Rainforest Action Network on its Climate work

I helped RAN lead a series of escalating creative actions, culminating
in a massive un-permitted action inside the U.N. with more than 250
young people delivering one clear message: “SURVIVAL IS
NON-NEGOTIABLE” As the coordinator of our Action Tank project, I went
to the negotiations with the objective of helping train hundreds of
young activists, and coordinate fresh new actions that had not been
seen at the U.N. before.

I had the privilege of working with more than
500 young people from over 50 countries, collaborating across borders
and putting forth a powerful collective vision of climate justice, of
a climate deal based on binding science-based targets that
incorporated justice for those most directly impacted by climate
change. We coordinated two actions daily for two weeks, all connected
to RAN’s work on climate change, Indigenous rights, coal and oil. We
placed placards that read “survival” on all the official delegate
seats, creating images powerful enough that they landed on the cover
of the Wall Street Journal. Within 48 hours of agitating, lobbying,
negotiating, protesting and pressuring, we mobilized more than 80
countries to sign a pledge committing countries to ensure the
“survival of all peoples and nations” — a moral ask that has deep
policy implications. After our huge demonstration, I was pulled aside
by delegates and dignitaries. One woman told me, “I am in a very high
position in my government in Norway. Youth doing actions like this
makes my work pushing for stronger targets easier. Thank you.”
http://www.ran.org

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