World Team Now!

Although many of us have held the vision for many years to play to transform the world, and we carry forward legacies from past generations, at this moment we each have a choice. How to use each moment to live in better balance with nature? Can we learn from the past, take action in the present, and move towards living into a powerful vision for our future?

Get ready, ACTION! And the action is becoming more coordinated now, and streams of events and activities role out publicly around the world, will you join in? The activities are vast, and actually, give us all a chance to take action and there are big things happening with the global climate movement. Your gift to choose to do what you can, whatever that is for you, where you are, thinking of us all, like a great big “World Team,” is key. A World Team that is focused on the goals, the global goals for transformation with 2020 vision beyond, 2030.

Do you want to give of T.ime, E.nergy, A.ction or M.oney for future generations? Will you give a present of your presence, or consciously choose how to give in your life now?

There are events taking place with and for people to gather at a village, community, town, city, state government, and beyond national levels. We probably can agree that change needs to happen at all levels, in a myriad of ways, every voice matters, and each step of action counts. You can get involved with these daily, weekly as we begin the season for change with these events;

Thursday, September 6 Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice: Now is the Time for Action!!
https://actionnetwork.org/events/climate-jobs-and-justice-now-is-the-time-for-action

Saturday, September 8th Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice
https://peoplesclimate.org/ &
September 8th Rise for Climate
https://riseforclimate.org

September 8^th 10 AM Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice in San Francisco
Four Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94105
https://ca.riseforclimate.org/

September 8-14^thSolidarity to Solutions Week
Climate Justice Alliance
https://climatejusticealliance.org/solidarity-to-solutions-week/
http://ittakesroots.org/sol2sol/rsvp/

Sunday 9^th 9:00 am: Intertribal Prayer, Teach-In and Direct Action Training
The event will be followed by a non-violent direct action training. Directions and details here.

Sunday 9^th 12:00 noon: Expansion and Resistance: The Fossil Fuel Industry in the Bay Area
Soil not Oil panel featuring Amazon Watch campaigner Zoë Cina-Sklar and other local activists discussing the impacts of oil refineries and other fossil fuel infrastructure in the Bay Area. Tickets available here.

Sunday 9^th 4:30 pm: Aerial Mandala for Climate Justice
Join Dancing without Borders and Spectral Q at Crissy Field to co-create a visual message in support of climate justice. This iconic image will be captured from the sky and will send a message to world leaders about the need to join with us in creating a more just and equitable future. RSVP here.

Monday-Tuesday September 10 & 11: Ocean Hack
Salesforce headquarters, 415 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 San Francisco
As part of the build-up to Global Climate Action Summit and in pursuit of Global Goals 14, Life Below Water, Sustainable Ocean Alliance has partnered with One Ocean Collab and Salesforce to host a 48-hour pop-up innovation lab for the ocean.
http://globalclimateactionsummit.org/events/ocean-hack/
https://www.cognitoforms.com/SustainableOceanAlliance1/OceanHack

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10^TH 8:00 am: Rise Against Climate Capitalism
You are invited to join us in a non-violent action that will include prayer, a teach-in, painting a street mural and direct action at one of the places where climate profiteers will be meeting prior to the Global Climate Action Summit. Details here.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10^TH 12:55 pm: Keep it in the Ground: Building Movements for Climate Justice
Soil not Oil panel featuring Amazon Watch Executive Director Leila Salazar-López, a leader from Sarayaku, and and other organizers about inspirational campaigns to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Tickets available here.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11^TH 10:00 am to 8:00 pm: Solutions to Solidarity Summit
This day-long assembly will highlight frontline communities’ solutions that address the interlinked crises of climate, economic, and racial injustice through interactive workshops, art, and music. More info here.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11^TH 1:00 pm to 8:30 pm: Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice
Join the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International for “Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change” – a gathering of extraordinary women leaders from across the United States and around the world joined in solidarity to speak out against environmental and social injustice, draw attention to root causes of the climate crisis, and present the diverse array of visions and strategies with which they are working to shape a healthy and equitable world. Amazon Watch and indigenous leaders will speak at the following panels:

1:30 pm: Women Speak from the Frontlines of Climate Change: Nina Gualinga, Kichwa from Sarayaku and co-founder of Hakhu Amazon Design
5:55 pm: Keynote address by Mirian Cisneros, President of the Kichwa people of Sarayaku and Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch

More info here.

