COP25 Was a Failure, But Activists' Collective Organizing Was Unprecedented
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-16
The COP25 United Nations climate summit ended in failure Sunday, after negotiators failed to agree to a deal that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a key goal of the Paris Agreement. Scores of civil society groups condemned governments in the European Union, Australia, Canada and the U.S. for a deal that requires far less action than needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Indigenous leaders and environmentalists blasted the United Nations fo…
truthout.org/video/cop25-was-a-failure-but-activists-collective-organizing-was-unprecedented/

2019: A Year in the Life of Our Escalating Climate Crisis
Dahr Jamail | thenation.com | 2019-12-16
2019: A Year in the Life of Our Escalating Climate Crisis…
thenation.com/article/climate-change-2019/

Geoengineering is no climate fix. But calling it a moral hazard could be counterproductive
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-16
Desperate times call for desperate measures. In recent years and in the face of unprecedented changes in the climate system, some previously unknown and risky solutions have been proposed to put a halt to the chain of climate disasters, or at least to slow down the speed of their onslaught. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/16/geoengineering-is-no-climate-fix-but-calling-it-a-moral-hazard-could-be-counterproductive/

Climate: From Catastrophe to Cataclysm
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-16
Please watch the 23 minute video, linked below, to completion. It shows an interview of Dr. Peter Carter (Director Climate Emergency Institute, IPCC expert reviewer, Co-author in 2018 of Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival). This interview was conducted at COPS25 ("this is set up to fail") currently underway in Madrid,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/16/climate-from-catastrophe-to-cataclysm/

Investors Join Forces to Demand U.S. Energy Majors Align with Paris Climate Goals
commondreams.org | 2019-12-16
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/16/investors-join-forces-demand-us-energy-majors-align-paris-climate-goals?cd-origin=rss

The Centuries-Long History of Extractive Greed
Josue De Luna Navarro | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-16
Two years after spilling 407,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota, the Keystone Pipeline erupted again. In November, a North Dakota portion of the pipeline leaked another 380,000 gallons — adding to the millions of gallons of crude oil that have spilled from pipelines over the last decade, as Undark has reported. As the climate…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/16/the-centuries-long-history-of-extractive-greed/

Climate Change Accounting: The Failure of COP25
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-16
Prior to the UN Convention on Climate Change talks held in Madrid, the sense that tradition would assert itself was hard to buck. Weariness and frustration came in the wake of initial high minded optimism. Delegates spent an extra two …
globalresearch.ca/climate-change-failure-cop25/5697855

Millions Wasted on Charter Schools
Jeff Bryant | progressive.org | 2019-12-16
The Network for Public Education calls the findings in its recent report "nothing short of a national scandal."
progressive.org/op-eds/millions-wasted-on-charter-schools-bryant-191216/

Bolivia's New US-Backed Interim Gov't Wastes No Time Privatizing Economy
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-16
It has been barely one month since the administration of Jeanine Añez seized power in a military coup in Bolivia, but it has wasted no time in attempting to transform the economy and society. Its latest move is aimed at privatizing the country's economy. A government spokesperson confirmed the fears of many, claiming that "I believe the government should reduce its own size" and a protagonistic role should be given to private enterprises. In case that was not clear enough, he emphasized, "Yes, I'm talking a…
mintpressnews.com/bolivia-interim-government-privatizing-economy/263529/

COP25 Was a Failure, But Activists' Collective Organizing at the Talks Was Unprecedented
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-16
The COP25 United Nations climate summit ended in failure Sunday, after negotiators failed to agree to a deal that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a key goal of the Paris Agreement. Scores of civil society groups condemned governments in the European Union, Australia, Canada and the U.S. for a deal that requires far less action than needed to avert catastrophic climate change. Indigenous leaders and environmentalists blasted the United Nations for marginalizing civil society groups over two weeks of negotiations at the climate summit, while welcoming polluters.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/16/cop25_failure_asad_rehman_tasneem_essop

