Wednesday was the day of protests that delayed the proceedings of the plenary assembly at Cop 25 in Madrid. Climate justice and power to the people were the demands of the demonstrators.
Sasha, Arshak, Nina, Federica, Helena, Jeffrey, Miliza, Alexandria and many others. We are getting to know them, we are listening to the young people and girls who have been fighting for the climate for a year and a half. We are trying to understand why they are here, why they won't stop, and above all where they want to go.
We got a small part of that answer on Wednesday, during a moment of protest and tension that unfolded in the early afternoon outside the plenary hall at Cop 25 in Madrid. The physical and symbolic place where all delegates, ministers, heads of state and government gather to discuss how to tackle the climate crisis we are living through. For several minutes the protesters blocked the entrance and delayed the start of proceedings before being forced out of the conference centre by United Nations security forces. With no possibility of re-entry.
"Power to the people", "El pueblo unido jamás sera vencido", "Climate justice now", "No al carbon market". "Power to the people", "Climate justice now" are some of the slogans chanted by young people who have come to Spain from Russia, Australia, the Amazon, Siberia. They are here to be seen, and above all heard, by the leaders and politicians who are stumbling along, taking one step forward and two steps back — as reflected in the deadlock over the policies that should combine the reduction of CO2 with respect for human rights for all. These young people are here to make clear that the climate crisis can only be overcome by achieving climate justice. More rights for everyone. Starting from gender equality (of whatever gender) through to tackling economic and social inequalities.
Read also: Perché i diritti umani non trovano spazio alla Cop 25 di Madrid
And if the leaders of governments and companies think they can defuse the threat of global warming by creating a free financial market, financial products that take no account of the people, the territories, the indigenous peoples who protect and safeguard the forests, that take no account of the value of the natural system, the young people are here to make clear to them that they are sorely mistaken.
Wednesday 11 December 2019 will be remembered for a long time in the corridors of climate conferences. Things are changing, and if anyone believes the wave will pass sooner or later — that all they have to do is wait — they risk being swept away by it.
