Last year, we got together in Colombia to boycott COP28 happening in Dubai. Dozens of organizations from many places around the world – with an honorable mention to comrades from Africa who had their VISA denied and couldn’t attend in person – gathered in the Earth Social Conference, an international conference to boycott COP while at the same time building the movement’s plans towards system change within climate justice deadlines.
2024 marks the 29th year of COP. It’s been almost 3 decades since international governments started meeting to – allegedly – trying to stop the climate crisis. Since then, the climate crisis has only worsened – emissions have increased astronomically, fossil fuel companies are richer than ever, new destruction and death projects are being planned, and millions are dying and being displaced every year. As we reach the brink of a point of no return in the climate crisis and get closer and closer of reaching 1.5ºCdegrees of increased global temperature, we know: COP is not failing in stopping the climate crisis, because it was never meant to succeed. They, the capitalist system, are doing exactly what they are supposed to – killing us.
This year, COP will be held in another petrostate that represses climate and human rights activists – like that’s even surprising anymore. COP is a bloody scene of crime, where fossil fuel assassins meet war criminals and genocide perpetuators. That was true in Glasgow, it was true in Egypt, it was true in Dubai, and it’s true now.
As the climate crisis keeps killing millions worldwide every year, we must boycott COP, and as Azerbaijan greenwashes its image after committing genocide against indigenous Armenians, we must boycott COP. As the genocide in Palestine and Israel’s violence keeps escalating, we must boycott COP.
As stated in the Call from the Amazon to Build and Agreement for Life, signed this June in the Pan-Amazonic Social Forum in Bolivia by dozens of organizations, “today it is clear that the real and effective solutions will come from our struggles, from our territories, from our experience, from our capacity for self-management and from our alternatives.”
The people’s initiatives: share and support
Encuentro Global por la Vida, Mexico, November 4th to 9th
In Mexico, the Encuentro Global por la Vida (Global Gathering for Climate and Life) will take place in Oaxaca from 4th to the 9th of November as a Global Anti-COP international encounter. The idea for this conferences was brought forwards by groups and organizers present at the last Earth Social Conference in Colombia.
- Read the callout here, and share it with your networks and organizations. The encounter is being organized by grassroots activists and communities in Oaxaca, and aims at uprooting Global South voices.
- Please consider making a donation here.
Stop COP29 Baku: An Initiative from Armenian Activists
Also consider joining campaigns, organized by a global coalition of Armenian activists that are rallying together to fight the decision of COP29 being held in Azerbaijan, a petro-dictatorship that committed a genocide against Indigenous Armenians and that is repressing its own Azerbaijani civil society.
More information about the demands here.
- More than 7,000 emails have been sent to COP attendees and UNFCCC organizers demanding a change in venue to the backup in Germany through a letters campaign organized by ARMOR Coalition.
- The hashtag #FreeArmenianHostages was used over 20,000 times from its launch on 7/23 to 8/12, when this data was last reported. When criticizing COP29 on social media, please use it, too.
- Take part in this online flashmob.
We all know governments and companies will not stop the climate crisis they’ve created. We also know that giving up on humanity is not an option. Climate justice groups and organizations have the responsibility to boycott governments and companies plans towards climate and social collapse, while building our own climate justice plans to stop the climate crisis before it’s too late.