Climate Justice

in Aotearoa

A climate change

resistance handbook

2

Contents

Climate Change and Climate Justice……………………………………………………. 3 Climate Injustice; Same problem, unequal effects………………………………. 4 Some core Climate justice demands and principles…………………............. 4 Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice……………………………….................... 5 Creating Climate Chaos: Fossil Fuels in NZ:………………………….................. 6 The (False) solutions?....……………………..………………………………………………. 8 Real Solutions.………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Resistance and Action!.………………………………………….…………………………. 14 Things to consider…………………………………………………………………………….. 15 Links and resources…………………………………………………………………………… 16

This handbook was written by Climate Justice Aotearoa with the help of many resources and people. Our special thanks goes to Radical Action Grants for funding the initial print run of this booklet. Links to many of the resources used, and to websites with more in-depth information on the issues discussed can be found at the end of the handbook. If you have feedback on this handbook, would like some help linking up with people working on climate justice in your area, wand to hold a cli-mate justice workshop for your group, or just want to say hi, email Jessie Dennis at jessieden@gmail.com or climatejusticeaotearoa@riseup.org. This booklet was written in Aotearoa. We wish to acknowledge Tangata Whenua as kaitiaki of these lands.

3

Climate change is widely recognised as one of the most important issues of our time. It may be the most important issue facing humanity today. Governments, businesses, communities and individuals globally now acknowledge that climate change exists, and that we are already seeing its effects.

Grassroots climate justice action is taking place around the world, including here in Aotearoa, to resist and take action against polluters and false solutions, draw attention to the real causes of climate change and promote real, community, and locally driven solutions.

This handbook is designed to help those interested in taking action against climate change consider:

what climate justice means

why climate justice is vital to take into account in our search for solutions to the global climate crisis

how climate justice principles will strengthen the alternatives we propose

Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it's about people; it's an issue of justice for present and future generations. At the heart of the movement is a principle which connects its diverse and localised efforts and differentiates it from other approaches to dealing with climate change: a recognition that the massive environmental crises we face are consequences of deep, fundamental and unequal economic and social power relations.

Climate Justice recognises that underdeveloped or poor countries and peoples, especially Indigenous Peoples, small farming-based communities and women, will be and already are the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. However, the vast amount of historical responsibility for climate change lies with rich industrialised countries and big business.

Mainstream debate and discourse around climate change does not challenge the ideas of a profit-driven economic system which in large part created the problem. Instead, the mainstream discourse uses its logic to come up with ‘solutions’ that ignore the root causes of climate change.

For example: carbon calculations that reduce the problem to a matter of quantifying molecules of carbon in the atmosphere obscuring the political dimensions of climate change. ‘Technological quick-fixes’ that do not challenge the industries causing climate change and market mechanisms, like emissions trading and carbon offsetting schemes, which allow polluters to continue polluting and often exacerbate existing inequalities by passing the costs of compliance on to the global poor, while enabling polluting business to profit.

Climate justice is as relevant to Aotearoa as it is everywhere else. We can look to the global climate justice movement and its guiding principles to help us form strategies and proposed alternatives which will tackle the real causes of climate change, and which will ensure we campaign for fair and effective solutions.

4

In New Zealand climate change will bring a large increase in extreme weather events like flooding, droughts and hurricanes, along with sea level rises and higher temperatures. These effects in turn will bring health problems such as the onset of tropical diseases.

Poorer communities will be hit the hardest by the rising cost of food, petrol and even water. New Zealand will, however, be comparatively better off compared to other countries when it comes to climate change. We will feel the harshest effects of climate change last, well after poorer parts of the globe have been devastated by them.

Consequently, climate change will also effect New Zealand through immigration and the flow of climate refugees, many of whom may choose to come to New Zealand. These effects are linked with many questions of justice, such as:

How will the poorer areas and groups in New Zealand gain access to disaster relief, or to adequate heating and medical treatment?

Will rich countries such as New Zealand face up to their ecological debt and appropriately accommodate for climate refugees?