Tuesday SEP 11 6:30-11PM Ocean Solutions Gala
California Academy of Sciences 55 Music Concourse Drive San Francisco, CA 94118
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-ocean-solutions-gala-tickets-48003146704

Wednesday-Friday Sept 12-14 Global Climate Action Summit
https://globalclimateactionsummit.org/
http://globalclimateactionsummit.org/program/

September 12, 2018 San Francisco City Hall Cities4Climate: The Future is Us 1PM-4:35PM
Co-hosted by C40 Cities, The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, and the City of San Francisco https://www.c40.org/events/cities4climate-the-future-is-us

Wednesday, September 12TH 4:00 pm: Grassroots Climate Leadership
From California residents working to create a just transition off fossil fuels by solarizing their neighborhoods to Indigenous peoples protecting their territories from oil extraction in the Amazon, many of the most innovative solutions to climate change come from those most impacted by climate change and fossil fuel extraction. Come hear an Indigenous leader from Ecuadorian Amazon, a community organizer from California, and a First Nations activist from Canada speak to their experiences defending their lands from fossil fuel development and finding innovative ways to accelerate a just transition to renewable energy. RSVP here.

Wednesday, September 12^TH 5:00 pm: Following the Money: Holding Big Banks Accountable for Financing the Climate Crisis
Join a panel grassroots climate leaders to learn about the growing international movement holding financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase accountable for their central role in perpetuating the global climate crisis by financing big oil and gas. RSVP here.

Thursday, September 13^TH 7:00 am: Stand with Communities, Not Corporations
Jerry Brown’s promotion of continued fossil fuel production, carbon trading markets and other incentives to oil, gas and other polluting corporations, perpetuates climate change and decimates Indigenous communities, communities of color and other working class peoples throughout California and around the world. Join us for a family-friendly direct action to demand that the Governor and other politicians stand with people not polluters. More info here.

Thursday, September 13^TH 7:30 pm: The Eagle and the Condor (Closing Night of the San Francisco Green Film Festival)
Four Indigenous leaders embark on an extraordinary trans-continental adventure from the Canadian plains to deep into the heart of the Amazonian jungle to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of “Climate Justice”. This film documents the stories of these four well-known Native environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to strong shared communities with the power to bring change to the entire world. Their path through the jungle takes them on an unexpectedly challenging and liberating journey, which will forever change their attachment to the Earth and one another. RSVP here.

Friday, September 14^TH 1:30 pm: Primary Forests: Key to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Primary forests, particularly intact tropical forests, serve a critical role in regulating global weather patterns and sequestering carbon dioxide, house about half of the world’s biodiversity and are home to hundreds of indigenous peoples and traditional communities. These peoples have been stewards of their lands for millennia, but their forest territories face increasing pressure from industrial development and agribusiness. Tune in to our live stream: of a panel featuring indigenous leaders, journalists, and advocates discussing these issues and their work to protect forests. More info here.

Friday, September 14^TH 3:00 pm: The Tortoise and the Tapir

Haunted by images of empty water reservoirs in the Brazilian southwest, filmmaker Eliza Capai tries to understand the gigantic constructions being built in the middle of the Amazon forest, including the imposing Belo Monte dam. Upstream, she finds spirited victory against hydro dam: projects in neighboring Peru led by Goldman Environmental Prize Winner Ruth Buendia. Tickets available here for this screening, part of the San Francisco Green Film Festival.

This just the beginning stay tuned for much more to come.

By Suzanne Maxx

A Message of Freedom and 100% Renewable Energy from Paris. Hundreds from around the world unite in a giant message of freedom, standing with the people of Paris and calling for 100% renewable energy, during the United Nations COP21 Climate Summit. Can you spot us? We from World Team Now made up the rays on the left side of the image. Photo by Yann Arthus-Bertrand / Spectral Q

COP21’s victory signals to the world that global transformation is in the works with adoption of the Paris Agreement by the United Nations. It’s historical to have almost 200 nations agree to take action, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” a UN goal.

COP21 Convention Space at Le Bourget.

Those of us breathing inside of the global climate movement over the years know this moment is a win— a valuable step and an important place to start. At Le Bourget, the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Laurent Fabius brought his green gravel down to tears of joy and applause for the agreement exclaiming, “It’s a small gavel, but I think it has a big impact!” With the perspective getting diverse entities consisting of countries from different regions of the world to agree on anything is significant. We at least have set a course and direction together. Many of the outcomes we considered in our prior blog post were covered in this agreement. Here is the text of the Paris Agreement. Here it is made simple to digest. Here are some more of our favorite articles and speeches, that break this historic time of the Paris Agreement down to understand:

Within the global environmental movement, there are many people that have been on the journey for decades— each of us has a piece of this puzzle— that are core to who we are, and it lives outside the boundaries of a location, as it is for our earth, and all of humanity. This consciousness is now becoming contagious, thankfully— as it will take teams of people, industries and many sectors of society for the transformation to take root.

