The Glasgow Agreement is an international platform made up of various organisations which aim to coordinate themselves and use novel strategic tools in order to fight for

climate justice Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...

Scientific background

It is accepted by the vast majority of scientists that the greenhouse effect which warms the Earth is increased by the emission of vast amounts of greenhouse gases by human activities. In a November 2019 statement published in an issue of ''

BioScience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...

,'' a group of over 11,000 scientists argued that describing global warming as a ''climate emergency'' or ''climate crisis'' was appropriate. The scientists stated that an "immense increase of scale in endeavor" is needed to conserve the

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

, but noted "profoundly troubling signs" including sustained increases in livestock populations, meat production, tree cover loss, fossil fuel consumption, air transport, and CO₂ emissions—concurrent with upward trends in climate impacts such as rising temperatures, global ice melt, and extreme weather. Also in November 2019, an article published in ''Nature'' concluded that evidence from climate tipping points alone suggests that "we are in a state of planetary emergency". The ''Nature'' article referenced recent IPCC Special Reports (2018, 2019) suggesting individual tipping points could be exceeded with as little as 1—2 °C of global average warming (current warming is ~1 °C), with a global cascade of tipping points possible with greater warming.

Strategic background

By taking into account the above mentioned climate urgency and the global institutional response which has not prevented the global rise of

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

, the platform claims the most effective strategy to prevent climate breakdown to be that of large-scale

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

against the infrastructures responsible for said emissions. Based on an inventory which will take into consideration the specific political conditions of each territory, their historical responsibilities, and infrastructures/sectors/companies, the organisations of the Glasgow Agreement that are located in a given territory claim they will develop priorities for emission cuts through a list of infrastructures to be shut down through different tactical tools (mainly those focused on direct action), such as

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

, and politico-economic non-cooperation. This ''climate agenda'' based on territorial inventories and climate justice demands aims to keep the Earth below 1.5 °C global warming by 2100 by reaching the emission cuts needed for that effect.

Climate justice

Is defined by the platform as a social and political framework and demand for the redistribution of power, knowledge and wellbeing, proposing a new notion of prosperity within natural limits and just resource distribution. In this respect, some main points discussed in the agreement include: * The recognition of the interdependence between all species and affirmation of the need to reduce, with an aim to eliminate, the production of greenhouse gases and associated local pollutants * The acknowledgement and integration of the care economy into daily life * Support for structural changes in society in regards to

systemic racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and suppor ...

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

* A defense for a

just transition Just transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulati ...

for workers currently employed in the sectors that need to be dismantled * A rejection of

green capitalism Eco-capitalism, also known as environmental capitalism or (sometimes) green capitalism, is the view that capital exists in nature as "natural capital" (ecosystems that have ecological yield) on which all wealth depends. Therefore, governments ...

as a viable framework for change

References

{{reflist Climate change and society Direct action

Scientific background

Strategic background

Climate justice

See also

References