Though President Obama stridently stated that we can’t go on with business as usual and that “changing the way we use energy is essential to America’s national security”, the stated target for the US reduction of 17% by 2020 seemed somewhat contradictory to the urgency. That level of reduction (which falls short of many projections of what is needed to halt our trajectory towards catastrophic climate change(25-40%) ) means little to the Maldives, Seychelles, coastal Louisiana and coastal Alaska, all who, by some analyses, face submersion within that same timeframe. I’m not blind to the resource constraints, the onerous need to build political will, and the mechanics of transitioning to an alternate energy economy, but are we pushing ourselves enough to rise to the urgent challenge of addressing this global threat? If we were able to address the resource and political will issues in a matter of days/weeks to mount a war, can’t we mount an effective campaign to gain nationwide understanding and buy-in for averting catastrophic climate change? Certainly US commitment to 80% reduction by 2050 is more like it, but by then will it be too late?  Let’s mobilize so that we can get these numbers up higher and sooner.

In regard to President Obama’s observation, about how there are those who think that nations who emit the most should pay the most to clean up the resulting mess, I say, mos def! Wealthy nations who emit the most and have the capacity to contribute the most should bear the greatest responsibility. The mantra coming from the Bolivians for the week, regarding differential contributions to mitigation and adaptation efforts, was taken from our own professed principles of responsibility and accountability in the US, “You break it. You buy it!”  

We, as wealthy nations in the global north have indeed broken the gift and treasure of this planet, and its wonderfully synchronistic and harmonious ecosystem, with our excesses and abuse. We have set the earth on this trajectory which has and will continue to hurt communities of color in the US and countries in the global south first and worst. Several wealthy nations are most responsible and should pony up the lion’s share (excuse the horrid mixed metaphor, but work with me here ) and compensate for the harm we’ve caused.   Some are calling it ecological debt and/or reparations and yes, basically the wealthy nations have been racking up credit at the expense of others within their countries and in the global south and the bill is past due, and there is interest.

In the end, though discussions went late into the night/morning, there was no legally binding agreement. President Obama ‘s leadership ensured that for once the US wasn’t the bad guy/obstruction in the room and instead he actually played the role of pushing countries to do more and to be accountable. However, they basically walked away with a text with no teeth, a few rounds of handshakes and loose “promises” with a range of weak to more aggressive targets, but no mechanisms of true accountability that would be rendered by being legally bound.

A group of us gathered at the end of the day to discuss how we are going to organize towards the US Social Forum in Detroit from June 22-26the 2010 and on to COP 16, which may be in July 2010, but will occur in Mexico City. We agreed that we needed to mobilize our member bases to participate at the US Social Forum in full force so that we are working together to build this movement.  As with the civil rights movement and any other successful social justice movement, it builds from the ground up so we must mobilize!  We need to be in Detroit to work with others on the ground to ensure we are building power and speaking with one voice and we need to be in Mexico City to make sure that there isn’t another COP that is completed without a legally binding agreement while our communities are being displaced by rising sea levels, while our folks are being swept away by storms, while our children are starving from the boroughs of New York to the favelas of Brazil to the hinterland of Africa, while our women are walking for miles to get water in Botswana and being sexually assaulted during Katrina in the US. This must stop. We can do this. Climate Justice NOW!!  Get onboard! ….hope to see you on the train…..   

So to start off, I arrived at the demonstration late, but with video camera in hand prepared to capture the images to give readers at home a window into what’s happening among activists rallying for democracy in Copenhagen. I’ll briefly summarize what I saw, because the footage says it all. Demonstrators were chanting, “This is what democracy looks like” “What do we want? Climate Justice! When do we want it? Now!” “When I say climate, you say justice! Climate! Justice! Climate! Justice!”

Then, the energy in the air shifted palpably as the crowd prepared to push through the police and advance towards the Bella Center.  The rally leader began to say. “Okay, everyone come together and PUSH!  PUSH!” At the same time she urged others to “Form a chain around the truck! Don’t let the chain be broken!” In between her alternating refrain directed at the now advancing police was “This is a peaceful demonstration!!”

Then the announcements began to be issued from the police, “By order of the queen, this has been declared an illegal demonstration.” “ Clear the area or you are subject to arrest”  Dressed In full riot gear from head to toe they aggressively advanced on the crowd with tank like trucks and on foot, with swinging batons, spraying tear gas, and barking German Shepherd attack dogs! For all of my years of AIDS activism in different countries I had never seen such a show of force, aggression, and brutality directed at demonstrators…..and I hope I never see something like that again. Many people emerged from the melee in tears, limping, and supported by their friends in the struggle. But the crowd pushed on unrelentingly. Soon there were literally hundreds of policy and they had driven aggressively into the crowd with their trucks and soon formed their own chain surrounding the crowd and by creating this barrier, combined with some intense battering with the batons and administering tear gas, had managed to contain the crowd.

According to some sources, there were about 4,000 demonstrators in attendance.

Meanwhile Friends of the Earth, Avaaz, and Tck, Tck, Tck were refused entry into the Bella Center this morning and weren’t provided with any rationale for being banned. Speculation is that this was part of the crack-down to try to prevent any more actions from being held in the Bella Center.

Also meanwhile delegates on the inside, led by the Indigenous folks, mounted their synchronized action where they marched through the Bella Center to head out and join the rally to “Reclaim Power”. They were restrained by the police in actually exiting and joining the others, again with a show of force. However, they made their voices heard!

Later that afternoon, through an invitation that came to the NAACP I joined the Alliance for Climate Protection Reception featuring Al Gore.  He spoke more stridently and with more passion than I had heard him speak as he encouraged all to pull together and push for advancement of climate legislation in the US. He also pushed for concerted action to make the Mexico City COP16 relevant and productive. He even suggested that we think about holding it in July, the hottest month in the year, for emphasis of what we’re talking about. Gore was also pragmatically concerned that having the COP 2 days after the US midterm elections would not be politically wise. In conclusion, he emphasized that we needed to act in accordance with the urgency of this issue and thought we needed to instill deadlines as the US and globally.

Finally, the best part of my day was meeting at the Greenlandic house that was organized by the Black Women’s Roundtable, led by Felicia Davis,  and included women from India, Cameroon, Kenya, the US, Denmark, Germany and several other countries. People introduced themselves and how they came to this work, with inspiring tales of impact and activism. We reflected on our successes at COP 15 and talked about our plans leading to COP16 in Mexico City.

At the end, I was fortunate to interview Letitia Daniels Jackson from Dothan, Alabama and Anna Pinto from Jaipur, India as they respectively told their stories of how they reached this level of commitment in addressing climate change. Anna spoke of how her mother first noted the change in the taste and smell of food and water and how the insects and agriculture also began to change.  Letitia talked about her work in tobacco and deadly secondary exposure, as well as her observations re wasteful and excessive lifestyles, as well as noting Alabama farmer experiences with changes in bees and how all of this is connected. She ended with a call to action, stating that our very lives hinge on our concerted response.

We value all earth’s creatures, yet, see a need to expand the picture of climate change from primarily stranded polar bears or melting snow caps to include the woman next door, the cousin who lives down south, and the grandmother who lives out west. They too are the faces of climate change. Women of color are often disproportionately impacted by climate change, yet, underrepresented in the environmental justice movement. We see this tour as a step in the long journey to climate justice.

Learn more about the Women of Color for Climate Justice Road Tour!

Truth AIDS, founded by Dr. Mehret Mendefro, took part recently in the United States Conference on AIDS.    Check out their footage during the conference. Additionally, check out all of Truth AIDS videos on the Truth AIDS Youtube channel.