What: A peaceful speakout in front of the U.S. Consulate in Durban, as part of the 1000 Durbans Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. This speakout is the South African counterpart of 20 grassroots actions happening throughout the U.S. — all designed to hold the State Department accountable to reducing U.S. carbon emissions to 50% of current levels by 2017. Organizers have also created a petition to demand that the State department reject and deny, rather than reroute and delay, the permit for the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline on the grounds that it would threaten ecological security.
The action will feature speakers who will testify to the impacts of U.S. government and corporate pollution on their communities and land.Speakers will also share recommendations to the U.S. government and speak out against the positions that Jonathan Pershing and the State Department have taken thus far. The action will also feature powerful visuals for photographers and the broadcast media.
Where: Across the street from the U.S. Consulate in downtown Durban, 303 Pixley ka Seme St. on Pixley, 1/2 block west of City Hall
When: Saturday, 3 December 11-11:30AM
Who: Organized by the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ) www.ggjalliance.org, a multi-sector alliance of U.S.-based community organizing groups building an international movement for peace, democracy and a sustainable world.Speakers Include:
Ahmina Maxey, Zero Waste and the East Michigan Environmental Action Coalition (Detroit)
Francisca Porchas, Labor Community Strategy Center and the Bus Riders Union (Los Angeles)
Chavanne Jean-Baptiste, Peasant Movement of Papaye and La Via Campesina (Haiti)
Francois Paulette, Smith’s Landing Treaty 8 Dene First Nation, Indigenous Environmental Network (Alberta, Canada)
Why: “We won’t let the U.S. off the hook,” says Ahmina Maxey of the East Michigan Environmental Action Coalition, a lead organization of GGJ. “As members of communities disproportionately affected by U.S. pollution and land grabs, we will be holding dirty U.S. corporations and the State Department accountable for the global mess they have made.”
“U.S. government and corporations are the 1% responsible for the majority of pollution affecting the 99% of the world, including the 99% in Los Angeles,” says Francisca Porchas of the LA-based Labor Community Strategy Center, another lead organization of GGJ. “We will be taking action to demand that the U.S. immediately reduce carbon emissions to 50% of current levels by 2017, and to stop obstructing progress towards paying climate debt and forging an internationally binding deal.”
Contact: Jen Soriano, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance + 0792190670 [email protected]