Initiated by international environmental non-profit organization 350.org, Global Divestment Mobilisation (GDM) has unfolded on May 5th. More than 260 events will be launched in 42 countries around the globe from May 5th to May 13th, responding to the call of fossil fuel divestment and calling out to the public, the government and the corporates to divest their money from fossil fuel energy in order to stop the climate crisis and air pollution caused by fossil fuels.
Joining the global movement, 350 Taiwan Team will also launch Global Divestment Mobilisation in Taipei, Taiwan. The event will be held in Huashan Creative Park, Xinyi district and Gongguan. Through playing games, 350 Taiwan Team aims to promote the concept of divestment and its projects to the general public. Doing so will engage the public to participate in international climate actions.
On the event, there will be a volunteer wearing a lung-shaped petition box. People are invited to fill the box with petitions on “Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform”. This is to call on the Taiwanese government to remove inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage environmental disruption, allowing Taiwan to be free from fossil fueled air pollution.
Investing in fossil fuel industries equals investing in climate change: Funding fossil fuel industries with high carbon emissions and high pollution will exacerbate environmental disasters such as global warming, extreme weather, sea level rise, and air pollution. These problems are highly relevant to both you and me. In Central and Southern Taiwan, people have long suffered from air toxicants such as PM2.5; in 2016, agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry sectors in Taiwan has lost about TWD 4.4billion due to super typhoons; same year, global temperature hit the record-high once again, these are problems happening right in front of our eyes, and unless we face the problems and work to solve them, they are not going to be resolved by themselves.
Divesting from fossil fuel industries is the most direct and powerful way of stopping its development. Thus, 350 Teams from around the world have initiated divestment actions one after another. In 2016, nearly 700 institutions in 76 countries around the globe have committed to divestment, making the amount divested up to 5 trillion USD. Taiwan should join in the world’s trend and utilize divestment as a key tool toward a sustainable society.
Time and Location:
- 5/5 (FRI) 13:00 – 17:00 Ximen (between MRT Exit 1, 3, 4, and 6)
- 5/6 (SAT) 13:00 – 17:00 Huashan Creative Park (Grand Green)
- 5/7 (SUN) 13:00 – 17:00 Xinyi (Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Plaza)
- 5/12 (FRI) 13:00 – 17:00 Gongguan (MRT Exit 2; Zhoushan Road)
- 5/13 (SAT) 13:00 – 17:00 Xinyi (Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Plaza)