Green events at the COP19

1. Energy transition - necessity or chance? Three cases: Germany, France, Poland
Thursday, 14 November

2. Citizens' energy for a good climate
Friday 15 November & Saturday 16 November

3. March for Climate and Social Justice
Saturday, 16 November

Energy transition - necessity or chance? Three cases: Germany, France, Poland

Thursday, 14 November, 2pm - 6:30pm
Warsaw, Poland, pl. Defilad (special temporary construction of the City of Warsaw)

In the face of resource depletion and advancing climate change, energy transition towards sustainable/low carbon energy is becoming a necessity. Such a transition can also be an opportunity - to increase economic competitiveness and create jobs, to improve the quality of life through a cleaner environment, etc. However, this process should be based on a large public debate, in which citizens are an equal partner in a comprehensive and transparent discussion on the future of energy and on the way of life we want to pass on to future generations.

The climate summit in Warsaw provides an opportunity to promote the energy transitions of EU pillar countries such as France and Germany.

For Germany, the abandonment of nuclear energy and the development of renewable energy are the most important. In France, the debate is ongoing, but the orchestration and ambition of the debate itself is worth promotion.  New ideas, like “circular economy," enter the debate to show that energy transition is just the beginning of profound systemic transformation that must happen in the future. Poland’s economy is based on coal, which is considered a national resource (even if more and more of the coal is imported). Poland’s transition to low-carbon energy seems to be possible mostly through energy efficiency, which we would like to promote.  We would also like to provide the Polish government the opportunity to share with the international public its ministerial vision of the energy future of Poland, in the context of climate change.

Source: http://energytransitioncop19.evenea.pl/

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Citizens' energy for a good climate
A Greens/EFA participatory conference about Poland and its future

Friday 15 November & Saturday 16 November
Palace of Culture and Science (IVth floor), Warsaw, Poland

At the next COP19, all eyes will be on Poland. Not only will the country have the chance to lead the UN climate negotiations and play a key role on the international stage, it will also have an opportunity to weight in the debate about the future of the European Union itself. For this reason, the Greens/EFA group organise a debate with both the Polish citizens and activists from around the world. Our aim is to give everybody an opportunity to express their views about the Polish, European and global choices about the future.

http://www.greens-efa.eu/citizens-energy-for-a-good-climate-10558.html

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March for Climate and Social Justice

Saturday, 16 November

This year’s international climate negotiations, the Conference of the Parties, take place in Warsaw, Poland, from 11 to 22 November. During the middle weekend, on Saturday 16th, there will be a march under the heading “Just transition and decent work”. To show the negotiators that we’re still watching and still care, to show that we will not accept false solutions and to demand an agreement that is ecologically sustainable and socially just.

The March will start in the afternoon from the Palace of Culture and Science, in the historical centre of Warsaw, and will end at the National Stadium where the negotiations take place.

To make sure we get as many people there as possible the Belgian network, Climate and Social Justice, is organizing a train to Warsaw, like we did in 2009 for the March in Copenhagen. The train will leave from Brussels Friday 15th in the afternoon and can make extra stops in Aachen, Köln, Berlin and Poznán to pick up passengers. We’ll be back Monday 18th, early in the morning.

The ticket price for a round trip will depend on the number of passengers: if there are 500 people it would be 150 euro, from 750 onwards it would be 100. There won’t be a train for less than 500 people so register now and help us make this possible! We need you to book a seat on the train and spread the word.  This won’t happen without you!

More information on: train.climatejustice.eu

Source: Pusheurope.org.

Adam Ostolski: Miners and Greens, unite!

In November 2013, we shall witness another climate conference (COP) – this time in Warsaw. It’s not hard to see the plan of Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk: it’s stopping the possibility of a global agreement that would force Poland to switch to renewable energy sources. Is there a chance that we can stop this? Yes, but only if we create a broad alliance against neoliberalism and for a just energy transition. In this endeavour, a crucial partner for ecologists could be miners.

