From Lisbon to Lagos, Manila to Reykjavik, Paris to Chicago, millions of activists will Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice Saturday, Sept. 8, marching and conducting other actions in hundreds of cities around the planet. Click on that link to find marches and related activities where you live or nearby.
Why is the march happening? Organizers point out:
We are at a tipping point. 2020 is a threshold for meeting global targets to tackle the climate crisis. We are fast running out of time to act, but meaningful action from national governments has been slow at best.
With climate impacts escalating — we don’t have the luxury to wait to see what bureaucratic negotiations have to offer. We need our local leaders to step up and do everything they can right now to stop the fossil fuel industry and build 100% renewable energy for all.
In other words, no more business-as-usual. Rather a rapid acceleration of the transition we’ve begun.
The Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice is taking place against the backdrop of the Global Climate Action Summit being held in San Francisco with some events in other cities in California on Sept. 12-14. The summit, which will draw scientists, business and non-profit leaders, as well as national, state, and local officials, is being hosted by Gov. Brown and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is the U.N. secretary general’s special envoy for climate action. While many of the summit events are by invitation only except for the press, some will be available live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Talk is without doubt essential. But we’ve learned when it comes to climate that talking hasn’t budged decision-makers to take action comprehensive enough to meet the challenges we face because of what’s being done to the Earth’s atmosphere. As important as some of the talk at the summit will surely be, there’s no guarantee it will produce any action. That’s going to come from citizen pressure.
Saturday’s march is just the opening salvo in an array of events—including trainings, demonstrations, and panels—that activists have planned around the summit. (Here is a partial list with links to events in the San Francisco area.)