“Today, we use about 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground. So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change, and it has to start today.”
This Greta Thunberg quote was part of a speech at our recent Orillia Climate Strike on Friday September 15. We joined the more than half a million people in every continent across the world participating in the Global March to End Fossil Fuels. The scale of this mobilization and the urgency of the moment underscore the devastating impacts of recent record-breaking heat, deadly floods, wildfires and other extreme weather events. Our action was entirely youth-led, organized by a committee of over 15 young people in our community.
We were all here for one reason: to end fossil fuels around the planet. The science is resoundingly clear—coal, oil and gas are responsible for the climate emergency. So then why is meaningful action to avert the climate crisis proving so difficult? It can be attributed in large part to the fact that the fossil fuel industry has perpetrated a multi-decade, multibillion dollar disinformation, propaganda, and lobbying campaign to delay climate action by confusing the public and policymakers about the climate crisis and its solutions. All the while, big oil sees record profits.
So, what are the key demands of the Global March to End Fossil Fuels?
- No new fossil fuels – no new finance public or private, no new approvals, licenses, permits, or extensions. The provision of sufficient, consensual climate funding to realize this commitment everywhere.
- A rapid, just and equitable phase out of existing infrastructure in line with the 1.5C temperature limit and a global plan, like a Fossil Fuel Treaty, to ensure that each country does its part.
- New commitments for international cooperation to drastically scale up financial and technology transfers to ensure renewable energy access, economic diversification plans, and Just Transition processes so that every country and community can phase out fossil fuels.
- Stop greenwashing and claiming that offsets, carbon, capture and storage (CCS), or geoengineering are solutions to the climate crisis.
- Hold polluters responsible for the damage they’ve caused and make sure it’s coal, oil, and gas corporations that pay reparations for climate loss and damage and for local rehabilitation, remediation, and transition.
- End fossil fuel corporate capture. No to corporations writing the rules of climate action, bankrolling climate talks, or undermining the global response to climate change.
Where does Canada stand on the issue? Unfortunately, we don’t exactly have a great track record. According to Environment Canada, Canada’s climate is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Canada signed the Paris Agreement in 2016 and committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.
However, many research groups have rated Canada’s climate target, policies and climate finance as “Highly Insufficient” overall, indicating that Canada’s climate policies and commitments are not consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit. Notably, fossil fuel companies are increasing production and blocking climate action – they’ve got our government in their pocket. The fossil fuel industry lobbies (meets with) Canadian government officials 100+ times each month to ask for more funds and continued expansion.
We also see the Canadian government complicit in the face of extractive resource projects on unceded Indigenous land, such as the the Coastal GasLink pipeline currently under construction in northern B.C., which cuts through the heart of Wet’suwet’en territory and violates their laws.
Even closer to home in Ontario, the situation is worse. One of our speakers at the climate strike, Shaelyn Wabegijig, is one of the seven young people who are taking the Ford government to court for rolling back climate action in this province. In 2018, the Ontario government enacted a law and replaced relatively progressive emission reduction targets with a single, scientifically inadequate, target for 2030. The youth argue that these actions violate our charter rights for Life, Liberty and Security because it contributes to dangerous levels of GHGs to our already taxed atmosphere. The provincial government is also moving full speed ahead with fossil fuel production by: planning for two new highways sure to produce hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2; and awarding new contracts for four new natural gas facilities (the first new gas plants in over a decade).
Rest assured, we ended our Climate Strike with some good news:
- The state of California has become the largest economy in the world to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation treaty which calls for quickly and equitably phasing out fossil fuels. Oil and gas lobbyists tried to block the resolution, but the vote passed 43 to 16. It’s predicted that this resolution will have a huge effect on other endorsements in the coming months.
- 7 EU member states just saw their lowest use of fossil fuels on record for the first half of 2023. We are starting to see a very promising trend of coal, oil and gas on a steady decline while the uptake of renewable energy is growing drastically.
- In Ecuador, a huge oil drilling project in nearly 4,000 square miles of the Amazon Rainforest has been rejected by nearly 60% of voters. The Ecuadorian president does advocate for oil drilling but the people have spoken, which means this is yet another oil company that will have to cease operations.
- In a historic win, 16 young people sued the state of Montana for violating their state constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment by promoting fossil fuel projects and ignoring climate change. The judge overseeing their case ruled in their favour. This sets a precedent for future climate lawsuits across the country.
All across the world we are demonstrating the power of people, in Ontario most recently with Ford’s reversal on the Greenbelt lands. Our campaigning and advocating is causing so much noise that it’s impossible for our leaders to ignore us. This is an intergenerational, international, existential issue unlike any we’ve ever experienced as a species, but the future doesn’t look as scary when we come together and demand change. Together, we can build a fossil fuel free future!
Green Orillia is a volunteer-run community group focused on climate action, social justice, advocacy, education, democracy, and community resilience in Orillia and area. Follow Green Orillia on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, join the Facebook Discussion Group, sign up for the e-newsletter, or check out the website. Get in touch at greenorillia@gmail.com.