More than 3800 organizations are planning protests and demonstrations to demand a rapid and just phase out of fossil fuels to combat climate change

by Kerul Dyer

Climate activists around the world will take part in more than 650 demonstrations and marches to End Fossil Fuels in the lead up to a UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York September 20. The protests come at a time of unparalleled climate disruptions and extreme weather events and with no end in sight for continued extraction and use of oil and gas, a leading contributor to climate pollution.

According to a press release by the coalition, “Millions are expected to take to the streets to demand a rapid, just, and equitable end to fossil fuels.”

Organizers of the protests include more than 3800 organizations that span every continent, in urban and rural locations. All share the message that rapid, justice-oriented actions must be taken immediately to phase out fossil fuels.

“From Pacific nations, heavily affected by sea level rise and storms, through Mumbai to Manila, London to Nairobi, over 650 actions are planned in 60 countries, culminating in a march in New York City on September 17th, in support of the UN Secretary General António Guterres’s call for nations to make ambitious commitments to phase out fossil fuels at the upcoming Climate Ambition Summit [1].”

To this end, thousands of women, including a strong showing of Indigenous leaders, took their message to protect their ancestral lands to the Capital during the Third March of Indigenous Women in Brasilia, Brazil.

“Our goal is to manage our territories and their natural resources in accordance with our traditional knowledge,” Sineia do Vale, the national coordinator for Brazil’s Indigenous Committee on Climate Change, recently told Al Jazeera.

The Amazon Rainforest spans more than seven million square miles and has played a key role as a carbon sink. Scientists now say that rapid deforestation not only degrades the ability for the forest to absorb carbon but has created local climate disruptions including changes in precipitation patterns and more frequent wildfires.

In a related story in New York yesterday, hundreds of climate activists blockaded entrances to the headquarters of Citibank, the second largest financier of fossil fuels, according to a new report. The top financier of oil and gas continues to be Chase Bank, who has dedicated $432 billion to the industry since the Paris Climate Accords in 2016.

The coalition’s website offers a glimpse of the scale of the global movement.

In the Asian section one highlight includes, “More than three thousand people are expected to join the Pakistan Climate March organized with the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) and Hari Jedojehad Committee (Peasant’s Struggle Committee).”

An African highlight, “As a part of the ongoing Fossil Free Nigeria and a Fossil Free World Campaign in Nigeria, Fridays for Future Nigeria and Climate Live Nigeria will march in the Federal Capital territory of Nigeria (Abuja), the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Around 100, 000 participants are expected.

And in Europe, “Around 200 climate strikes, marches, and rallies have been registered in Germany alone with civil society, ForFuture groups, NGOs, religious groups, and the public service labor unions. Additional actions are planned against a new LNG terminal in Rügen (Baltic Sea) by Ende Gelände, Sept 22-24, and GreenFaith Germany.”

At this moment, as can be seen on this live social media feed, people are taking to the streets and risking arrest in the UK, in Africa, in Asia, and at many locations in the United States. Stay tuned for more reports as we edge closer to the anticipated UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York on Wednesday.

Last week, hundreds of scientists published an Open Letter to President Biden endorsing the demands of the End Fossil Fuels March planned for Sunday. The momentum to garner popular support for a Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty continues to grow.

The “Fast, Fair, Forever” demands that will be revealed at the End Fossil Fuels March Sunday include:

• No new fossil fuels
• A rapid, just and equitable phase out
• New Commitments for International Cooperation
• Stop greenwashing
• Hold polluters responsible for the damage they’ve caused
• End fossil fuel corporate capture.