A global wave of actions to Break Free from fossil fuels begins

Starting today, a global wave of peaceful direct actions lasting for 12 days will take place across six continents targeting the world’s most dangerous fossil fuel projects, under the banner of Break Free.

This is the largest civil disobedience in the history of the environmental movement worldwide.

2015 was the hottest year ever recorded and the impacts of climate change are already hitting communities around the world.

From rising sea levels to extreme storms, the need to act on climate change has never been more urgent. Added to that, the fossil fuel industry faces an unprecedented crisis — from collapsing prices, massive divestments, a new global climate deal, and an ever-growing movement calling for change.

"There's never been a bigger, more concerted wave of actions against the plans of the fossil fuel industry to overheat our earth--and for the just, fair, and sustainable world we can now envision. In the hottest year on record, we're determined to turn up the political heat on the planet's worst polluters," Bill McKibben, co-founder 350.org.

The time has never been better for a just transition to a clean energy system.

To harness the moment, activists and concerned citizens committed to addressing climate change – from international groups to local communities to individual citizens – will unite to ensure that strong pressure is maintained to force energy providers, as well as local and national governments, to implement the policies and additional investments needed to completely break free from fossil fuels.

People worldwide are providing the much needed leadership by intensifying actions through peaceful civil disobedience on a global scale as so much remains to be done in order to lessen the effects of the climate crisis. This includes demanding governments move past the commitments made as part of the Paris agreement signed last month.

Actions taking place between 3-15 May include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, UK and US.

"Breaking free from fossil fuels is a vote for life and for the planet,” said Nnimmo Bassey, Nigerian activist from the Health of Mother Earth Foundation. “The Paris Agreement signed by world leaders ignored the fact that burning fossil fuels is the major culprit in global warming. In these actions the peoples of the world will insist that we must come clean of the fossil fuels addiction. In Nigeria we will in addition raise our voices to demand a cleanup of the extreme pollution caused by oil companies operating in the Niger Delta".

In order to address the current climate crisis and keep global warming below 1.5C, fossil fuel projects need to be shelved and existing infrastructure needs to be replaced now that renewable energy is more affordable and widespread than ever before. The only way to achieve this is by keeping coal, oil and gas in the ground and accelerating the shift to 100% renewable energy.

During Break Free people worldwide are rising up to make sure this is the case.

“Communities on the front lines of climate change aren’t waiting for governments to act. They are taking bold action, and the world needs to listen. The Paris agreement was only possible because millions of people spent years fighting for climate justice. Now that governments have committed to action, we must make sure they follow the science and deliver on their words. The only way to survive climate change is through a rapid just transition to 100% renewable energy, keeping oil, coal and gas in the ground,” stated Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International.