*[Enwl-eng] #HopeForClimate

[ENWL]

Hi,

You may have noticed that we are doing a lot of work on climate change lately. That’s because there’s massive momentum: the alarm bell is sounding loud and clear across Europe and people are uniting for climate justice.

Well before the Spring we read the signs that awareness of the climate threat was rapidly growing, so we decided to devise a 3-point plan to help this wave become unstoppable. Our movement has a role to play by helping to connect local and transnational movements, and ensuring European institutions hear the uproar from the streets. 

Here’s what we’ve done to maximize the power of the climate justice movement: 

1. Climate justice: a top priority for the European Commission?
The European Commission - its President, Vice Presidents, and College of Commissioners - are responsible for kickstarting all new EU legislation. With their new 5 year mandate starting now, we couldn’t let them ignore demands for real leadership in the face of the climate emergency. This might be the last Commission with the power to act. 

The candidate to the Presidency of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, didn’t have a single commitment on the climate crisis when she was nominated in July. That's why our community sent over 75,000 messages to MEPs urging them to ask her for a bold plan. 

In just days, she went from zero commitments to agreeing that Europe isn’t doing enough and committing to increase its climate targets. She also plans to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent and wants to mobilise the money to do it. It’s far too early to call her a climate leader, since these are still only words, and we need action. [1]

That’s why in September, we set off to get that action by connecting you directly to your MEPs. Nearly 600 of you gave your MEPs a call, and asked to only give the green light to a Commission that is committed to kicking off a green transition and that recognises the climate emergency. 

MEPs and Commissioners are feeling the pressure. In just a week, the Commission as a whole, with its President and Commissioners, will be put to final scrutiny in an all-in or all-out vote - and we’ve prepared a nice reminder for MEPs that Europeans are watching. All we can say is, we’ll be heard in Brussels in a few days. Watch this space!

2. Bringing the climate action wave to all corners of Europe
To fight the climate crisis we need strong connected movements all over Europe, and connecting beyond borders is what WeMove Europe does best! 

We asked you to chip in if you thought we could make a difference for those in challenging circumstances who would like to take climate action. And you responded with a big yes! You contributed over 46,000 euros to make this work possible: you helped us to reach out to movements in regions where there is a lack of resources, where people can face huge risks if they organise, and where activists are disconnected. 

What now? We'll be reaching out to grassroots groups in countries like Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary and surveying their needs. And, once we agree with local activists about the priorities, we'll roll up our sleeves! 

3. Strike! Take to the streets!
The youth from Fridays for Future called on everyone to join them between 20 and 27 September in what has been the biggest strike for the climate ever, with over 4.5 million people taking action in Europe alone. [2] 

And we powered up their call! How? We invited our nearly one-million strong community to search for an action near them on Fridays for Future’s online map of actions.

But we didn’t stop there. In Spain, for instance, tens of organisations reacted to the call of the youth - but it would have been hard for people to realise how many groups were responding to the call, given there was no single map where all initiatives where listed.

We compiled actions by diverse groups and displayed them in a single map that showed just how keenly civil society had responded to Fridays for Future’s call: 80 additional actions were organised on top of the 22 led by Fridays for Future in Spain! Our work helped more people, including those living in remote places, to be part of the global week of mobilisations.

And of course, our team also joined the strike - we hope you had the chance to take action too!


Our Executive Director Laura (right) striking for the climate 

This is only a taster of what’s to come, but we’ll need everyone on board to achieve climate justice! Show you are on board by chipping in a few euros - whatever little you can afford will help us move forward.

            Donate to supercharge the fight for climate justice 
     

Thank you,

Fatima (London), Virginia (Madrid), and the entire WeMove Europe team

References:
[1] https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/07/15/von-der-leyen-offers-55-co2-cuts-2030-bid-eu-top-job/
[2] https://350.org/7-million-people-demand-action-after-week-of-climate-strikes/

WeMove.EU is a citizens’ movement, campaigning for a better Europe; for a European Union committed to social and economic justice, environmental sustainability and citizen-led democracy. We are people from all walks of life, who call Europe our home whether we were born in Europe or elsewhere. 

WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy

 

From: Fatima - WeMove.EU 
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 4:32 PM
Subject: #HopeForClimate


 
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