Will the Government be an ally for wars resulting from lack of natural resources, or will it choose to become more self-sufficient, and what are the consequences?

How can we organise and campaign in a way that not only limits climate change, but will prevent the further inequalities that will result from it?

Prevent catastrophic climatic destabilisation.

Confront the structural/root causes of emissions.

Reject false market-orientated solutions.

Promote socially just and ecologically sound alternatives defined by those who will be affected.

Democratic ownership and control of economy.

Resource sovereignty (energy, food, water, land etc.)

Leave fossil fuels in the ground.

Reparations of ecological debt to those who have suffered from resource exploitation.

Protect and defend untouched eco-systems from commercial operations.

5

“First up let's explain tino rangatiratanga and tikanga Maori. The first can be translated as self-determination or sovereignty, the right to live the way you know is best in your own territory. Tikanga Maori is the way you live that life, what guiding principles you follow such as being a good host, respecting the life essence of everything around you, a deep understanding of being connected/responsible to those who have passed on and those who follow after you. When we look at the effects of colonisation and globalisation on tangata whenua, that's the taking away of that tino rangatiratanga and tikanga Maori, the introduction of drugs and pollution, theft of resources and (in general) denigration to the lowest, poorest class in society.

As with other indigenous peoples, climate change will unfairly affect Maori more than many others in Aotearoa because many Maori live close to the environment e.g. fishing, gathering kai and are often in debt and poor so lack the means of protection from economic crises, natural disasters or new disease outbreaks. Climate justice for this country's indigenous therefore means not just seeing the vulnerability of Maori but acknowledging that Maori have a lot of knowledge about how to live sustainably on this land and for how our communities can re-organise and support each other. Maori need help to regain strength and resilience. If you are Maori find your whanau, go home, help. If you are Tauiwi/Pakeha listen to and act on what Maori need help with and stand in solidarity with them by rebuilding your own sustainable communities so we can resist climate polluters and capitalism together.”

-Tuhi-Ao, Climate Justice Activist

6

Fracking

Fracking, the 'unconventional' drilling method where a toxic mix of chemicals and water are pumped underground at high pressure to break up the earth in order to draw out pockets of natural gas, is set for huge expansion. Up until recently fracking only occurred in Taranaki, but permits are now set to be consented in other parts of the country by the end of the year. As evidence from overseas mounts up, the effects of fracking are becoming clear: water contamination, seismic activity, air pollution and serious health effects.

Companies are fracking on the culturally important lands of Iwi in Taranaki already, and consultation around the permits in other parts of the country for Maori and communities has been poor or non-existent. And don't let ‘em fool you when they say it’s a clean energy: a recent study suggested CO2 emissions from fracking are on a par with coal.

Lignite

It is estimated that there are sufficient coal resources in the world to quadruple the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from pre-industrial levels.

5.3 million tonnes of coal were mined in New Zealand in 2010, but State Owned coal miner Solid Energy and private company L&M Lignite plan to mine billions (yes, billions) of tonnes of Southland lignite, a dirty, brown coal. This proposal alone could be responsible for increasing New Zealand’s carbon emissions by 20%.

7

The Southland lignite proposal is for rolling opencast mines, on a scale unseen in New Zealand. The impacts on health, farm animals, water quality, community structure, noise levels and landscape would all be huge, and that’s before we even consider the climate impacts. If the 6 billion tonnes of economically recoverable lignite in Southland are burnt, it will lead to between 7 and 8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Dairy farming

Agriculture is New Zealand's biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This is due in large part to the on-going corporatisation and industrialisation of the diary sector. As small family-owned farms are bought out by large industrial dairy businesses, more trees are cut down for pasture and more emissions are created, and more profit is derived from every square metre of land.

