To: Detroit/Seattle
Workers' Voice mailing list
October 11, 2021
RE: A week of climate actions against false solutions
By Joseph Green, Detroit Workers’
Voice
October 11-15 will see a week of demonstrations in Washington, DC.
organized by the Build Back Fossil Free coalition. The activists
are demanding that the Biden administration declare a climate
emergency, stop approving fossil fuel projects, and ensure climate
justice for minorities and workers. They are not satisfied with the
Build Back Better bill as it presently is, and they are demanding
things that the government isn’t planning to give.
This is part of the world wave of climate demonstrations that is
taking place as this year’s UN climate change conference (COP26) draws
near. No one trusts what it’s going to do. On Friday, September 24,
there were demonstrations at 1,500 places around the world denouncing
the empty words of the governments and corporations. (1) Many
activists demanded “System Change, Not Climate Change”. On
Sunday, October 10, thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels,
Belgium against government inactivity on climate issues and demanding
climate justice. (2)
And numerous other events have been taking place. At the
Youth4Climate summit in Milan, Italy on Tuesday, September 28, Greta
Thunberg mocked the empty words of the establishment leaders, saying
“Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green
economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is
all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so
far have not led to action.” (3)
Indeed! 26 years of blah, blah, blah since the first UN climate
conference in 1995, and greenhouse emissions keep climbing!
The Biden administration parades a show of concern for the environment, presents “climate adaptation and resilience” reports from more than 20 government agencies, and talks of making the US a world leader on climate action. It is a reformist stand that differs from the outright joy in devastating the environment from the Trump administration. But it’s still sliding on the slope down to climate doom. Build Back Better is supposed to be a green plan, but the Build Back Fossil Free actions demand that fossil fuels and harmful measures be eliminated from Biden’s plans.
The Build Back Fossil Free coalition has a steering committee of 16 major environmental organizations, plus endorsements from about 225 national, state, regional, or local organizations. These groups have different views, ranging from simply wanting to pressure the Biden administration to a more comprehensive critique of capitalist poisoning of the world. The overall demand isn’t for system change, but calling on Biden to declare a climate emergency and improve Build Back Better.
Nevertheless, the need for the Build Back Fossil Free actions shows
that the struggle against global warming isn’t simply a fight against
the conservative climate denialists. It also involves a struggle
against establishment leaders who verbally recognize the existence of
global warming, but sponsor false or insufficient measures that will
lead to a global catastrophe. It shows that there are two types of
climate denialism today, that which denies the environmental problem
altogether, and that which talks about global warming, but sponsors
dead-end measures that won’t stop the coming to disaster. And it
shows that Greta Thunberg was right to denounce the “blah, blah, blah”
of Build Back Better, because it itself won’t suffice to deal with
global warming.
A good deal of discussion around Build Back Better and also COP26 is
based on how much money will be given to this or that program. But the
critique by certain members of the Build Back Better coalition shows
that “false solutions”, not simply unfunded soultions, are contained in
Build Back Better. The question isn’t just money, it’s that market
measures, carbon offsets, carbon trading, the carbon tax, and other
forms of neo-liberal measures have led to an environmental fiasco. This
stand isn’t universal among the Build Back Fossil Free coalition, and
it’s important that the mass actions be followed up with serious
discussion of what steps need to be done so that the demands of the
demonstrators can be met.
(1) Pete Brown, “Youth climate strikers say: Politicians fiddle while the world burns”, D/SWV list, October 2, 2021.
(2) “Thousands march in Brussels to demand tougher climate action”, Associated Press News, October 10, 2021.
(3) Damian Carrington, “ ‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg lambasts leaders over climate crisis”, Guardian, Sept. 28, 2021
The schedule for the October 11-15 Build Back Fossil Free demonstrations is as follows:
(https://peoplevsfossilfuels.org/media-advisory-people-vs-fossil-fuels-schedule/)
This important statement on the Biden infrastructure bills was issued
in preparation for the Build Back Fossil Free demonstrations in
Washington DC. It shows how, once one looks at what is being proposed
and not the rhetoric, these bills are not only half-hearted with
respect to the climate crisis, but they contain a number of harmful
measures. The issue isn’t simply the amount of money being allocated,
but the nature of the programs they are allocated to. Thus the
statement denounces both bad plans, such as carbon capture, “clean”
coal, and nuclear power, and market measures, such as “cap and
trade/offsets/carbon tax/carbon pricing”.
The denunciation of false solutions in this statement is certainly not common to all the groups involved in the Build Back Fossil Free coalition. But the putting forward of these stands by a substantial section of the movement shows that they should be carefully considered. We at the Communist Voice Organization have also denounced market measures for years, including both offsets and the carbon tax, and we have pointed to the failures that have resulted from the plans of establishment environmentalism. (See, for example, my article “Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize and the fiascos of corporate environmentalism”, http://www.communistvoice.org/41cAlGore.html). We think these issues have to be taken seriously, or else environmentalist words will become simply Pollyannish greenwashing, “blah, blah, blah” as Greta Thunberg says, while utter climate disaster looms ever closer.
