Power to the people
When I came here I had trust that a strong, fair and just climate deal was possible.
Politicians and businessmen might not be the fastest or most progressive, but I figured that they are human beings also and surely would see the necessity to act now on climate change and pay the Global South restitution. One week later my ideas have changed, let me tell you my experience in Kopenhagen so far.
The ‘Bella’ Centre
Imagine hallways connecting other hallways great and small, islands full of laptops, hot-dog stands and hundreds of charcoal suited officials with blackberry’s, fat men eating chicken and the occasional screaming of young people and Africans. I welcome you to the place where the world is going to be saved! O wait.. but laptops, hot-dogs and white men in suits is usually not a good thing for the planet, isn’t it? Well naïvely idealistic sucker, you are wrong! You see we are going to solve the mistakes we made by making a totally new market of carbon credits. We will start with so many credits that they are pretty cheap, and give them away to companies, o hail to the great companies. Furthermore we are suggesting some full on subsidies on plantations in the global South. Because we know we need to reduce C02-lonialism- emissions, just not in our own countries. You see that is impossible because the God of economic progress says so. Furthermore we suggest that you keep on shopping using our very environmentally friendly bags made from recycled plastic!
If you do that, then we will have some more delegate meetings, networking parties and business conferences on your money. The late great Einstein once said that you can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it, and my gosh.. he might be right on that one!
The peoples summit
While our leaders discuss in the Bella Centre, we come to the Klimaforum. A place where people gather for lectures, workshops, movies, meetings and the occasional party.
The criticism of the process in the Bella Centre is growing day by day here and on the streetmarches. ‘System change not climate change’ is a much heard creed. Concerned citizens and outlaws join here to share their concern on the way PachaMama is being treated and formulate fundamental ways of change. Lets join up in the streets and in the rooms of the Klimaforum, combine our forces with the people of the world and make this world better so that we all can live free from pollution and downpression. If we do not take the opportunity to make this world, I’m afraid that the people in the Bella Centre will break it before they have realized it.
There is no planet B,
See you on the streets!
A friend of the Earth.