Transport

The Government is making more motorways and roads and stripping back sustainable and publicly-owned transport options. Not only that, but as transport is

privatised, it becomes more expensive, less reliable, less effective and a less viable option for people on lower incomes. We need our transport options to reflect the fact that we are heading towards peak oil and a necessary transition to less fossil fuel dependent lifestyles. Unfortunately, the Government's transport plan will lock us into high fuel consumption transport and leave fewer options for alternatives.

Deep Sea Oil Drilling

With permits up for grabs around the coasts of Aotearoa and the Government marketing NZ as the new frontier of unconventional oil (that means harder to get and more dangerous), deep sea oil drilling is a big climate threat in Aotearoa. Deep sea oil contributes to climate change and ignores the fact that we are facing peak oil. The world is running out of oil and we need to transition away from oil dependence rather than remaining reliant on it. Deep Seal Oil drilling threatens communities, particularly Maori, who live on the coast and rely on it for their food and livelihoods, ignoring Maori customary rights to the Taonga of the oceans.

8

Carbon Trading

Carbon trading is the main way in which industrialised Governments are choosing to show that they are acting to stop climate change. Unfortunately it amounts to a justification for business to continue as usual, and in fact expand; it’s furthering inequalities and it’s distracting from real solutions.

In Emissions trading (a.k.a. carbon trading or “the carbon market”), carbon becomes a commodity with a market value that can go up and down like any other commodity. This was sold to the public as providing an incentive for industry to emit less as they have to buy the right to emit.

Unfortunately, not all proposed solu-tions to climate change were created equal. Many of the solutions which

are being proposed by big business and international forums as the answers to climate change are not all they are cracked up to be; in fact many are expanding market reach, creating new opportunities for the powerful to profit and in the process damaging com-munities and furthering inequality. They even commodify the air we breathe and the ecosystems we rely on. The tricky thing about the current economic system is that when it’s in a pickle, it finds new markets to create in order to keep itself growing. Remembering that the current economic system and the ideology behind it, where profit is the goal and markets rule, helped get us into this mess in the first place, let’s take a minute to figure out if some of the solutions which are being created by it, and by those profiting from it, are really what we want.

9

Carbon trading doesn’t work: where it has been trialled (for instance, in the European Union, New South Wales and here in Aotearoa) it has failed to stop the expansion of coal-fired power stations and other heavily polluting industries. In fact, it has provided huge tax payer subsidies from governments to major polluters.

Carbon offsetting means that fossil fuel emitting companies can offset the carbon they emit by buying credits from projects that supposedly save emissions, or create fewer emissions that what would have been created otherwise. This means that Governments and companies in industrialised countries are delaying real domestic action by buying up credits from the south.

Another problem with offsetting is that it rests on 'additionality', or whether the offsetting project would have happened anyway. This means that often questionable projects (like coal power stations in India which use more 'sustainable' practices and technology, or monoculture plantations) are creating credits, bought by first world companies so they can continue polluting elsewhere! The net result: even more emissions.

Here in Aotearoa, our biggest emitting industry, industrial dairy farming, is exempt from the emissions trading scheme. Other polluting industries such as the coal mining sector are so heavily subsidised that Carbon Trade Watch called the ETS “a taxpayer subsidy for plantations and energy companies”.

Carbon trading creates new markets, opportunities for polluters to make more profit and encourages privatisation of land, air and water. It has major implications for equality and people’s ability to make decisions about their lives with dignity. And further still, important decisions, discussions and

demands about climate change are being swept aside in favour of ‘leaving it to the market'.

UN mechanisms

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has long been the mechanism relied upon by both state and some civil society groups to offer solutions to the climate crisis. The current treaty of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, has not achieved what it set out to, which was to get countries to commit to reducing emissions according to the concept of common but differentiated responsibility — the idea that industrialised countries must reduce their emissions to compensate for their carbon emissions during industrialisation and developing countries can accordingly increase their emissions to a certain point. This is good in theory, however the Kyoto Protocol is not legally binding, nor is it enforceable, resulting in no countries keeping to their agreed emissions reductions targets, and it also creates dangerous market mechanisms. Furthermore, a number of big emitting countries such as Canada and the United States are not party to the protocol (as it is voluntary) meaning that it only accounts for 15% of overall emissions.