Climate policy is the one policy area in which Donald Tusk’s right-wing government is impeccably consistent. Poland vetoed plans for a more ambitious climate policy of the European Union, is hesitant to implement the EU legislation on green energy or energy efficiency, and hampers global agreements regarding this issue. Talking climate to the Polish government is a Sisyphean task.

There is a good side to this – ecological circles seem to now understand that there is no use in trying to make the government change its mind. In effect they are starting talks with the miners. One striking example was a conference held in March 2012, called Black-Green Round Table, organised by Zielony Instytut (Green Institute) and the Trade Union of Miners in Poland (ZZG). Experts from both sides talked about Poland’s climate policy – a discussion which achieved some common points.

[read the full article in the Green European Journal]

Europe from Below

Europe from Below is a conference co-organized by the Polish Greens, the Polish Teachers' Union and the National Union of Nurses and Midwives in Warsaw, 7th September 2013.

Programme in English

11.00-11.30 Opening of the Congress and welcome speeches

11.30-13.00 Europe after the Fiscal Compact

In which direction is the European Union heading to? Is there a chance to build Europe oriented to the needs of its citizens, rather than banks and financial markets?

Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA MEP), Agnieszka Grzybek (Co-leader of the Polish Greens), Łukasz Moll (Greens, moderator), Leokadia Oręziak (Warsaw School of Economics)

13.00-13.30 - Lunch

13.30-15.00 - Education - a common good

All over Europe, austerity policies include cuts in education. Will education survive the present crisis? What reforms can we, and what reforms should we demand in response to the neoliberal policies?

Sławomir Broniarz (President of the Polish Teachers' Union), Elżbieta Gajek (Professor at the University of Warsaw), Danuta Kuroń (founder of the Open University in Teremiski), Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA MEP), Dorota Obidniak (Polish Teachers' Union, moderator)

15:00 - 15:15 - Coffee break

15.15-16.45 - We are all patients

There is a strengthening pression to privatize health care and limit access to health services, not only in countries affected by austerity. What are the consequences of such policies and how can we oppose it? What sort of health care harmonization should we demand on the EU level?

Kinga Dunin ("Political Critique", Medical University of Warsaw, moderator), Ska Keller (Greens/EFA MEP), Adam Ostolski (Co-leader of the Polish Greens), Lilianna Piotrowska (National Union of Nurses and Midwives)

16.45-17:00 - Coffee break

17:00-18.30 - Internet and digital citizenship

ACTA is down, but new threats to the freedom and privacy on the Internet are looming large. Negotiations on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership may bring about laws similar to those in the ACTA. The PRISM scandal revealed the extent to which citizens of Europe are already invigilated. How to oppose these tendencies and build a world where our digital rights would be safeguarded?

Michel Bauwens (P2P Foundation), Józef Halbersztadt (Internet Society Polska), Bartłomiej Kozek ("Green News", moderator), Radosław Pietroń (Polish Pirate Party), Eleanor Saitta (Open Internet Tools Project, Geeks Without Bounds)

18.30-18.45 - Closing of the Congress

The Vestas occupation crucial for our climate struggle

The occupation of the Vestas wind turbine factory in the Isle of Wight is now at the heart of the environmental struggle in Europe.

We often fight for numbers, such as emission targets and quotas. We support political leaders (not many) who understand the urgency of the climate crisis. And we fight against politicians incapable of taking (or unwilling to take) urgent measures to prevent the catastrophe -- against people like Bush or Klaus. This is very important. But finally, we will not be able to lower our carbon footprint without proper infrastructure. We need wind turbines, solar panels, efficiency technologies etc. We need more people employed in green economy. We need not only clean technologies, but also economic demand for clean technologies; and both should be created with government's support, if necessary.

It would be an immense waste to shut down the factory now, when the challenge of climate crisis calls for massive investment in renewable energy sector, and the challenge of economic crisis calls for an earnest effort to create -- not destroy, Mr. Miliband! -- millions of green collar jobs all over Europe.

The Vestas occupation is not only about one factory, or about one country. It is about the sector of green energy in Europe. And about the future of our planet.

Please, take your time to visit the protest's website or to write a few words of support at: savevestas[at]gmail.com.

Adam Ostolski and Bartłomiej Kozek