Momentum builds for the Climate Convergence and March

Author: Nancy Price, Earth Democracy Leadership Team Member.

Join Earth Democracy members September 19-20 for the NYC Climate Convergence and Sept. 21 for the People’s Climate March. The Climate Convergence is co-organized by the Global Climate Convergence: People Planet and Peace over Profit  and SCNCC: System Change Not Climate Change.

We’re converging to build the broad climate and social justice movement needed to transform our economy to put people, planet and peace before profit.  We’ve had it with the dithering of world leaders who don’t lead, the co-option of environmental groups funded by dirty energy, and the inaction of a UN captured by corporate interests.

Read the schedule for the Friday Night Opening and Saturday Night Closing Plenary speakers; and schedule, description and location of over 100 teach-ins all -day Saturday.  Be sure to consult the map.  

Make bus or train reservations before September 12 for the march.

Check often for March details and the specific assembly point for each contingent. WILPF is invited to march with the Converge for System Change contingent.  Be sure not to have metal or wooden poles for your banners; only cardboard tubes or carry by hand.

If you are not able to come to NYC, look for a solidarity event or organize one yourself and post it here and here.

The NYC Climate Convergence and People’s Climate March coincide with the Tuesday, September 23 UN Climate Summit called by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary General hopes to get “pledges” from attending heads of state and negotiators, but, at this point, not all heads of state have even agreed to attend and any “pledges” will be non-binding.

This is just a warm-up for the 20th  Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, December 1-12, 2014. The final COP 21 meeting, late December 2015, is the agreed-upon deadline for a legally binding global UN agreement on the climate. 

The latest UN climate report makes clear – there is no time to dither and waste. Climate change is already happening and getting worse. The report’s authors actually describe the situation as irreversible. 

Thanks for all you do for climate justice and to lift up the voice of “We the People” to demand system change now to put people, planet and peace over profit now before it is too late.

Watch the buildup to the NYC events on 350.org’s video Disruption.