Finally, the Kyoto Protocol’s emissions cuts are set to a two degree temperature rise target, which will still be detrimental to

10

many around the world. Climate justice organizations advocate for a one degree rise which will ensure a climate safe future.

The 2011 Negotiations also saw a renewed commitment to the Green Climate Fund, allowing the World Bank to be an interim trustee. The Green Climate Fund runs the risk of becoming the “Greedy Climate Fund” as many NGOs have labelled with the potential to be high jacked by corporates and Wall Street.

Overall, the United Nations Negotiations on climate change offer very little hope for a climate safe future. The negotiations are founded on neoliberal, technocratic solutions to climate change that are woefully inadequate and allow developed countries to evade their historical responsibilities. For example, the United Nation’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme has led to carbon trading companies flooding into the forests of indigenous peoples such as in Papua New Guinea. The Durban Group for Climate Justice says this of REDD: ‘In the South, REDD would transform the carbon in living trees into private property so that it can be awarded or transferred to private corporations in the North. In the worst case, it could inaugurate a massive land grab. In the North, meanwhile, REDD credits would enable fossil fuel-related corporations to maintain business as usual, to the detriment of communities affected by fossil fuel extraction and pollution.’

The United Nations is supposed to run according to consensus decision making, however in many cases countries are

manipulated into agreeing or ignored completely — as was the case of Bolivia during negotiations in 2010. Countries often act in the interests of giant corporations and the fossil fuel industry, which hold enormous power within these negotiations. And finally, negotiations are simply too slow to address the urgency of the climate change in many countries and ensure a safe climate for current and future generations.

Technofixes

There is no doubt that technology is a part of the solution to climate change. However,

technological solutions can be a huge distraction to getting to the bottom of things.

From giant space mirrors to dumping iron particles in the Pacific Ocean, from genetically engineered plants and animals to unleashing new synthetic life forms upon the planet, we are promised a mind boggling array

of miraculous solutions to the climate crisis; sometimes by the very companies who are causing it.

Jatropha, for example, is a plant once championed by Air New Zealand as a climate friendly aviation biofuel which is now being grown in Kenya in massive quantities. People who are already living low carbon lifestyles, such as small scale farmers, are being driven off their lands and the Jatropha, a noxious weed, is causing all sorts of environmental problems and leading to talk of war over land. Contrary to Air New Zealand’s initial claims, it turns out that Jatropha causes up to six times more emissions than ordinary jet fuel.

11

There are plenty of other forms of green technology being researched, promoted and trialled here in Aotearoa: Biochar, GE trees and animals, nano-technology and synthetic biology to name a few. Many of these technologies carry significant risks, impact on poor or marginalised people here or overseas when carried out at an industrial scale and are not sustainable.

Climate justice is not anti-technology. Some 'green technologies' or 'cleantech' will be an important part of our path out of the climate crisis. But it's important that in our search for solutions we ensure that these technologies actually do reduce emissions, that they do not further inequalities; that they do not pose further risk to the environment, eco-systems and people; and that they are not used as a distraction to the real change that needs to occur to address the root causes of climate change.

Individual change

In an era where we’re told everyone operates in their own self-interest, that we

alone are responsible for our ‘success’ or ‘failure’ in this world, and that the rich are rich through their own hard work, it’s no surprise that the climate change discussion at the community level has quickly become about individual change. We are encouraged by Government and business to turn off our lights, insulate our houses, and take recyclable bags to the supermarket. While all of these changes do make a difference – and it’s important to live our lives in accordance with the change we want to see in the world – these all shift the blame from companies to people. While we work hard to change the ways we do things, companies still run their advertising all night, drive milk from Southland to Canterbury and Canterbury to Southland because they can make more profit off it that way, and push to expand mining into areas that were previously off limits (e.g. National Parks) and into riskier and riskier territories (e.g. Pike River). It’s important to see individual change for what it is: a part of the solution but never as powerful as our collective work.

