3 Perspectives in Australian Climate Movement

THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE MOVEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT Hans A Baer, Development Studies Program, School of Social and Political Science and Centre of Health and Society, University of Melbourne Presentation at NTEU Climate Change Conference, 28 – 29 April 2011 ANTHROPOLOGY AND PARTISAN OBSERVATION Critical anthropologist Committed to notions of social justice or parity and environmental sustainability Working on developing critical anthropology of climate change View CC as a manifestation of global capitalism Committed to notion of praxis merger of theory and social action Ultimate movement to alternative world system: democratic eco-socialism Partisan observation of Australian climate movement since Feb 2008 Attended and spoken at climate action conferences Attended numerous climate rallies and camps Interviewed climate activists Worked with various groups involved in climate movement: CEN, Climate Action Moreland, Socialist Alliance, NTEU CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CARBON PRICE MECHANISM IN VARIOUS VENUES WITH ADAM BANDT Expressed my dissatisfaction with carbon price mechanism as have various parties in climate movement Carbon price will probably be too low Will not regulate price charged for electricity Will not make adequate shift to removable sources of energy Will feed into ETS • Massive problems with EU scheme Adam has said Greens involved in large part despite flaws because it is „political reality‟ Noted need for a massive social movement to pave the way 3 PERSPECTIVES IN AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE MOVEMENT Green social democratic Lobby politicians Persuade business people Regulate capitalism Renewable energy sources, possibly nuclear energy and, „clean coal,‟ possibly carbon trading and carbon off-sets, carbon taxes, carbon rationing Green jobs Some ALP-types, Southern Cross Climate Coalition, Greenpeace, Environment Victoria, most climate regional and local action groups, etc Democratic eco-socialist Ultimate aim to transcend capitalism Changes in production patterns and infrastructure of consumption (e.g., advertising and marketing) Green jobs Transitional reforms: public utilities and transportation, renewable energy, create labour- environmental coalition, etc Socialist Alliance, Solidarity, eco-socialists within Green Party, the Left Diversity Network in Adelaide, independent socialists & anarchists In-between – social justice but not anti-capitalist Friends of the Earth, the Australian Greens on occasion, Brotherhood of Saint Lawrence, Climate Action Summits ANTHROPOLOGY AS A COMPARATIVE DISCIPLINE We can learn from other cultures and societies and movements Comparison of Australian climate movement with components of international climate movement indicates that overall we are weak on issues of social justice and pushing the boundaries Social systems do not last forever Local, regional, or global levels Need to start long, arduous of transcending global capitalism Alternative world system based upon social justice and environmental sustainability FIRST CLIMATE JUSTICE MEETING Held in The Hague parallel to 6th Conference of the Parties (COP) Included organisations such as Indigenous Environmental Network, World Rainforest Movement, Oilwatch International, and Friends of the Earth International Declared on 11-12 November 2000: „Earth is our Mother. [It] is not a commodity, but a sacred space. Our traditional knowledge on sustainable use, conservation and protection of our territories has allowed us to maintain our ecosystems in equilibrium. Our cultures, and the territories under our stewardship, are now the last ecological mechanisms remaining in the struggle against climate devastation. Climate change is a reality and is affecting hundreds of millions of our peoples and territories, resulting in famine, extreme poverty, disease, loss of basic resources in our traditional habitats and provoking involuntary displacements of our peoples as environmental refugees. The causes of climate change are the production and consumption patterns in industrialised countries and are therefore, the primary responsibilities of these countries.‟ KLIMAFORUM 99 AT COPENHAGEN IN DECEMBER 2009 – SYSTEM CHANGE, NOT CLIMATE CHANGE Immediate causes of CC: “unsustainable global economic system built on unequal access to and control over the planet‟s limited resources and the benefits that accrue from their use.” Complete abandonment of fossil fuels within next 30 years Immediate cut in GHG of industrialised countries of at least 40% compared to 1990 levels by 2020 Recognition, payment, and compensation of climate debt Rejection of purely market-oriented and technology-centred solutions Nuclear energy, agro-fuels, carbon capture and storage, Clean Development Mechanisms, biochar, geo-engineering, REDD Real solutions to climate crisis Renewable and sustainable use of resources Transitions to food, energy, land, and water sovereignty Democratic ownership and control of economy End to militarism and wars Equitable tax on emissions PEOPLES AGREEMENT AT WORLD PEOPLE‟S SUMMIT ON CC AND RIGHTS TO MOTHER EARTH IN COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA IN MAY 2010 Posited global capitalism as system that separates humans from nature Developed countries must take lead in returning planet to CO2 level of 300 ppm States must respect rights of indigenous peoples to meet challenges of CC Developed countries should assume responsibility for climate migrants Called for est. Of International Climate and Environmental Justice Tribunal with legal capacity to judge and penalise states, industries, and people with regard to their contribution to CC AGYEMAN, BULKELEY, AND NOCHUR ON THE NEED FOR A CLIMATE JUSTICE STANCE WITHIN THE LARGER CLIMATE MOVEMENT “Just as environmental justice groups challenged the mainstream environmental movement to consider environmental justice issues in the early 1990s, the climate movement today must develop a climate justice analysis. There is immense potential to support the work of building coalitions with groups working on climate justice issues. Communities that are most affected by climate change have the most critical stake in mitigating the problems. Because these groups tend to be excluded from policy debates, we must take additional steps to ensure that their voices are heard.” FRANK STILWELL ON CONTRADICTORY AND CONVOLUTED PROCESS OF WORKING WITHIN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS “No doubt there are recurrent frustrations for activists working within social movements – it often seems like „one step forward, two steps back‟. Precisely what are the common elements for cooperation is unclear – some movements have a reformist character while others have a more radical agenda. But the breadth and diversity are also sources of strength in a politics of opposition. This is a distinctively dialectical element in the process. It is because the prevailing forces of globalisation, neo-liberalism and corporate managerialism recurrently violate numerous social concerns that these movements are continuously reactivated” (p. 163). Source: CHANGING TRACK: A NEW POLITICAL ECONOMIC DIRECTION FOR AUSTRALIA. Pluto Press, 2000. .

Load more