Climate Change: Root causes not addressed in Paris

Source: Times Argus

Tomorrow kicks off the final week of negotiations here in Paris at the United Nations’ COP21 climate talks.

I’m here as one of two representatives of the Vermont Workers’ Center, joining a delegation of more than 100 grass-roots leaders from the United States and Canada who have traveled to Paris to speak out against the proposed global climate agreement, which falls far short of what is needed to avoid global catastrophe.

Unlike many of the jet-setting conference-goers here in Paris, this is my first time crossing the Atlantic. I’m a single mom with two kids, born and raised in Brattleboro. Since I was a teenager, fighting for economic and racial justice has been a matter of survival. Through my work with the Vermont Workers’ Center and our national allies, I’ve come to see the interconnections between environmental and social justice issues and the need to build unity between our movements.

Our “It Takes Roots to Weather the Storm” delegation is here in Paris alongside thousands of others — peasant farmers, trade unionists, students, indigenous peoples, immigrants — who are raising the banner of “system change, not climate change.” We believe real climate solutions must address the root causes of climate change — breaking with the logic and institutions of capitalism, racism, and sexism, and building alternative visions based upon human rights and ecological stewardship.

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