*[Enwl-eng] Game-changer

[ENWL]

Hi,

The fossil fuel industry hopes you won’t get excited about what just 
happened. We believe you should — because it’s a significant win that shows 
what people power can do.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before the United Nations with a surprise 
declaration: “China will step up support for other developing countries in 
developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired 
power projects abroad.”

This is big. China is the largest funder of coal projects in developing 
countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, and the world’s largest 
emitter of greenhouse gases. A hasty estimate showed it may halt up to 47 
coal plants1 — resulting in a reduction of up to 200 million tonnes a year 
in greenhouse gases.

Honestly, we were caught a little by surprise about this decision. And that 
leaves lots of details to discern: What does this mean to current projects? 
How much is “green” vs “low-carbon” energy, which may include oil and gas? 
When will China halt coal production domestically?

We congratulate China on its wise decision to stop external coal 
investment — it’s one of the dirtiest energy sources.

Now, let’s take this moment to chart this as a movement victory — because if 
the climate movement doesn’t declare our role in this success, nobody else 
ever will.

✨THE MOVEMENT MADE THIS MOMENT✨

A win of this scale happens only because of many, many, many, many people.

A New York Times article2 noted one source: “Chinese coal projects have 
faced considerable resistance in countries like Bangladesh, Kenya and 
Vietnam, mainly by civil society groups.” We know and have supported some of 
these civil society groups.

Like Save Lamu in Kenya, who fought against the country’s first mainland 
coal-fired power plant, it was a tiring, multi-year fight to stop a 
Chinese-funded coal plant. It took a deluge of protests, letters, anxious 
nights, and connecting neighbour-by-neighbour. The campaign was successful 
in forcing the plans for the coal plant to be scrapped.

350’s Africa Field Organizer Rukiya Kamis made it clear that local 
organizing work has been replicated country after country:



We thank you for being part of the movement, and all of our friends and 
colleagues who wrote a letter, called a legislator, marched, spent time 
protecting their homes.

Each act is a seed planted in the ground. At moments like this, we can see 
the harvest.

And there have been so many seeds. We’ve been launching finance campaigns 
around the globe for this reason. We believe a weakness to the fossil fuel 
industry is the financing by banks and government-owned financial 
institutions. Some of those leading groups have been focused on China, like 
the Go Clean ICBC global coalition.

China made an important step. We hope a virtuous cycle grows. Other wealthy 
countries should step up and get their financial institutions to do better. 
That’s why we are now pressuring the US Federal Reserve, the European 
Investment Bank and others. And we hope that sparks even bigger steps.

Get involved in campaigns near you
And that’s where everyone has a role. Every mind changed, every win 
obtained, every person acting for a better planet — it all adds up.

For now, take a breath and celebrate. Because our next step remains the 
same: keep the pressure up.

If we’re going to believe in more than a grim future, then we have to 
believe in change — so when it happens, we need to hold on and let people 
know. Tell your friends you played a small role in a big win. Show people 
that the globe has a choice to make — and movements can change the course of 
the times.

The fossil fuel companies hope you won’t do any of this. It hopes you won’t 
feel the power of this moment or see the web of connections that binds us in 
this win.

So take the moment to savor. And then gear up for the next fight.

Onwards,

Mahir and the 350.org team

PS. Tell your friends about this big news and make ripples of inspiring 
actions – share this video on Facebook or Twitter.



References:
1. China, US unveil separate big steps to fight climate change
2. China Pledges to Stop Building Coal-Burning Power Plants Abroad


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movement strong and growing.


From: Mahir Ilgaz, 350.org
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2021 2:50 PM
Subject: Game-changer
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