Asia – On Monday 28th of February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release a seminal report presenting the most comprehensive scientific overview to date of the climate impacts communities around the world are suffering due to the ongoing exploitation of fossil fuels.
Sisilia Nurmala Dewi, 350.org Asia Managing Director says,
“The devastating impacts outlined in the IPCC report are driven by fossil fuels. They are driven by the systems of oppression and extraction that pushed vulnerable communities into climate catastrophe. Asia is a hotspot for human vulnerability, but vulnerable does not mean passive. Frontline communities continue to lead the way with solutions to the many impacts of the climate crisis, as well as bold demands for developed nations to drastically reduce their emissions and end fossil fuel finance.”
The IPCC’s findings, signed off by 195 governments, show that the most marginalised and vulnerable people are already being hit hardest by a range of devastating climate impacts from droughts to flooding. In response, 350.org and climate activists around the world are taking action to reclaim their future by launching a series of offline and online actions to keep fossil fuels in the ground and build a sustainable future for all.
Chuck Baclagon, 350.org Asia Regional Finance Campaigner says,
“Asia is home to more than half the global population, many of whom are highly vulnerable to the impacts highlighted in the recent IPCC report. Ironically, Asian banks are still the top lenders and underwriters for coal globally. The way out of this crisis is if we turn off the money tap to the fossil fuel industry and redirect it to community-led local solutions.”
Over the next week there will be actions across Asia holding polluters and financial institutions accountable, building hope in our communities and holding space for some of the grief and anxiety that this report might cause frontline communities.
Across Asia, we are building a movement, including youth activists and impacted communities, to tackle fossil fuel financiers like Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and many others.
In Indonesia, activists painted a mural outside of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) in Jakarta and displayed images of climate impacts caused by BNI financing of fossil fuel projects. In the Philippines, 350 Pilipinas members created a 3-D holographic projection calling on presidential candidates to prioritise climate justice. In Japan, climate activists will join frontline community members and climate scientists to unpack the IPCC report in an online webinar, translating scientific knowledge into solid actions.
Shibayan Raha, 350.org South Asia Senior Digital Organiser says,
“Communities in Asia continue to be innovative in the face of climate impacts, from the Solar Scholars in the Philippines to the BINDU Women in Bangladesh. But we cannot survive through adaptation alone. The IPCC report calls for urgent action to meet mitigation and development goals. Our governments, investors and banks cannot continue to pour billions into destructive fossil fuel projects like the Matabari Coal Plant. We say “no more money for fossil fuels”, listen to us.”
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Notes to editors
- Media contact: Drue Slatter, [email protected] +81 8075299441
- Link to media library (content available from 28th of February)
- IPCC science briefing