COP21: Movement voices call for demonstration as Paris climate talks is extended

French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, has announced the high-stakes climate talks in Paris will not end on Friday as planned, but will last at least until Saturday.

Top officials from more than 190 countries are trying to agree on the text of what would be an unprecedented deal for all countries to reduce man-made carbon emissions and co-operate to adapt to rising seas and increasingly extreme weather caused by human activity.

According to Mr. Fabius, “Things are going in the right direction” but says “there is still work to do”.

Civil society delegates at the UN climate talks declare that the latest draft of the text failed to live up to promises made by world leaders at the opening of the Conference.

The CSOs demand that the negotiators commit to creating a binding agreement that is fair for all countries on the planet. This involves that all countries show ambition by drastically reducing pollution rates, that wealthy countries contribute their fair share into the green climate fund, and that developing countries have what they require to adapt to how they are affected by climate crisis.

“We must come together to protect the people who are suffering first and most brutally from the impacts of climate change around the world”, said Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace Executive Director.  “We must push our elected leaders to respect the calls of justice and push for a world powered by renewable energy rather than dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. When this polar bear roars, she roars for billions of people, and she roars loudest for those on the frontlines of climate change.”

African CSOs under the banner of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has described the text as “unacceptable” and called on African Ministers and negotiators not to agree to the text.

Negotiators from China, the US and other nations haggled into the early hours over how to share the burden of fighting climate change and paying for a transition to clean energy on a global scale.

As the negotiators struggle to secure a final agreement, activists are mobilizing for a major “Red Lines” demonstration Saturday in the streets of Paris.

Thousands of activists are planning to converge at an undisclosed location for a creative and powerful gathering to show the movement’s commitment to keep up the fight for climate justice.

People will carry red flowers to honour the past and future victims of climate change, as well as to signify their personal commitment to keep taking action long after the climate talks end.

Public demonstrations, including the major march that was planned to open the summit, have been banned because of the State of Emergency.

The “Red Lines” action is an unpermitted event – one of the first times people have returned to the streets of Paris for a major demonstration since the tragic attacks of 13th November.

On Wednesday, organizers released a letter from prominent movement voices inviting people to take part in the demonstration, and emphasizing the importance that the event remains peaceful.

“This gathering is about respect,” they wrote. “We know that our leaders have shown little respect—not for the rights of people on a planet torn by inequality and racism, nor for the red lines for a just and livable planet. Lines we should dare not violate. So we will stand with our bodies to draw red lines, committed to protect our common home from burning up.”  

The Red Lines action is intended to launch a new wave of what some activists call “climate disobedience,” civil disobedience actions that challenge the fossil fuel industry, often at major infrastructure projects like coal mines or pipelines.