The stage is set for our World Team project, and next year 2016, we plan to be public facing with our World Team platform. World Team will be an interactive tool to entertain us while playfully engaged in transformative projects achieving the realization of our most ambitious and collective goals for humanity, and our planet earth. It is not only technology, innovation, policy and funding that will change the global game of our changing climate. The game starts to change when all people are aware of the power of human capability of choice. Change will occur when we choose to prioritize how we use both our internal and external energy. When we prioritize living in better balance with our resources, we will then play the game to transform ourselves and our world.

The co-located Climate Generations Areas, open to all, was a first for the COP meetings. In prior COPs, Civil Society had open side events that were distant from the UN negotiations.

Even in celebration there is caution that clouds this historical time, which finally acknowledges humanity’s role in climate change, and sets forward a plan of action. If we can’t get to 1.5 degrees, stop destroying our forests, heating and acidifying our oceans and eliminate burning fossil fuel today we are writing ourselves a death sentence. The framework is now in place to start the journey to arrive there tomorrow— it was a successful negotiation. As Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon said, “This a time when we need all hands on deck”. Multiple sectors are taking active roles in also setting targets, and here is the key; team work, over time, with ALL of us in action. This thread was there at the events happening at COP21 during this time in Paris.

Akapusi Tuifagalele Director National Disaster Management of Fiji, a SIDS

Akapusi Tuifagalele, Director National Disaster Management of Fiji (SIDS), with Suzanne Maxx & Albert Boulanger of the World Team project.

It’s exciting when leaders of countries agree to take a stand, and actually strive for targets and a framework for an agreement. Can we move to a firm 1.5 degrees quickly enough to reverse the damage of climate change? When we will phase out fossil fuel? Our oceans and forests, all species together in balance— how soon can we achieve rapid change? Will there be justice for the indigenous people, and those of small island developing states (SIDS) in the long run? Now we have some agreed upon goals. Can we overcome the antiquated categorization of defining a country by developed, developing, and least developed? Will each country begin to support the other with sustainable development based on what they are able to contribute, as the reality takes hold of cliché, “we are all in this together”?

The seeds of reaching the answer to these questions in reality are planted. How quickly we can reach these targets, and more will be the long term success of the Paris Agreement. All is not there in the Paris agreement yet, but it starts with the will— we celebrate these milestones even though the real work has just begun.

Ban Ki-moon preparing to talk at the Earth to Paris Conference during COP21

Now to have all countries ratify the Paris Agreement so it becomes legal structure— whether that be a Treaty, Accord or Protocol. The opportunity for world leaders to sign, and ratify the Paris Accord begins in New York on Earth Day April 22^nd, 2016. All leaders will have one year to endorse it, but early participation is being encouraged. The plan looks to not just meet the deadline, but also to indeed demonstrate the will and understanding of urgency for all of us to keep the work moving fast forward. The Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is charged to organize the activities around the signing on Earth Day.

We will need more action over time, the government sector with public policy is needed, but the real change will require many other sectors, to jump into the action—and we will. It will be the collective cumulative action that matters most over time. World Team plans to officially announce our first team in 2016 and we
plan to officially begin our media platform.

There was a thread to all events happening at COP21 during this time in Paris. It’s exciting when leaders of countries agree to take a stand, and actually strive for targets and a framework for an agreement.

For decades we dreamed of this day when countries might all agree on action for our future. It is a collective starting point to a commitment of an aligned global direction for humanity. The Paris Agreement will need work but much of the direction we are going collectively has seeds that aligns with the vision that many of us hold in our hearts for a sustainable future. We are now challenged to follow the Golden Rule Principle too, as Pope Francis encouraged in his UNGA and USA Congress speeches. Now to unpack many of the principles of how we will realize the change for our common home, and integrate them throughout our policy, and ways of life— this is the challenge. The challenge of not only of the Paris Agreement, but for humanity at this time on earth.

These “Trees of Hope” outside COP21 produce renewable energy by their leaves turning to generate sustainable wind energy turbines.

Tag: Global Climate Movement

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