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Preparing for December the 5th
25 April, 2009 - 17:34
December the fifth provides a fantastic opportunity and challenge for us in local areas, particularly because of the lead that is being given by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition. However a lot of work needs to be done. We need to go out and organise others, under the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition umbrella. This gives us an opportunity to approach a wider range of groups and individuals which would have been difficult if we were just doing it in the name of the CCC.
When, however, approaching other groups in Derby to build for the Put People First march we found that in spite of National prominence it was by no means easy to enlist members of these groups in the practical business of organising coaches and putting bums on seats. Did other people share this experience, if not, how did they manage to involve these groups?
23 June, 2009 - 00:16
#2
We had a meeting in Derby of various groups on the 1st of July. We agreed on the following:
Derby-Copenhagen Steering Group
The UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen on 7-18 December 2009 could be our last chance to secure a global agreement to reduce emissions and build a zero carbon economy before our planet's climate system destabilizes irreversibly.
The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition are organising a major demonstration in London on Saturday 5th December 2009 (see web link below)
A Global Day of Action will follow on Saturday 12th December with synchronised demonstrations in as many places as possible – to call on world leaders to take urgent action on climate change. For those who wish to lobby the negotiators more directly, transport is being organised to Copenhagen by the Campaign against Climate Change (see web link below).
Following the Derby meeting in Sound Bites a Derby-Copenhagen steering group was established on 1st of July to progress the following.
i) encourage local groups to engage with the UN Climate Talk agenda
ii) co-ordinate local activities, including organising a Derby wide rally in the name of Stop Climate Chaos, and promote participation in local events prior to the Climate Talks
iii) co-ordinate arrangements for transport from Derby to the London demonstration
iv) co-ordinate a demonstration and solidarity events in Derby on the Global Day of Action
The steering group comprise members of existing local networks/groups concerned with climate change and will look to use existing communication channels/networks/lists where possible.
2 August, 2009 - 09:56
#3
We have had another meeting of our Derby December the 5th working group. This time organisers from the Co-op movement and from Christian Aid attended.
Organising around Copenhagen may dramatically further our presence in the area. Not only has it pulled in new organisations it has resulted in re-engaging with Transition Town activists who had left us. We are drawing upon new energies.
It remains that December the 5th is in the medium term by far the biggest and most important thing for our campaign. (The short term one is Vesta).
The key to organising around the December 5th is getting approaching others now. This means contacting all our supporters in whatever way we can. It means getting people in areas to think of booking more transport than before, pooling transport, targeting those SCC partners, possibly issuing joint leaflets and having joint rallies, using the SCC umbrella as a matter of course.
As part of the build-up we are organising our own mega rally on the 22nd of October and have booked a church hall which can take more than 100 people, and this will be under the umbrella of Stop Climate Chaos (SCC). We are finding that SCC is opening doors for us and we shouldn’t be hesitating to exploit this; I believe in Manchester the SCC has got the support of the City Council and there is even talk about getting a train down.
One must not allow work with the SCC to be clouded by suspicion or fear, perhaps:
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· they are insufficiently radical,
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· they are but a coalition driven mainly by the NGOs,
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· they will swamp the CCC
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· the CCC will lose its identity.
The fear of the loss of identity is counter-productive. When working alongside others the role of the CCC and CCC type arguments emerge. The fundamental arguments are still the need to supplement personal and local actions with national and international ones. Establishing and arguing for a broad based movement is critical. The importance and threat to the human race, including emergency climate demands, will also emerge, inevitably, as part and parcel of the mobilising.
7 September, 2009 - 07:29
#4
Hi. Here is a copy of an email I received from Andrew Brawley about what they are planning to do in Norwich and Norfolk. I think it is the sort of thing that all us could and should be doing around December 5th.
Dear All,
Please excuse this one-off message that I am sending to a large list of people. A few of us have been discussing reactivating the Norwich and Norfolk Campaign against Climate Change (N2C3) in the buildup to the Copenhagen Climate talks in December. In particular, Trevor Philips has made the proposals below for a series of events leading to a large turnout in Norwich and to London for demos around the Climate talks.
To get this going we are holding a meeting next Tuesday:
Tuesday 8th September, 7.30pm, United Reform Church, Princes Street, Norwich, NR3 1AZ
If you wish to become further involved, please come to the meeting if you can. Also sign up to the N2C3 email list by sending a blank email to : norwichc3-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and post ideas there.
A Norwich march and demo/protest on Saturday 28 November, putting 1000 local people on the streets (and encouraging many of them to sign up for coaches to the London demo on 12 December). Possible coinciding imaginative supportive/spin-off events to be considered for same day (NVDA etc).
A (city location) public rally (midweek) in Norwich in early November (Wed 11/18th?) including a broad local platform and including CACC speakers and climate scientists from UEA, plus celebs. (This is an event for the public: plus potential targeted invitees to include CACC members, Transition supporters, attendees from 'Age of Stupid' film; Tu ists, Womens Institute, Green groups, transport groups etc, etc.) Leaflets ready for all to take away re Norwich march and London events. Stalls for coach tickets etc.
A university based rally (early November). (Campus stalls, leaflets, articles etc in October). Consider also a City College event.
A trade unionists' climate event in October/early November: 'Create Green jobs - protect the climate' etc.
Stall at Zero Carbon Caravan fair 20th September.