The IEN/CJA/GGJA statement does not, however, describe the different
trends inside the environmental movement. It does not go into why the
establishment environmentalists would uphold these dangerous false
solutions. It ignores the stands of the large establishment
environmental groups, which return the favor by ignoring the stands of
the militant indigenous movement about false solutions. And while
criticizing Congress and the Biden administration, it holds that the
“U.S. elected leadership is in the position to redirect course on
behalf of Mother Earth and future generations”. But as this elected
leadership represents the stands of this or that faction of the
bourgeoisie, it is not in a position to take decisive action on the
environment. It will take the building up of a strong working-class
environmental movement, free from corporate greenwashing and the lure
of market measures, for there to be a major, protracted fight against
the false solutions.
But, although we do not agree with everything in the IEN/CJA/GGJA statement, and have somewhat different ideas about what type of measures would replace the false solutions, we think it deserves the close attention of activists. It would be very helpful to the movement to have a serious discussion of the points raised by this statement. Excerpts from it are reprinted below, but I would encourage the reading of it in its entirety, which can be found at https://www.ienearth.org/the-decade-of-false-solutions-our-position-on-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-package-build-back-better-act/.
September 30, 2021
Let us be frank. As communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis
and fossil fuel extraction, our situation is dire. While we experience
unparalleled disaster in the form of floods, fires, droughts, Missing
& Murdered Indigenous Peoples and state-sanctioned violence against
Indigenous and Black communities, the crisis at the so-called border,
and other results of climate chaos, we know U.S. elected leadership is
in the position to redirect course on behalf of Mother Earth and future
generations. The truth is, Congress promised our communities they would
work to solve the climate crisis and environmental justice once we
elected them into office, but instead, we see them fighting to fund
fossil fuels and false promises masquerading as climate solutions to
the tune of billions of dollars. Rather than solving climate change
Congress is exacerbating it.
Over the course of positive engagement over the last several months, we
asked Congress – and received many assurances – that the provisions,
technologies, and projects in the Bipartisan Infrastructure package and
the Build Back Better Act (the reconciliation package) will support
Indigenous, Black, Brown, Asian and Pacific Islanders, communities of
color, low income, migrant, and frontline communities to address
environmental justice. While we are happy to claim our wins (which we
see as a testament to the power of frontline intervention in federal
policy), it is important to also name what is missing and what is
harmful in these packages. Specifically, we demanded Congress oppose
false “clean energy” solutions in the Clean Electricity Performance
Program (CEPP), include set-asides for frontline communities, and
include both Justice40 and climate standards in the Build Back Better
Act. Unfortunately, these important requests and demands were
undermined through a political process intentionally designed to
silence the voices of impacted communities while maintaining the status
quo.
Congress claims these packages will be historical provisions for climate action and environmental justice – but we know better. While we have fought hard for measures including increased care, social safeguards, affordable housing, building upgrades, public transit, and paid sick leave, there are many components of these two packages that will deepen injustices, entrench climate impacts, displace families, upend local economies, and deadlock us into a decade of false solutions. We cannot be complicit by letting it proceed without challenge. It is imperative we make clear our position while explaining the environmental and community harm as well as the human rights impacts these legislative measures will perpetrate.
The Justice40 pledge will not be met in the infrastructure packages. Frontline communities were promised 40% of funding to be earmarked for projects to build safer and stronger communities in order to confront the climate emergency. We already see a structure being set up that would allow for the funding to be used as “benefits” and not direct funding. These so-called benefits could take the form of harmful programs and some that should have happened anyway. …
Fossil fuel subsidies are included in both packages. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill has $25 billion slated for new fossil fuel subsidies. In addition, the Build Back Better Act also includes at least $15 billion. This does not even include the subsidies for fake “clean” energy in the CEPP. Ramping up fossil fuel development locks us into decades of extractivism, violence and injustice. …
The Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) in the Build Back Better Act provides incentive payments and does not penalize utility corporations for the generation of electricity from fossil fuels and false solutions. … the CEPP is being touted as the flagship program for climate action. We cannot keep providing billions to these industries and pretend it is a win for climate justice.
False solutions are funded in both packages. Some as direct funding in
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better Act and other
funding through the CEPP in the Build Back Better Act. This is a short
list of just some of the false solutions we oppose in the packages:
Congress is demonstrating what happens when frontline and impacted
communities are not centered in federal policy. Life-saving priorities
are watered down or completely abandoned through the process, while
greedy and harmful corporations come out on top. … Rather than
pretend this legislation does not perpetuate injustices to Indigenous,
Black, and frontline communities and exacerbate the climate crisis, we
will continue to stand with frontline struggles and uplift principles
of environmental and economic justice. And we will continue to demand
Congress do the same.
Indigenous Environmental Network
Climate Justice Alliance
Grassroots Global Justice
Full text at
https://www.ienearth.org/the-decade-of-false-solutions-our-position-on-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-package-build-back-better-act/
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