Building a world ecojustice movement -- by Tord Björk

(This platform is published with the permission of the author. Tord Björk has been an environmental activist since 1972. He is coordinator of the Contact group for Europe and the World in the Nordic Organizing Committee for ESF 2008; coordinator of the EU Committee, Friends of the Earth - Sweden; and chair of the Society for Knowledge on Activism and Popular Movements/Association.)

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We call for contributing towards building a movement of movements for climate justice by three broadening activities at the Klimaforum09 in Copenhagen in December:

1. To build a constructive programme for solving the climate crisis by changing production and consumption models providing jobs or access to resources for everyone.

2. To strengthen cooperation among movements based in communities and daily life experiences as well as political struggles at the national and international level, aiming at transforming society. by means of ecojustice solutions.

3. To build a movement of movements for climate justice beyond the Copenhagen Summit, by planning for actions in 2010 and afterwards.

We seek the broadest possible cooperation [with other civil society groups] in preparing these activities; we see as a contribution to the declaration process initiated by Klimaforum09. This political strategy will be based on:

• The political platform for Klimaforum09
• The political platform for Climate Justice Action
• The political platform of Climate Justice Now! network founded at Bali 2007
• The Peoples Campaign against Climate Change statements (one, two and Bangkok Oct 2009)
• The statement by the assembly of climate justice movements at the World Social Forum in Belem in January 2009
• The statements by the preparatory assembly of the European Social Forum and the ESF network on climate change, Vienna, June 2009
• Stop the Violence Against Oil War Refugees! statement September 2009

1. To build a constructive programme

We need a constructive program for sustainable patterns of production and consumption in industrial, urban and rural contexts. Contributions to this program will come from Klimaforum seminars on food sovereignty... [proposals for] alternative industrial production, reforms of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and urban planning ... and a consumption model based on global justice.*

2. To strengthen cooperation

There is a need to strengthen the cooperation between environmental, peasant, women's, indigenous, pacifist, trade union, urban and other civil society groups -- to promote a common struggle for climate justice and against repression and criminalisation of popular movements.
We hope to exchange experiences and discuss future strategies at the Klimaforum.

3. Action: to build a movement of movements 2010+

This will be a core aim of the Klimaforum, with regional discussions and discussions among different movements -- to contribute to a plan for a movement of movements for
climate justice.

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See also Tord Bjork's other writings on the world social movement, his discussions with Australian activist Anthony Kelly, Paul Hawken's Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement In the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming (2007) and website WiserEarth.org.