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THE BIG STORY you manage to stay optimistic? Anna: I’m torn between keeping up optimism and then facing the reality of the situation. I’m aware that if students feel disheartened and scared they might go into denial, try to pretend it’s not happening (even more) and not do anything about it. So I try to keep that sense of empowerment and hope going. I spend time out in nature – swim in wild lakes, climb mountains, go out into the woods. That’s what helps me stay calm. Brianna: For the Pacific Islands, I really believe that it’s our religion. A lot of islands are strong faith communities, and often when there’s a cyclone people will flee to churches. Every village has a church – it is literally a place of refuge for us. Prayer and the spiritual aspect is therapeutic. Solidarity also keeps you optimistic. And feeling that you have a team, that you’re not alone. It’s a huge energy boost when we see people striking all around the world, and we see someone like Greta, because it gives us the feeling that we’re all in this together. It’s not just one person yelling from outside the UN building or our government. And where there’s mass numbers, there’s power. This one is actually a question from my nine-year-old son, who joined the climate strike in February. He asks, ‘How do we stop our planet getting hotter?’ Anna: In the UK, our first demand is definitely the most important: to declare a state of climate emergency, because that would then involve implementing loads of policies. We’re discussing a Green New Deal in the UK, like the one they’re discussing in America. And we have key organizations and MPs involved. Brianna: My demand for governments around the world would be: divest from fossil fuels. Accept the science: fossil fuels cannot be the future of this planet. Second, we need to transition to 100-per-cent renewable energy, as soon as possible. And third, increase climate change awareness in the media and update school curricula. Young people in school now will be the ones to take over from this current political system and implement all the change that we’re debating. What gives you hope that the world can halt climate breakdown? Brianna: Maybe the fact that Anna, literally across the world from me, has the same passion. Without talking to each other before we’ve found ourselves on the same journey. There must be so many of us and it’s only a matter of coming together. That makes me hopeful because I could see true change coming from someone like Anna. Anna: Thank you, that means a lot. Seeing the movement grow gives me hope. Since February, we’ve got a whole new continent on board – I set up a Latin American co-ordination WhatsApp group after students contacted me from Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Now they are all chatting together. New countries are joining all the time – Estonia and Iceland had their first strike not long ago – and that brings a sense of unity. l CAPITAL AT RISK. INVESTMENTS ARE LONG TERM AND MAY NOT BE READILY REALISABLE. ABUNDANCE IS AUTHORISED AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY (525432). add to your long term income without hurting the planet’s future abundanceinvestment.com 26 abundance investment make good money NEW INTERNATIONALIST
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WORLD IN MOTION Words: Danny Chivers Illustrations: Jason Ngai Climate justice In order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, over 80 per cent of known fossilfuel reserves simply cannot be burned. As political systems fail, social movements are targeting mines, rigs, infrastructure and investment to keep carbon in the ground. JAPAN Buddhist temples are shifting investments out of fossil fuels, part of a global ‘divestment’ movement that has so far pulled over $8 trillion from oil, gas and coal companies worldwide. Japan is a key target: three of its biggest banks – Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group – are the first, second and fifth-largest lenders to coal projects globally. A new alliance of Japanese campaigners, supported by the climate action network 350.org, is pushing for the withdrawal of an estimated $25 billion. Buddhist priest Tomonobu Narita, who recently shifted part of his temple’s investments into a fossil-free fund, told NBC News: ‘Small action when combined [with the actions of others] leads to a bigger effect, so I hope for divestment to have that kind of spread in Japan.’ In response, the three major banks have said they will review and reduce their coal lending. But campaigners are determined to push them further, especially since other Japanese financial institutions such as Nippon Life, Dai-ichi Life and ITOCHU have pledged to exit coal altogether. nin.tl/JapaneseBanks SPAIN AND FRANCE European campaigners are celebrating after regulators blocked a major natural gas pipeline. A section of the $3.4-billion MidCat pipeline – planned to connect the Spanish and French gas grids – was built in 2012 but has sat idle as political battles raged over the rest of the 1,250-kilometre route. In January 2019, regulators rejected the middle portion of the pipeline, citing ‘ lack of necessity and high cost’. This followed years of work by campaign network Plataforma Resposta al MidCat, who highlighted the severe potential climate impacts of the pipeline, particularly leaks of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – during extraction and transportation, which can make natural gas as polluting as coal. The Midi-Catalonia (MidCat) pipeline is just one of more than 90 proposed gas projects earmarked for potential EU funding, thanks to aggressive lobbying by the fossil-fuel industry that often uses the argument that gas is needed as a temporary ‘bridge’ to a renewable future. Campaigners point out that building a new network of pipelines and gas plants would lock Europe into using this dirty fuel for decades to come and diverts public funds away from boosting renewables. nin.tl/Gastivists MAY- JUNE 2019 I 27

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THE BIG STORY

you manage to stay optimistic? Anna: I’m torn between keeping up optimism and then facing the reality of the situation. I’m aware that if students feel disheartened and scared they might go into denial, try to pretend it’s not happening (even more) and not do anything about it. So I try to keep that sense of empowerment and hope going. I spend time out in nature – swim in wild lakes, climb mountains, go out into the woods. That’s what helps me stay calm. Brianna: For the Pacific Islands, I really believe that it’s our religion. A lot of islands are strong faith communities, and often when there’s a cyclone people will flee to churches. Every village has a church – it is literally a place of refuge for us. Prayer and the spiritual aspect is therapeutic.

Solidarity also keeps you optimistic. And feeling that you have a team, that you’re not alone. It’s a huge energy boost when we see people striking all around the world, and we see someone like Greta, because it gives us the feeling that we’re all in this together. It’s not just one person yelling from outside the UN building or our government. And where there’s mass numbers, there’s power.

This one is actually a question from my nine-year-old son, who joined the climate strike in February. He asks, ‘How do we stop our planet getting hotter?’ Anna: In the UK, our first demand is definitely the most important: to declare a state of climate emergency, because that would then involve implementing loads of policies. We’re discussing a Green New Deal in the UK, like the one they’re discussing in America. And we have key organizations and MPs involved. Brianna: My demand for governments around the world would be: divest from fossil fuels. Accept the science: fossil fuels cannot be the future of this planet. Second, we need to transition to 100-per-cent renewable energy, as soon as possible. And third, increase climate change awareness in the media and update school curricula. Young people in school now will be the ones to take over from this current political system and implement all the change that we’re debating.

What gives you hope that the world can halt climate breakdown? Brianna: Maybe the fact that Anna, literally across the world from me, has the same passion. Without talking to each other before we’ve found ourselves on the same journey. There must be so many of us and it’s only a matter of coming together. That makes me hopeful because I could see true change coming from someone like Anna. Anna: Thank you, that means a lot. Seeing the movement grow gives me hope. Since February, we’ve got a whole new continent on board – I set up a Latin American co-ordination WhatsApp group after students contacted me from Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Now they are all chatting together. New countries are joining all the time – Estonia and Iceland had their first strike not long ago – and that brings a sense of unity. l

CAPITAL AT RISK. INVESTMENTS ARE LONG TERM AND MAY NOT BE READILY REALISABLE. ABUNDANCE IS AUTHORISED AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY (525432).

add to your long term income without hurting the planet’s future abundanceinvestment.com

26

abundance investment make good money

NEW INTERNATIONALIST

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