End Climate Imperialism! Rise Up for Climate Justice!
The ILPS in Canada supports the campaign organized by the People’s Rising for Climate Justice to end climate imperialism. The campaign is being organized in response to the United Nations 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt between Nov 6-18, 2022, with many organizations having participated in a day of action on November 12.
The annual COP conferences are intended to be platforms where the international community negotiates agreements to address climate-related issues. However, the COP conferences have failed to address the climate crisis despite years of negotiations. It is concerning that this year’s conference is in Egypt, where the US-backed military regime of El-Sisi has persecuted environmental advocates, and detained tens of thousands of political prisoners.
Canada is complicit in climate imperialism, being in the top 10 countries responsible for the largest carbon emissions and the largest source of oil imports for the US. Canada is also a key member of the US-led NATO military alliance, which is one of the world’s largest polluters and whose wars continue to endanger people’s life and health. Furthermore, with 75% of global mining companies headquartered in Canada, Canadian mining has caused immense environmental damage in Indigenous territories, and abroad in the Philippines, Latin America, and Africa.
The most visible representatives of the Canadian delegation at COP27 includes lobbyists from big banks and fossil fuel companies, whose influence has been criticized by environmental groups as “among the worst in the world”. While corporate interests are given a platform, the voices of Indigenous people and other communities negatively impacted by fossil fuel industries are clearly being neglected.
To end the climate crisis, we must unite to end its root cause of imperialism. At our recent 6th National Assembly of the ILPS in Canada, we passed a resolution to support campaigns exposing the tar sands industry and to support Indigenous land defenders. We encourage all groups interested in these campaigns to contact the ILPS in Canada.
End Climate Imperialism! Climate Justice Now!