Germany's migrant-smuggling activist switches to climate cause, calls for civil disobedience and 'eco-socialism'
rt.com | 2019-12-16
Sea captain Carola Rackete broke the law to pull migrants out of the Mediterranean and bring them to Italy. However, support for immigration in Europe is falling, and the outlaw activist has embraced a new cause: the environment. | The line between 'activist' and 'criminal' is often a blurry one, and 31-year-old Carola Rackete has one foot to either side of it. A former conservation volunteer and officer on Greenpeace ships, the German activist took over the helm of the 'Sea-Watch 3' in June. A month later, she was arrested in Italy for docking on the island of Lampedusa with 53 migrants in tow. | The Italian…
rt.com/news/476032-carola-rackete-civil-disobedience/

Marathon Climate Talks in Madrid Fizzle to End With Slim Deal
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-15
MADRID — Marathon U.N. climate talks ended Sunday with a slim compromise that sparked widespread disappointment, after major polluters resisted calls for ramping up efforts to keep global warming at bay and negotiators postponed debate about rules for international carbon markets for another year. | Organizers kept delegates from almost 200 nations in Madrid far beyond Friday's scheduled close of the two-week talks. In the end, negotiators endorsed a general call for greater efforts to tackle climate change and several measures to help poor countries respond and adapt to its impacts. | U.N. Secretary-Genera…
truthdig.com/articles/marathon-climate-talks-in-madrid-fizzle-to-end-with-slim-deal/

An important opportunity lost as COP25 ends in compromise, but Guterres declares 'we must not give up'
news.un.org | 2019-12-15
Negotiations at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid finally ended on Sunday, wrapping up an event which saw much progress made by the private sector, and by national, regional and local governments. However, there was widespread disappointment that no overall consensus was reached on increased climate ambition.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053561

COP25 Was Moved to Spain to Conceal Chilean Government's Human Rights Violations
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-13
The concept of "loss and damage" and carbon markets are a sticking point at the UN's climate summit, and protests are continuing in Chile, the original site of the talks. Oxfam's Nafkote Dabi and Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch discuss the realities of COP25.
therealnews.com/stories/cop25-spain-chile-human-rights-violations

At COP25, Indigenous rights groups protest proposed tar sands mine
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-13
Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous leaders disrupted the events in the main hall of the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Madrid. Activists were protesting the massive tar sands mine being proposed in Northern Alberta, Canada and the lack of action by the assembled governments in addressing the climate emergency. | The Frontier Project of the Vancouver-based mining and energy company Teck Resources has generated a lot of controversy among Indigenous communities and environmentalists in Canada. Once operational, the Frontier Project would be the largest tar sands mine on t…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/13/at-cop25-indigenous-rights-groups-protest-proposed-tar-sands-mine/

Limits of the Green New Deal
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-13
The Green New Deal is an exciting social program generating a great deal of interest on the left. Like its predecessor, the New Deal of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the GND holds out the promise of preventing the worst effects of anthropogenic climate change, and guaranteeing a better standard of living for its participants. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/13/limits-of-the-green-new-deal/

Exxon Won a Major Climate Change Lawsuit–but More Are Coming
Zoà´ Carpenter | thenation.com | 2019-12-13
Exxon Won a Major Climate Change Lawsuit–but More Are Coming…
thenation.com/article/exxon-lawsuit-climate-change/

As COP25 goes into the night, Guterres calls for more climate ambition
news.un.org | 2019-12-13
With national delegations thrashing out an outcome agreement at the UN COP25 climate change conference in Madrid, the UN chief has called on countries to be more ambitious, side strongly with science, and commit to stronger action.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053521

COP25: Developing Countries Charge Ahead with Bold Climate Plans as Rich Countries Drag Their Feet
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-13
As this year's United Nations climate summit wraps up in Madrid, Spain, many activists, scientists, indigenous and grassroots climate leaders say that rich countries most responsible for the climate emergency have spent the talks dialing back ambition and blocking progress. This comes as deadly droughts, flooding, cyclones and wildfires rage around the world. This week, more than 70 developing countries have announced they will accelerate their climate plans, and 72 countries have signed onto goals to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But major emitters Australia, China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia have…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/13/cop25_developing_countries_charge_ahead_with

