Fossil Free News – love drives our climate movement – GWC Mag

This newsletter is also available in French and Spanish.

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I hope February stirred your heart with love, as it did mine, thanks to Valentine’s Day.

This year, though, a concerning issue is affecting our beloved symbol of love: the delicate rose. The ongoing climate crisis is putting global rose production at risk.

A 350.org campaign in Budapest, Hungary uses rose flower petals to signal that trees should be loved and protected, not cut down. Photo Credit: Flickr 2000-2016

For the first time, we also saw global temperatures surpass the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) limit. While this doesn’t violate the longer-term Paris Agreement, it sends a clear message that we must continue our efforts in the climate movement.

As our Earth grapples with scorching temperatures, companies like TotalEnergies and Shell are still making mega profits from fossil fuels. In fact, you will read in a bit how they enjoy professing their undying love for profits.

But at 350.org, it is the love for our planet and our communities that drives us. We have been busy seizing every opportunity for climate action this month. Our goal is lasting change – a world run on people-powered energy.

And, of course, you dear reader, continue to be a vital thread in the fabric of our love story with the climate movement.

Why don’t you join our Fossil Free mailing list for all the latest stories on climate organizing from around the world? Stories that matter. Campaigns that inspire. All delivered directly to you every month!

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In Case You Missed It

Total Profits, Total Deception 

Our least favorite fossil fuel giant – though let’s be honest, we don’t like any of them – Total Energies, have just announced their annual profits. They pocketed $23.2 billion. BILLION (yes, you read that right!) in 2023. These profits are the company’s highest ever.

Let’s take a second to grasp the scale of this, shall we? If you saved $100 per day, it would take you 27,397 years to get to one $1 billion. And Total has earned 20 times that amount in only one year.

In a conveniently orchestrated distraction, Total released a statement highlighting their ‘good deeds’ like funding a training campus and sponsoring World Cups. But we see through this, Total. These public relations efforts are a deliberate attempt to shift focus away from the harmful effects of your actions.

Total’s projects not only fuel the climate crisis but also ravage entire communities and local economies (our next story is an example). And, of course, we’re fighting back. Last month, we talked about how 350.org and our partners helped initiate a Government Inquiry against Total (which is still ongoing). Our friends at Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire à Tous, and Friends of the Earth France have also previously taken Total to court for deceptive practices.

350 France and the Stop Total coalition mobilized earlier this month outside Total HQ in Paris. We even went on French national TV to denounce this company and its ridiculous profits.

350 France protests with the Stop Total collective in front of Total Energies’ headquarters in Paris on 7 February, 2024. Photo Credit: StopTotal Activists

Beyond Crude Oil 

In Africa, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), spanning 1,443 miles from Uganda to Tanzania, is still causing concerns. If built, this pipeline will force more than 118,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania to relocate, rendering them without land, in poverty, and entangled in lengthy legal disputes for inadequate compensation. And the main investor? TotalEnergies, of course.

As you know, Our StopEACOP coalition, involving 260 organizations globally, has been tirelessly campaigning for years to block this project. And now, we have just launched a new Podcast Series called Beyond Crude. In this podcast, we go beyond the headlines to discuss the negative human and environmental impact of this project and why communities strongly oppose it.

Tune into Episode 1, which delves into the players behind EACOP, like Total, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and host governments. We also discuss the financial risks of the pipeline, urging banks and insurers to steer clear of funding.

350 Africa records the first episode of The Beyond Crude podcast. Photo Credit: 350 Africa

Rising Tides, Rising Resolve 

Across the Pacific Islands, massive floods are causing chaos this month. Tuvalu experienced 3.2-meter floods due to rising sea levels, leading to delays in election results. Meanwhile, the Republic of the Marshall Islands is facing ongoing power outages, despite its recent innovative national plan to tackle climate change.

Pacific countries are facing the brunt of the climate crises like no other region in the world. They are scrambling to survive rapid sea-level rise and drought, leading to geopolitical tensions over security, climate finance and sovereignty. In response, our team at 350.org is leading the climate movement in the region. Our efforts are driven not by fear, but by a sense of love and responsibility for our nature.

Read our 350 Pacific activist, Drue’s heartfelt love letter to the climate. May her words further encourage you to rally in protection of our island nations and our shared future.

350 Tuvalu is a youth-led movement focused on fighting for climate justice in the country since 2012. Photo Credit: Flickr

Our Next Generation of Climate Storytellers 

Storytelling plays a crucial role in igniting change. The climate movement is incomplete without the next generation of storytellers, bringing inspiring stories from all walks of life. They not only share our love for the planet, but will also serve as the keepers of the Earth in the not-so-distant future.

In this spirit, our team in Asia hosted a Multimedia & Environmental Storytelling workshop, on 17 & 18 February in the Philippines. Along with our partner, Youth for Climate Hope, we trained high school and college students in environmental storytelling and photography. What we saw was a promising team of creative changemakers, determined to take action to save the planet. We’re so excited for these young storytellers to use their new skills to advocate for the environment in their communities and beyond!

350 hosts a multimedia workshop for young activists in Bacolod, Philippines, on 17 & 18 February 2024. Photo Credit: Kathleen Lei Limayo

One to Watch

Forget Romeo and Juliet. We bring to you, the other biggest love affair of our times: Big Oil and the Advertising Industry.

For decades, these big players have worked together using false advertising and misinformation. They’ve tried to convince people and governments that they’re not harming the planet.

Unlike many fairy tales, theirs is an affair that will not end happily.

When it comes to renewables, we have solutions that are the perfect match for our communities and our planet. A story that does have a happily ever after.

Watch the video and let us know below how you would like this story to end 👇💬

Use Your Power

Two months ago, leaders at COP28 agreed to establish the Loss and Damage Fund. This historic step saw the light of day after decades of negotiations. This fund will provide crucial aid from wealthy to vulnerable countries affected most by climate change.

But guess what? Rich countries have already missed the first deadline they set for creating this vital fund, which was 31 January 2024. And so our question to them is, what are they waiting for, and when will this fund come to fruition?

We are demanding our leaders to get moving and jump into action. Add your name to this petition and urge leaders to meet their commitments.

Skill Up Your Activism

Around the world, people are taking control of their energy future, harnessing clean, renewable power.

Are you passionate about the climate but unsure where to begin? Do you believe in the potential of renewables? Want to kickstart a community-led energy project but lack guidance?

We will help you! Together, we can contribute to ending energy poverty, stabilizing prices, curbing pollution, and tackling the climate crisis. You too can bring your community together for a project they’ll be proud of.

Download our free, cutting-edge toolkit called ‘Our Own Power’! In this toolkit, you’ll get:

• details on the 5 phases for building a renewable energy campaign
• tips and practical suggestions on everything from finding money to dealing with bureaucracy
• stories and more links to build your skills

Yes, we are all about people power. Because real change starts with you, with me, with us.

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Quote of the month

“We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.”

– Maya Angelou, American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist.

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