*PICTURE+

12

Building sustainable and resilient communities

A large proportion of CO2 emissions globally come from transportation; from all the stuff we use and the food we eat. Creating localised food and trade networks is an empowering step towards creating the alternatives we need for sustainable lives. It feels great to be more self-sufficient, and a bit more 'off the grid'.

There are plenty of examples of great local initiatives around how we produce and trade food in NZ, like Kaibosh (which redistributes unused food) and community gardens. There are also great local trade initiatives such as Time Banking, where people can trade their time and skills without the use of money. If these don’t exist in your community, you could start one. There are plenty of ways to make our own communities more sustainable.

Strong and connected communities are important to support efforts to become more sustainable, and communities are also the base upon which we can resist fossil fuels and economic and social inequalities. Community gives us a network of people we can rely on.

Connect the dots

Supporting allies who are working against inequality and injustice helps us address the roots causes of climate change. The unequal social and economic

system which is at the root of climate change affects everyone

except the very rich in our daily lives. Part of our struggle for climate justice is also that struggle for a fairer economic system. That might mean standing in solidarity with workers when the bosses try to slash our conditions (e.g. the recent lockout of Port of Auckland and AFFCO workers) or when union sites strike to win gains or protect our current conditions. Our wins and our losses have a flow on affect to others across society. It might mean fighting for education

13

(e.g. no increase in class sizes) and health, and drawing the links between these issues and that of climate change. The more empowered our communities are, the greater our chances of limiting climate change and building our own alternatives.

Traditional knowledge

Climate justice sees people as agents in our own lives and doesn’t see front line communities (especially in the global south) as passive victims. Peoples, communities and cultures around the world already hold powerful traditional knowledge about how to live and work together sustainably. In particular, indigenous peoples and women are key holders of traditional knowledge that should be respected and integrated into solutions which will see us out of the climate crisis. In Aotearoa, Maori are key holders of this knowledge.

For urban activists it’s important to ask and think how we can stand with local Maori to defend this knowledge, and about how proposed solutions could affect Maori and Maori communities ability to live sustainably as communities.

Keep the fossil fuels in the ground

To avoid catastrophic climate change, it is crucial that we keep the fossil fuels in the ground. Rather than elaborate schemes like carbon trading where the carbon in the atmosphere is moved around an accountant’s ledger while more and more carbon is released into the atmosphere from the earth, we need to Keep the Coal in the Hole! No drill, no spill! Ban fracking! Part of our climate justice work is being involved in or supporting these campaigns.

Solidarity

Acting in solidarity with effected and marginalised communities strengthens networks, builds alliances and is a vital part of campaigning for climate justice. Find out what matters to Tangata Whenua working on climate change and making their communities more sustainable and support their campaigns. Get in contact with effected communities who are on the front lines of climate change, both here in Aotearoa and overseas, especially our neighbours in the Pacific and communities that rely on fossil fuel extraction for

employment, and begin the conversation, build relationships and find out where you have common ground. Research what big polluters/offsetters/financiers are in your own community, and especially company headquarters if you live in a big city. Find out what they are doing around the country and overseas, and what communities are doing to resist their fossil fuel projects.

14

Direct Action

Nonviolent direct action is not only a critical part of many successful social movements, it's also a powerful way to express your democratic freedoms and challenge the injustices which create the problems we face in our society, including climate change. When the political process is not up to the task of addressing the injustices of climate change, direct action can be a powerful change-making tool.

Some reasons to take direct action

To bypass our 'leaders' and resist oppression, ecological destruction and injustice.

To foster freedom, justice and ecological sustainability.

To stay sane in a world driven by inequalities of power.

Because you don’t need a PhD to get involved.

Because it is everyday reality for people from the poorer developing nations and we have to stand strong together.

Because time is running out.

Because the future of this planet is too important to sign away to the powerful.