Climate Refugees: Climate-Fueled Drought, Sea Level Rise, Storms & Fires Displace Millions Worldwide
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-13
A new report reveals how long-term disasters, including sea level rise and desertification, and short-term disasters, such as storms and fires, are especially threatening to people living in the Global South and island nations. We speak with the co-author of a new study that finds the climate crisis is already leading to a massive increase in the number of refugees being displaced around the world. Hossein Ayazi is a policy analyst with the Global Justice Program at the Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. We're also joined at the U.N. Climate Summit in Madrid by Saleemul Huq,…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/13/climate_refugees_climate_fueled_drought_sea

Greta Thunberg at COP25: 'There Is no Sense of Urgency'
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-12
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, whom Time Magazine just named "Person of the Year," spoke to delegates at the COP25 climate conference in Madrid.
therealnews.com/stories/greta-thunberg-cop25-there-is-no-sense-of-urgency

'Embrace the transformation' to a carbon-neutral world by 2050, UN chief tells COP25
news.un.org | 2019-12-12
With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action event focused on greener jobs.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053331

A New Report Finds Massive Waste and Abuse in Federally Funded Charter Schools
Jeff Bryant | progressive.org | 2019-12-12
During the eight years that these federal grants were available, $504,517,391–28 percent of the total amount given out–went to charter schools that never opened or that have already closed.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/new-report-waste-abuse-charter-bryants-191212/

"We Want People Power Solutions": Activists Ousted from COP25 for Protesting Corporations at Summit
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
Inside the halls of the U.N. climate summit, hundreds of activists gathered Wednesday to demand rich countries step up their efforts to finance climate action. The protest began just as Democracy Now! was finishing our live broadcast, and we spoke to some of the people there from around the world, including Rita Iyke-Uwaka of Friends of the Earth Nigeria; Angela Valenzuela of Fridays for Future in Santiago, Chile; Sandra Tukup of CONFENIAE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon); Amalen Sathananthar of Artivist Network; Brandon Wu of ActionAid USA; and Nina Gualinga, an indigenous lea…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/cop25_protesters_forced_out_of_summit

Marshall Islands Climate Activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner Shares a Poem for Survival as Sea Levels Rise
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
Located in the central Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, the Marshall Islands are one of the world's lowest-lying island nations and declared a national climate crisis emergency in October. "We're looking at changing the entire physical landscape of our island so we can stay above water," says Marshall Islands poet and climate activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner. She joins us to describe the impact on her country and read her newest poem.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/marshall_islands_cop25_kathy_jetnil_kijiner

Greta Thunberg Slams COP25, Says Response to Climate Crisis Is "Clever Accounting and Creative PR"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
At the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed world leaders Wednesday, hours after she was named Time magazine's Person of the Year. Thunberg came to the talks after a trip to meet with climate leaders across North America in anticipation of the scheduled climate conference in Santiago, Chile, before the talks were abruptly moved to the Spanish capital. In her address, Thunberg warned that the planet's carbon budget is down to just eight years, and urged bold action. "I still believe that the biggest danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/greta_thunberg_speech_cop_time_magazine

Uganda's First Fridays for Future Climate Striker, Vanessa Nakate, Joins COP25 Protests in Madrid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-12
As we broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Madrid, Spain, we speak with climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who was Uganda's first Fridays for Future climate striker. "I wanted to do something that would cause change to the lives of the people in my community and my country," she says. "My country heavily depends on agriculture, therefore most of the people depend on agriculture. If our farms are destroyed by floods, if the farms are destroyed by droughts and crop production is less, that means that the price of food is going to go high. So it will only be the most privileged who will be able to buy food."
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/12/cop25_vanessa_nakate_uganda

COP25: Support business efforts to tackle climate change, urges Guterres
news.un.org | 2019-12-11
The UN Secretary-General has called on business and civil society leaders to press Governments into articulating policies that support private sector efforts to address climate change.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053231

COP25: Italy and Mexico pave the way on climate education
news.un.org | 2019-12-11
A commitment by Italy and Mexico to ramp up climate and environmental education has been welcomed by the UN office which supports global efforts to respond to climate change.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1053261

