Multicultural Grassroots Delegation from the US to Take Direct Action and Hold Events During COP23 in Germany

by It Takes Roots / submitted to Earth First! Newswire

In one week the It Takes Roots Delegation, a U.S. coalition, will journey to Bonn, Germany for the UNFCCC Climate Change Convention. This past year the Trump administration has not only backed out of the Paris Agreement but has also made an oil executive secretary of state and has nominated a climate denier to be the head of NASA. These decisions are putting Indigenous and Black and Brown communities at severe risk of climate change impacts and extreme weather.

In response and in solidarity with frontline communities across the globe, It Takes Roots, a coalition comprised of North American based networks of grassroots organizations such as Global Grassroots Justice Alliance, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Climate Justice Alliance, and Rights to the City will be participating in and hosting events throughout the UN Climate Change Convention, Nov 6th – Nov 17th, 2017.

From California to the Canadian provinces and down to the Gulf of Mexico, Indigenous communities and communities of color are experiencing the impacts of climate change now; whether that be through sea level rise and the loss of land, extreme weather or changes in seasons, which are impacting both urban and rural communities’ health and way of life. The last few months alone have witnessed climate-intensified disasters including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria that ravaged Puerto Rico, Houston, and Florida, to the eight-county wildfires in one of the deadliest firestorms in California history. The It Takes Roots Delegation will be at COP23 to ensure that these struggles are recognized and to bring more awareness to false solutions, such as offsets and emissions, frontline fights to protect water, and the disregard of human and Indigenous rights in the Paris Agreement.

EVENTS and ACTIONS:

November 4th: Civil Society March

November 5th: Endegalende Direct Action; People’s Climate Summit Plenary

November 6th & 7th: Climate Justice Summit

November 7th & 8th: Global Rights of Nature Tribunal

November 7th: U.S. People’s Delegation Press Conference 11AM

November 9th: US People’s Delegation Speak Out

November 11th: No Climate Change March; US Peoples Delegation Town Hall

November 13th: WECAN Women and Climate Event

It Takes Roots is a national multi-racial alliance, led by women, Indigenous Peoples, and queer people of color who are on the frontlines of racial, housing, and climate justice across the US and Canada. It Takes Roots brings together 150 organizations in 30 states nationwide & in Canada.