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<P>Hi,</P>
<P><STRONG>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.</STRONG></P>
<P>Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before the United Nations with a surprise
declaration: “<STRONG>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.”</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>This is big.</STRONG> 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 plants<SUP>1</SUP> — resulting in a reduction of up to 200 million
tonnes a year in greenhouse gases.</P>
<P>Honestly, we were caught a little by surprise about this decision. And that
leaves lots of details to discern: <EM>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?</EM></P>
<P><STRONG>We congratulate China on its wise decision to stop external coal
investment — it’s one of the dirtiest energy sources.</STRONG></P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><STRONG>✨THE MOVEMENT MADE THIS MOMENT✨</STRONG></P>
<P>A win of this scale happens only because of many, many, many, many
people.</P>
<P>A New York Times article<SUP>2</SUP> 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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><STRONG>350’s Africa Field Organizer Rukiya Kamis made it clear that local
organizing work has been replicated country after country:</STRONG></P>
<P><IMG style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: auto; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto" alt=""
src="https://dbqvwi2zcv14h.cloudfront.net/images/editor-2021-09-24.png"
width=600 height=338></P>
<P><STRONG>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.</STRONG></P>
<P>Each act is a seed planted in the ground. At moments like this, we can see
the harvest.</P>
<P>And there have been so many seeds. <STRONG>We’ve been launching finance
campaigns around the globe for this reason.</STRONG> 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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><A
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.7em; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffa902; MARGIN: 1em 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 1.8em; PADDING-RIGHT: 1.8em; DISPLAY: inline-block; COLOR: #fff; FONT-SIZE: 1.5em; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0.7em; border-radius: 100px"
href="https://act.350.org/go/227521?t=6&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN">Get
involved in campaigns near you</A></P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><STRONG>For now, take a breath and celebrate. Because our next step remains
the same: keep the pressure up.</STRONG></P>
<P>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.</P>
<P><STRONG>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.</STRONG></P>
<P>So take the moment to savor. And then gear up for the next fight.</P>
<P>Onwards,</P>
<P>Mahir and the 350.org team</P>
<P>PS.<EM><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400"> Tell your friends about this big
news and make ripples of inspiring actions – share this video on </SPAN></EM><A
href="https://act.350.org/go/249343?t=7&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400">Facebook</SPAN></EM></A><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400"> or </SPAN></EM><A
href="https://act.350.org/go/249344?t=8&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400">Twitter.<BR></SPAN></EM></A></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400"><BR>References:<BR></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400">1. </SPAN><A
href="https://act.350.org/go/249345?t=9&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"
rel=noopener target=_blank>China, US unveil separate big steps to fight climate
change<BR></A>2. <A
href="https://act.350.org/go/249346?t=10&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"
rel=noopener target=_blank>China Pledges to Stop Building Coal-Burning Power
Plants Abroad</A></P><IMG alt=""
src="https://act.350.org/o.gif?akid=169327.4050260.fvPGhN">
<HR>
<P><A href="http://act.350.org/go/14?t=1&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"
target=_blank>350.org</A> is building a global climate movement. You can <A
href="http://act.350.org/go/779?t=2&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN">connect
with us on Facebook</A>, <A
href="http://act.350.org/go/5?t=3&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN">follow us
on Twitter</A>, and <A
href="https://act.350.org/go/7234?t=4&akid=169327%2E4050260%2EfvPGhN"
target=_blank>become a sustaining donor to keep this movement strong and
growing.</A></P>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=350@350.org href="mailto:350@350.org">Mahir Ilgaz, 350.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 24, 2021 2:50 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Game-changer</DIV></DIV>
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