Chicago students take to the streets for the Climate Strike
Aviva Levine | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-11
"Planet over profits!"
liberationnews.org/chicago-students-take-to-the-streets-for-the-climate-strike/

"Shame!" Indigenous Leaders & Delegates from Global South Stage Dramatic Protest at COP25 in Madrid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-11
Democracy Now! was broadcasting live from the United Nations climate summit in Madrid, Spain, when hundreds of climate advocates and people's movements at the U.N. climate action summit staged a protest inside the conference venue. As the demonstration unfolds, we speak with Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network; Karin Nansen, chair of Friends of the Earth International; Nigerian climate activist Nnimmo Bassey with Health of Mother Earth Foundation; and indigenous climate activist Daiara Tukano from Brazil.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/11/cop25_walkout_indigenous_leaders_global_south

"The Most Extreme Fires We've Ever Seen": Record Climate-Fueled Wildfires Engulf Australia in Smoke
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-11
As world leaders gather to address the climate crisis in Madrid, massive wildfires have engulfed Australia in flames and smoke. More than 100 climate-fueled blazes have killed at least six people and pushed air quality levels in Sydney to 12 times hazardous levels. Thousands braved extreme air pollution Wednesday to protest the government's climate inaction outside Sydney Town Hall. As Democracy Now! broadcasts live from inside the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, we speak with Australian environmental scientist Bill Hare, director of Climate Analytics and a coordinator of the Climate Ac…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/11/australia_wildfires_2019_climate_change

Billionaire Presidential Hopeful Mike Bloomberg Addresses Press at COP25 But Won't Take Questions
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-11
Former New York mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg spoke at the U.N. climate summit Tuesday, saying he came to the climate talks because "no one from the White House" was there. The event was billed as a media opportunity, but Bloomberg refused to answer questions from the press. Bloomberg entered the presidential race in November and has since spent tens of millions of dollars of his own money on the race. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman followed Bloomberg through the conference venue, asking how he would address issues of inequality and whether his strategy to win the presidency was to outs…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/11/mike_bloomberg_cop25_amy_goodman

Sarasota students join global climate strike
Bryan Ellis | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-10
On Friday, 50 students and community members gathered at the Unconditional Surrender statue by Sarasota's bayfront to urge action on the global climate crisis.
liberationnews.org/sarasota-students-join-global-climate-strike/

New Climate Model Predicts Alarming Levels of Global Heating
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-10
Dr. Neil Swart of the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling & Analysis says a new model predicts nearly 8 ∞C of heating by 2100 in a high emissions scenario.
therealnews.com/stories/new-climate-model-predicts-alarming-level-of-global-heating

Milwaukee: People's Climate Coalition marches on Wells Fargo, Chase Bank
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-10
Milwaukee, WI — Several hundred people gathered on the morning of December 6 in downtown Milwaukee at Zeidler Park to demand that the big banks like Wells Fargo, Chase and other corporations divest from the fossil fuel industry. | Several classrooms worth of children from local public schools attended the event in support of a safe and livable planet for their futures. The People's Climate Coalition, consisting of local climate justice groups, put out the call and organized the event. | All representatives from the coalition and its allies were given an opportunity to speak. Each highlighted in different wa…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/9/milwaukee-people-s-climate-coalition-marches-wells-fargo-chase-bank

The U.S. Has Almost No Official Presence at COP25 But Is Still "Obstructing Any Progress"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-10
This week, Democracy Now! is broadcasting from inside the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, where representatives from almost 200 countries have gathered to negotiate solutions to the climate crisis. Known as COP25 for "conference of parties," the summit offers a rare opportunity for all countries, especially those on the frontlines of the climate crisis, to have an equal say in negotiations. It comes four years after the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to "well below 2 degrees Celsius," or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But as the summit heads into its final days, represen…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/10/us_role_at_cop25_obstructing_progress

