Occupy London holds ‘Big Green Day’ event on Sunday 18 December in its St Paul’s camp: Occupying for People and Planet

Occupy London holds ‘Big Green Day’ event on Sunday 18 December in its St Paul’s camp: Occupying for People and Planet

On Sunday 18 December, Occupy London – part of a global movement for social, economic and environmental justice – will hold an event on environment and the economy. The event will take place in the camp at St Paul from 10AM to late evening, and it will host expert speakers, debates, workshops, films, art and poetry. [1]

The event focuses on the exploitative economic system that pollutes our land, sea and air, causes unprecedented loss of natural species and irreversible climate change. While the most disadvantaged are already suffering the consequences of this reality, the 1% continues to profit and governments fail to act because of powerful vested interests and short-sighted opportunism.

‘Behind the economic crisis lies a deeper and in the long term more dangerous environmental crisis, and behind both is also a crisis of democracy, transparency and accountability’ says an organiser of the Big Green Day. ‘They are all caused by an endless quest for more profit, growth, and consumption.’ As the movement’s initial statement recognises, this is as much an environmental problem as it is a social and economic one.

The Big Green Day comes just eight days after the conclusion of the annual Climate Change conference, in which civil society and some diplomats ‘occupied’ the negotiations to protest against the woeful lack of progress. [2] Many blame this failure on the narrow self-interest and the influence of powerful industry groups on governments - the very problems the Occupy movement is fighting against. ‘We are destroying the natural capital which our collective prosperity is based on, while the short-term benefits are siphoned off by the global 1%’ echoes another Occupy London supporter. ‘If we don’t act now, a few generations down the line this will be remembered as an era in which greed and corruption prevailed over science, reason and common compassion.’

But change is possible. Some of the solutions at hand will be debated at Sunday’s event.  Questions will be raised about a system that gives rights to corporations and not to nature. Experts will talking about a vision for a Green New Deal in which capital is used for the public good: to secure our energy sources, to provide jobs and to create a more sustainable economy. ‘Fortunately we already have the knowledge and technology to reduce our environmental impact while maintaining our well-being’ concludes another organiser. ‘Every challenge is also an opportunity, every crisis can be the beginning of positive change. We need to question the very fundamentals of our economic model, look at sustainable activities and then act decisively.’

We invite individuals, and members of organizations and government, to join us to help co-create a positive, sustainable economic system that benefits present and future generations. Occupy is where we work together collectively to find real solutions.

We are Occupying for People and Planet – come and join us this Sunday at St Paul!

[1] Link to BGD programme.

[2] See: www.democracynow.org/seo/2011/12/9/frustrated_by_inaction_youth_delegates_occupy, www.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Protesters-Occupy-Durban-Climate-Conference-135333748.html, http://occupycop17.org/about