Member-only story
Three weeks ago there were 370 organizations which had endorsed the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on September 17. Today, there are about 530. There were 335 local Fridays for Future climate strike actions around the world planned for September 15 and 17. Today there are 570. There were 35 other local actions planned for September 17 in other parts of the USA and around the world. Today there are 115. In addition, in New York City, there are nonviolent direct actions from September 12–15 and on September 18–19 being organized at the headquarters of fossil fuel companies and the banks and other corporations which prop them up.
Why is all of this happening? One reason is the fact that on a worldwide level the month of July was the hottest on record ever, leading to massive wildfires and brutal heat waves in many parts of the world. It is very clear, absolutely factual, that we are in a worldwide climate emergency.
Another reason is the leadership of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who called for and has been organizing a Climate Ambition Summit at the United Nations in NYC on September 20th. He has been consistently saying that the price of entry for countries to take part in the summit will be specific, new, upgraded plans by individual countries to step up their actions to shift away from fossil fuels. In his words, “there will be no room for back-sliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters or repackaging of announcements of previous years.”