Outreach

Reaching out to our communities and talking about climate change and justice are vital to create the shift in consciousness needed to understand and act on the problem. Take a look at the resources listed at the end of this handbook and get in touch with those that can help, then get out there and talk to groups in your community about climate justice.

There is so much we can do when we are empowered by knowledge of what really drives climate change and how real climate justice and community resistance can change those drivers!

Start a group, join one that suits you or educate one you're already in about climate justice. Get amongst it! Try not to be discouraged by those who dismiss your ideas as radical or 'out there.' Keep speaking truth to power. All social movements were at one time considered radical and unrealistic, even the ones we now take for granted as positive steps for humanity, such as the women's rights movement, the civil rights movement, the abolishment of slavery, and even democracy itself.

Distribute information, run a workshop or organise a film night. For real change to occur in the minds of people it’s often best to provide information and suggest some questions, rather than tell people what to think. Don't be disheartened if people aren't compelled to act straight away. Often providing food for thought is the seed of change that sets people on the direction to climate justice action. It’s not always an immediate change, at least it wasn't for most of us!

Creative communication: Don't be afraid to add some humour to your actions for climate justice and events. Climate justice cheer leaders, fossil fool clowns and carbon trading circus acts have all featured in powerful climate justice actions and events in NZ and overseas. Often a bit of fun can get people asking questions and help communicate your message in an inviting way.

15

How will people in different social positions experience this proposed solution? Will it raise the price of basic goods? How will this impact on people with low incomes?

Does it take away people’s right to make decisions about their land? Does it create ‘dumping grounds’ where toxic pollution is concentrated? If so, who

will be most impacted? Which institutions, governments, companies or communities stand to benefit from it? Does it allocate cost according to responsibility? That is, will the companies and

governments that caused most of the problem have to pay for it? How will it deal with the loss of jobs in polluting industries? What will happen to those

workers and their communities? Are a bunch of ‘green jobs’ being promised? Are they jobs where workers have a voice

in their industry and workplace? Does it increase the amount of infrastructure in rural/isolated areas, so that people

living there can more easily adapt to a changing climate? How will it deal with climate refugees? Does it account for a growing population? Does it give more power to police and military units? Do many people understand it, or is it highly technocratic? Does it require special

training to comprehend the detail? Do many people ‘own’ the proposed solution – do they feel that they and their

communities or workplaces will be part of designing it and implementing it?

How do you make decisions in your campaign? Who is part of your decision-making? Who isn’t? Do people from lots of different social backgrounds feel comfortable and empowered

in the campaign? In either case, how might this affect the work that you’re doing? Do you talk regularly about how the campaign relates to justice concerns? What kind of imagery are you using to talk about climate change? Does it rely on an

image of powerless victims in the global South? Does your group do any solidarity or ally work with other struggles for social justice?

Is this considered an important part of what you do together? Does it increase people’s quality of life? Will it avoid dangerous climate change and the unequal impacts that follow?

16

Aotearoa based

Climate Justice Aotearoa www.climatejusticeaotearoa.org

Climate Justice Taranaki www.climatejusticetaranaki.info

Coal Action Network coalactionnetworkaotearoa.wordpress.com

Say No to Fracking in NZ www.facebook.com/groups/saynotofrackingnz

Auckland Coal Action www.facebook.com/groups/aklcoal

Stop the Drilling on our East Coast www.facebook.com/groups/130406690316831

International resources

Carbon Trade Watch www.carbontradewatch.org

Friends of the Earth Australia www.foe.org.au

Global Justice Ecology Project www.globaljusticeecology.org

Organising Cools the Planet organizingcoolstheplanet.wordpress.com

‘Carbon Trading-A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power’ www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/summary.shtml?x=544225

The Change Agency www.thechangeagency.org

The Ruckus Society www.ruckus.org

Indigenous Environmental Network www.ienearth.org

Rising Tide www.risingtidenorthamerica.org

La Via Campesina viacampesina.org/en

Durban group for Climate Justice www.durbanclimatejustice.org