You may be interested too in the Zero Carbon Caravan events in Norwich on the weekend of 20th and 21st of September (see:
All the best
Andrew
7 September, 2009 - 19:34
#5
In Swindon we've already started putting out feelers for other groups/organizations in the area who are mobilising around Copenhagen, with a view to
a) holding a public meeting or similar event on the subject in conjunction with one or more of these organizations
b) putting on a coach from Swindon (possibly picking up at some of the smaller towns in the area on the way) to London on the 5th.
Are CCC or Stop Climate Chaos planning to host a central page somewhere with links/contact details for information about all the coaches that local groups are putting on for the 5th? I think this would be well worth doing.
Simon.
8 September, 2009 - 14:13
#6
Hi Simon - Tom from SCC here.
We're compiling all of The Wave info at www.stopclimatechaos.org/the-wave, and we also have a 'gateway' page which presents all the different places where The Wave is appearing: www.the-wave.org.uk.
Part of the thinking behind this is because we'll be launching a Local Events site soon, and the gateway will be a useful way of flagging that for people interested in The Wave. local.stopclimatechaos.org
From the map on our current Wave page, you'll be directed to the Local Events site for further information about booking, specific meetup places, etc.
Please drop me a line on tom@stopclimatechaos.org if you're interested in adding events to the 'What's Going On' site.
Cheers,
Tom
21 September, 2009 - 16:58
#7
I am attaching a link to the leaflet we in Derby have prepared for the coach(es) for December 5.
As you will see it hasbeen supported by all sorts of local orgnasations. We have in addition distrubuted numbered tickets and have planned a big meeting where we are using a question time format. I am attaching the leaflet in the hope that other people are thinking of doing similar things. I think it is importnat that we work alongside others when organisng for December the Fifth.
How Can We
Make Copenhagen Work?
A panel discussion and Question Time
on the Climate Change crisis with:
on the Climate Change crisis with:
· Ashok Sinha - National Director of Stop Climate Chaos
· Lizzie Gawen - Leader of the UK Youth Climate Coalition Delegation to Copenhagen, studying at the University of Derby
· Elaine Graham-Leigh - National Campaign Against Climate Change
· Hilary Jones (tbc) - Leader of Derby City Council
Chair: Peter Robinson - Derby Campaign Against Climate Change
7pm Thursday Oct. 22nd
Central United Reformed Church
Becketwell Lane (round the corner from Victoria Street) DE23 7FR
Becketwell Lane (round the corner from Victoria Street) DE23 7FR
Free event Refreshments provided
The United Nations Climate talks in December in Copenhagen are critical and we need to show the policy makers how angry we are and that we need to do very big things very fast. This is a Public Meeting arranged by the Derby-Copenhagen Steering Group. Come together to prepare for ‘The Wave’ the biggest Climate March ever in London, on December 5th.
Further details 07876595993
10 October, 2009 - 00:32
#8
Earlier this week we had about a dozen at our steering group for the events in Derby, re[presenting load of organisations, and there were many apologies. In a sense we are seen as the organising steering group in Derby, but with place for all the component6s and partners. Finding a way of working over things we all agree, and yet people will be pursing their own things, and their own organisations things, as well.
At the meeting discussed the planned Swoop upon Ratcliffe-on-Soar powere station and we should be sending a handful or ten people. Not that many; and actually we do not have great links with the direct action activists and climate camp type people but this has helped a bit.
The other thing is we decided to organise two coaches to London and have now been promised £600 in subsidies.
12 November, 2009 - 17:48
#9
On the 22nd of October we had about 70 people attend our meeting in Derby and everybody said how good it was. My only reservation is that the panel format seemed to lead to consensus much of the time, despite us asking somebody to represent the Council, and actually we needed to be controversial and debate things more sharply. We could have had the questioners taking on a stronger role, as a Devil's Advocate. But that is a minor point.
In terms of preparations for the coaches. We now have three coaches coming from Derby (one starting from Matlock) and have received £800 in subsidies. Previously we have never been able to organise more than one coach.
I am absolutely convinced that the way to organise around The Wave has been to go out and approach others, and to help them do the work. To some extent the basing our strategy around the emergency demands, has not allowed to engage with other people who support Stop Climate Chaos. It means we seem to shriek and shout but from the sidelines.
My experience is that most activists know that the NGO type demands are insufficient and it is important to work alongside them around The Wave and organising in localities.
Clearly December 5th is the most important event of the year and we believe we can make some difference to the organisation and impact locally. There is a danger of us forgetting that this is the number one priority. We had a meeting of the steering group of our local Derby CCC group this evening and discussed how to mobilise.
It seems that we should have no problem in organising anything under the general umbrella of Stop Climate Chaos, but it seems there are a number of things that we should be doing.
Our first task is to make contact with the ‘movers and shakers’ of all the other organisations in the region who are affiliated to SCC. To this end we thought
1) Contact all people we know from different groups, e.g. Fabians, Greenpeace, Oxfam, WDM and so on and ask them a) who is the named or link person b) what are they and can they do c) would they come to and help set up Dec 5/SCC co-ordinating group (see 4)
2) Ask SCC to see how they can help
3) Write to or contact all organisations nationally to ask them about contacts and plans
4) Ask the CCC for all contacts from Derby and surroundings
5) set up Dec 5 co-ordinating group in about 2 moths
6) ask the Dec 5/SCC co-ordinating group to organise a rally
7) ask the Dec 5/SCC co-ordinating group to jointly organise coaches
Is what we are suggesting applicable to you in your area?
Peter Robinson