On the one hand, its conclusions will be scrutinized since it will look in detail at the financing needed by southern countries to mitigate the effects of climate change. But on the other hand, the COP27 which opened this weekend in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is a scarecrow for green followers of civil disobedience. Greta Thunberg has already explained that she would not go there, comparing the event to a vast greenwashing operation. And the new wave of activists blocking roads, disrupting corporate meetings or sporting events in our territory, speaks a similar story.
“This is another edition that will welcome tens of thousands of people to finally take resolutions that will not be up to the challenges”, laments “Gwarr”, member of the ANVCOP21 collective in Toulouse. Spokesperson for Extinction Rébellion France, Liam also underlines the lack of usefulness of the process: “the proposals made there only lead to a marginal improvement of the current system. In fact, everything happens as whether these international meetings masked the reality or acted as a placebo effect. Today, we need strong guidelines put in place at the state level. Yet we have the impression of witnessing a race to see who will arrive on last to carbon neutrality”. And the activist points to the list of COP27 partners displayed on his website: Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, General Motors… Large groups with a very high carbon footprint.
“It suffices to compare the curve of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and the calendar of the COPs to see that they have had no effect”, explains Quentin, spokesperson and citizen of “Dernière Rénovation”, a campaign of civil resistance aiming to obtain – by repeatedly blocking roads – a national plan for the thermal renovation of all buildings by 2040. “We are at the twenty-seventh edition and gas emissions at greenhouse effect continue to increase at the global level. Of course, international cooperation is still necessary to see how Western countries can help the most vulnerable. But we must be lucid. The COPs are moving too slowly. Let’s start by clearing the way for our door before going to lecture the rest of the world.”
Local before international
For Last Renovation, the path first passes through the massive thermal renovation of buildings. “We are well aware that this will not solve everything. But it is one of the most obvious and consensual actions. It is the ba-ba of what we are supposed to do in terms of planning. If this measure is not put in place quickly, how can we expect the State to put in place things that are much more technologically or socially complex?” Asks Quentin.
“The more countries there are to discuss, the more difficult it seems to make serious commitments, continues “Gwarr”. Perhaps we should first set an example at national or even local level. ANVCOP21 can mobilize potentially several hundred people for its actions of civil disobedience”. “We are clearly in the sights of elected officials,” sighs the activist. Not enough to discourage the continuation of the movement, however. Because it is starting to snowball. A trend common to all groups. “Each action is an opportunity to recruit new members,” confides a Last Renovation executive. Proof that civil disobedience is gaining ground, even if it currently concerns only a very small part of the population.
“There was a lot of criticism about throwing soup on a Van Gogh. But have we talked so much about the latest IPCC report or the 10,000 people who died this summer due to heat waves and the heat wave? We are disrupting daily life people to get out of our amnesia. Every year, we are dangled with the arrival of the next world… And nothing really moves. We can no longer be satisfied with that”, comments Quentin, from Dernier Rénovation. How far will these green movements go? “Tampering is not part of civil disobedience. But the limits will be pushed until there is a proper response to the issues,” warns Liam. “From a material point of view, if something contributes to the destruction of living things, it can potentially be destroyed,” even warned the activist. Governments are now warned.