This issue of Fossil Free News was originally published November 2 via email – sign up here for future editions.
No matter where fossil fuels are burned, we all pay for their environmental and health impacts.
That’s the message that groups around the world have been sharing this week through a variety of creative actions that have been giving us inspiration to fight on, with hope, to build a renewable and just future.
In Turkey, villagers affected by three polluting coal mines in Muğla city joined together to demonstrate against plans to extend the mines. And in Germany, 6500 people from across Europe took part in the largest civil disobedience action for climate justice that the country has ever seen by temporarily shutting down an important coal mine railway line. In South Africa, after a long campaign fighting for their rights, the Lesetlheng community celebrated an important court ruling that mining companies cannot just remove communities standing in their way.
Take a look at the full stories below, and have your say by standing in solidarity with the people fighting for the right to fresh air in Turkey. And if you haven’t yet done so, don’t forget to sign up for future editions.
After years of suffering from the deadly impacts of lignite mines and coal burning in their lands, the villagers of Muğla in Turkey came together to remind us all that coal pollution affects everyone — no matter where it is burned, we all pay the price. Local villagers projected photos of themselves in front of Yatağan coal power plant (which you can see in the image above) — a thermal coal power plant that had its license to operate renewed after 30 years of polluting the air and soil, poisoning olive trees responsible for much of the local livelihood, and causing irreversible damage to the health of the community. You can stand in solidarity with the people of Muğla who are battling coal by sending them a message here.
Last weekend, 6500 people took action in the largest action of civil disobedience for climate justice that Germany has ever seen with Ende Gelande. They blocked an important railway line transporting coal from the Hambach mine to nearby power plants, and occupied one of the diggers in the mine’s coal pit. Ende Gelande is a broad alliance of peoplethat has been mobilising ever larger numbers of people into action year after year. You can see more photos and videos from the inspiring action on their Facebook page.
In Haiti last month, our Latin American team joined Rijlf-Haiti, a network of youth leaders, as they celebrated their first anniversary. They held a training session with 40 youth leaders on taking climate action to create long-term change. The participants will be able to take the training to other youth groups in their respective communities, and build an engaged climate network across the country. See more photos from the training session here.
In South Africa, communities celebrated a landmark win when the country’s Constitutional Court “unanimously found that mining companies cannot simply remove land owners or lawful land occupiers from their land, even if the company has been awarded mining rights to mine the land in question.” Lawyers involved with the case say the ruling has considerably empowered communities affected by mining. Read more about what happened inside the court case here.
But first, it needs to get funded!
350 Australia wants to make a film that will empower people to take real climate action. In the wake of the IPCC’s urgent new report demanding drastic action to halt global warming to 1.5C, the team wants to make a film that can show how people can fight for no new fossil fuel projects, push for a fast and fair transition to 100% renewable energy, and ensure not a penny more is spent on dirty energy. Watch a preview of the film here and support their crowdfunder if you can.
These are dark times, with headlines that can make us despair at the direction we’re heading in. But every single day, there are powerful stories of resistance and movement wins around the world that bring us hope. We’ve pulled together a few in the video below:
But what has given you hope this week? Let us know on Facebook and we’ll keep celebrating the things that inspire us to keep going