"Listen to Mother Earth": Indigenous Youth Leaders at COP25 in Madrid Protest Fossil Fuel Extraction
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-10
"Our movements must be bigger than recycling and braver than holding signs," said Rose Whipple, a member of the Santee Dakota and Ho-Chunk, and youth delegate with SustainUS, who joined a panel of youth climate activists at the United Nations climate summit in Madrid, Spain. Indigenous peoples from Canada and the United States are at the summit, speaking out against extraction, new pipeline projects and the environmental devastation of their territories, and calling for movements to center the rights of indigenous peoples.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/10/listen_to_mother_earth_indigenous_youth

Asad Rehman on the U.K.'s "Climate Election" & Explosive Afghanistan Papers Revelations
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-10
We get response from London-based Asad Rehman, executive director of War on Want, on two major news developments: The United Kingdom — which will head the COP next year — is set to vote Thursday in what some are calling "the climate election," and the Washington Post has published a confidential trove of documents that reveal how senior U.S. officials have lied throughout the 18-year war in Afghanistan, the longest war in U.S. history, while hiding evidence the war had become unwinnable.
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/10/the_climate_election_uk_vote_afghanistan

Real climate action requires cutting coal exports
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-12-10
climate emergency Zane AlcornIssue 1248 Australia coal exports Adani Carmichael coal mineDecember 10, 2019On December 9, Labor leader Anthony Albanese reaffirmed his party's support f…
greenleft.org.au/content/real-climate-action-requires-cutting-coal-exports

Arizona educators, progressives confront ALEC summit and Betsy DeVos
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-09
Tucson, AZ – On December 4, a coalition of union educators, immigrant rights, police crimes, and climate change activists confronted the agenda of corporations like UPS and energy industry giants and billionaires like Charles Koch and Sheldon Achelson. At its height the crowd numbered around 200 with signs reading: "ALEC: Oligarchy in progress" and "Privatization, criminalization, incarceration, climate change, imperialism: #ALECisBehindIt." | The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a notorious organization of hardcore conservatives, was holding its States and Nation Policy Summit in Arizona. ALEC hoste…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/8/arizona-educators-progressives-confront-alec-summit-and-betsy-devos

Climate Change Fuels Hellfire in the City of Angels
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-09
California's fire season isn't over yet, but megafire events have already taken a major toll on the state and its inhabitants, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. Warm, dry climate change conditions have made housing in LA's "Wildland-Urban Interface" dangerous.
therealnews.com/stories/climate-change-fuels-hellfire-in-los-angeles

20 Million People Displaced Per Year by Climate Change
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-09
A new Oxfam International study shows that climate change-fueled disasters have been increasing dramatically in the past ten years, and are now displacing 20 million people annually from their homes. The burden is highly unequal, with the poorest suffering the most.
therealnews.com/stories/20-million-displaced-per-year-climate-change

Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron & BP Could Be Legally & Morally Liable for Climate Crisis in Philippines
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-09
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has just determined that 47 major companies, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Total, could be found legally and morally liable for human rights harms to Filipinos resulting from climate change. The commission found the companies could be held accountable under civil and criminal laws. Climate activists have hailed the decision as a landmark victory for climate justice. According to Greenpeace, this marks the first time big polluting companies have been found responsible for human rights harms resulting from the climate crisis. We speak to Yeb Saño, exe…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/9/shell_exxonmobil_chevron_bp_could_be

goodman climate refugees teaser
James Goodman | progressive.org | 2019-12-06
Climate change, pollution, and violence drive people to the U.S. border, even with no promise of a path to citizenship.
progressive.org/dispatches/fleeing-not-migrating-goodman-191206/

The answer to the climate crisis is obvious: ban climate protests
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-29
environment Carlo SandsIssue 1247 Australia Carlo's CornerNovember 29, 2019As Australia burns amid record-breaking temperatures and ongoing drought, and report a…
greenleft.org.au/content/answer-climate-crisis-obvious-ban-climate-protests

School climate strikers sit down outside Liberal HQ
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-29
Climate Zebedee ParkesIssue 1247 Australia School Strike 4 Climate SydneyNovember 29, 2019School climate strikers sat down in front of the Liberal Party's Sydney headquarters on November 29, as par…
greenleft.org.au/content/school-climate-strikers-sit-down-outside-liberal-hq