenpeace’s new open letter to oppose new oil and gas. Make it 16 also had over 700 submissions! 

🐝 If you have 5 minutes: Can’t afford to bank on inaction 

• CitiBank is the second largest funder of fossil fuel projects in the world, having put $333 billion to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016. As we continue to see heatwaves, floods, and disasters from the climate crisis, we can not afford the cost of inaction, let alone the cost of funnelling billions more dollars into fossil fuels. 

  Action: Join the call to ask Citi to divest from fossil fuels
  Bonus Action: Make some art for Citi

🐇 If you have 15 minutes: New MP, who dis?

• Forgotten about the election already? We haven’t! There are many new politicians in a variety of regions around New Zealand who are now preparing to start to represent their communities in Parliament. Getting in touch to remind them of things we want them to think about when they make decisions can still have an impact.
  Action: Find your new MP’s contact details and send them an email

💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Some light entertainment

• The previous government has a consultation open on NZ’s energy transition. Now’s our chance to tell the incoming government what we want our energy future to be like - and perhaps float new ideas they may want to consider!
  Action: Submit on the energy transition consultation using our handy dandy quick submission guide.

• Christchurch, Saturday 28th, 7pm: bikes + lights + music + dancing. What could be a more fun combination?
  Action: Join the Bike Rave for Climate! 

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That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this climate emotions wheel, which we found useful for identifying & naming our experiences of climate change.

See you next week, 

Emily & the Climate Club team

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