The choice is yours

Global warming is threatening people in many countries. The vicious circles generating climate change are becoming stronger, with the emergence of new threats and the intensification of existing threats. Protection of the Earth’s climate requires the cooperation of all. In just three short days, Paris COP21 will be over and without a doubt there will be a deal made, a deal that Naomi Klein is already declaring will "steamroll over crucial scientific red lines... it is going to steamroll over equity red lines... it is going to steamroll over legal red lines," setting inadequate climate targets that could allow average global temperatures to rise by 3 or 4 degrees Celsius, far higher than the agreed-on threshold of 2°C, which scientists say would cause catastrophic extreme weather events.

Economist David Harvey famously stated, “capital never solves its crisis tendencies, it merely moves them around.” So, when world leaders talk about market plans for ecological sustainability, we know that the proposed solutions are bogus. Taxing carbon and other “incentive” policies are nothing more than propaganda to avoid admitting the truth, capitalism will never be ecologically sustainable. By ignoring the scientific studies and their implications we are just rearranging the deck chairs on capitalism’s sinking ship.

Mankind stands at the edge of an abyss. We are destroying the planet’s eco-systems, its biodiversity, water and the climate, and through this destruction, we now endanger our survival as a species. Resource grabbing is generating conflicts which accelerate into full blown wars. Who is responsible for climate change? Just ninety companies have produced a staggering sixty-three percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions from 1854 to 2010 – some 914 gigatons of CO2e out of a total of 1,450 (or the carbon dioxide equivalent of all greenhouse gas emissions). Of these, just six giant fossil fuel companies have produced sixteen percent of all emissions ever: Chevron (3.52 percent), Exxon (3.22), Saudi Arabia’s Aramco (3.17), BP (2.47), Russia’s Gazprom (2.22), and Shell (2.12). It is estimated that fifteen percent of all fossil fuel use comes from industrial agriculture, and another fifteen percent from the processing, packaging, and transportation of its products. Then our food waste ends up as a source of the potent greenhouse gas methane. If we look at nation-states, the countries of the United States, the European Union, China, and Russia are the most responsible, in historical terms. The case is therefore against corporations and governments. We must find a balanced way to live on Earth and it is entirely possible that that is not where the real battle for the planet will be fought.

Fear and hate is growing stronger. We need to create hope for our future – as one humanity and as part of one Earth community. We commit ourselves to building participatory democracy, defending cooperation and solidarity, creating meaningful work that provides for our needs and well-being. We invite you to become part of the change we want to see, a change that allows us to construct a new vision of how society she be run – socialism. 

We know that when it comes to climate change, the solutions are already here. We also know that our world leaders will not be able to save us. Only People Power can rise to this challenge. Connect the dots and address the root cause.