Our goals
On the 29th of April, the People’s Climate March is expected to bring together hundreds of thousands of people in Washington DC and elsewhere around the world. We wish to call attention to the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, which continues its attacks on the climate and the environment. In Geneva and elsewhere around the world, similar marches will take place because the problem is not only an American one. Here, as elsewhere, the disturbance of the climate is dramatically accelerating. The time we have left to react is dwindling. Special interests hinder, even block, the inescapable transformation of our societies.
The evidence of global warming does not leave room for doubt. 2014, 2015 and 2016 registered the warmest temperatures ever recorded. The thickness of the Arctic icecap has declined to the thinnest level ever seen. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide continues to rise. The effects of ocean acidification have never been so visible. And the level of the oceans likewise continues to rise. According to UNHCR, 250 million climate refugees will be displaced by 2050.
The, often disastrous, consequences are becoming amplified. But most of the political decision-makers remain inert and passivity dominates. As for the transnational enterprises and the banks, they attempt to hinder any questioning of their habitual roles and continue to invest in projects linked to fossil fuels, of which 80% must remain in the ground. This attitude is incompatible with the commitments adopted at COP21 in Paris. How long will this go on?
Switzerland is in the process of ratifying the Paris Agreement and will vote on the 21st of May on its “Energy Strategy 2050”, which, despite being insufficient to respond to the historic challenge posed by global warming, nonetheless permits our country to engage in a gradual transition. This law is being challenged by a referendum launched by lobbies with ties to the energy system of the past.
In the face of such denial and in order to guarantee durable and sustainable living conditions for future generations, we must be determined and take our future into our own hands.
People's climate march
