Thanks to those who joined The Green Net recently at the ‘Power Up’ activation at a cold and wet Port Edward main beach, to lift up the vision of a just future powered by renewable energy sources.
The polluting and rapid heating of our planet isn’t just a natural phenomenon.
It’s a crime committed by a wealthy few, for their own profit. We need to break free from coal, oil and gas as primary energy sources – as well as the risky methods used to extract and process them, including fracking, offshore mining and the burning of coal – and move more directly and speedily towards cleaner technologies.
That’s why we were there on Saturday, one part of hundreds of actions taking place across the world as we come together to power up a global renewable energy revolution. The call is simple – it’s time to shift money and political influence away from fossil fuel companies and towards a clean and equitable future for all!
Every year, despite skyrocketing energy prices, the fossil fuel industry receives billions of dollars in incentives and subsidies around the world, reaching ever-increasing profits. For example, Exxon, Shell, Total and Chevron together made $33.2bn in the first quarter of 2023. This could bring clean electricity to 50 million households.
Here in South Africa this is being funded by us, the taxpayers, it comes from our pockets. And while greedy investors and CEOs hoard public money for their private wealth by wrecking our climate, we endure the impacts of the crisis they have created. Imagine if, instead of going into the pockets of fossil fuel executives, that money was used to ensure stable access to clean electricity everywhere, to keep the lights on in hospitals and schools, or to insulate homes. This is the future we are building – one that lifts people from poverty and protects us all from the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
Our governments can no longer bow down to the whims of the fossil fuel industry, dictating our energy future. It is absolutely imperative for them to divest from fossil fuels, allocate substantial financial resources to fund renewable energy projects on a global scale, and hold these destructive fossil fuel companies accountable for the immense damage they have inflicted upon us. We call for a transition that goes beyond replacing one broken energy system with another. At its core, this transition centres on energy justice.
Unleash the money to fund renewable energies: governments and banks should redirect financial resources towards renewable energies through all the financial mechanisms possible, on local, national and global levels. These resources should align with the scale and urgency of the climate crisis and ensure a globally equitable distribution of funds.
The challenge ahead for all of us is clear: we have to build a movement that holds space for working people’s anger against a broken system, and channel it into a positive vision for the future we want powered by ordinary people, the sun and wind, and any of a number of new technologies that are emerging.
Here on the South Coast we are not alone! Diverse actions, reflecting the rich nature of community resistance and demand for renewable energy solutions, are taking place from Argentina to Australia, from Benin to Brazil, from Kenya to Japan, from the USA to the UK and everywhere in between, hundreds of communities are organising – we are unstoppable!
We can build a resilient economy that maintains the clean air, soil and water our communities need to survive and thrive.
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