From October 19 - 22, 2021, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth US convened a Global Grassroots Leaders Summit to engage the voices on the ground from grassroots and community leaders from countries across the globe who are far too often left out of international climate conversations.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

RAAYA FAMAU AHMED

My name is Raaya Famau Ahmed, I'm also the executive director of a women-led organization called Lamu Women Alliance. Lamu, it's our paradise, with beautiful beaches, serene environment, a lot of wildlife. We don't have any single industry, so the air that we breathe is very fresh. Because this is a World Heritage Site, motorbikes and cars are not allowed here. It's only donkeys and people do walk. So we walk to the market, walk to the hospital and most of the people here walk barefoot because the land is still very fresh.

But we wanted the development, because when government brings development in a place, then it grows. It means they will take electricity to the people, they will take water to the people, there are people who are going to be employed. So we wanted this, but we were afraid of our government implementing the coal power plant project because they said that they are going to build it near the sea. And they will be dumping the harmful waste materials into the sea. The sea is the heart of Lamu people. Eighty percent of Lamu people depend on the sea. So we as Lamu people cannot just sit down and accept our government to implement a project that will harm the heart, which belongs to Lamu people. We want our country to generate electricity, but it should be a sustainable project.

A lot of people are very afraid of the government. People are telling us you should not petition the government. You know, these are big people, these are big corporate, but we believed as community, we are the power. We are the government. And we decided to soldier on. So the government decided to threaten some of us, and they sent 10 policemen to my house. And being a woman with children, I don't stay with my husband, my husband stays in Mozambique. So I normally reside with my two boys. One was 13, and the younger one was ten years. And they came to my house at 12 at night, and they said that they have information that I have a gun in the house. And my boys were really scared. And they were wondering what was happening because 10 policemen with guns and big sticks. I know I don't keep guns in my house, but I was afraid that maybe they would bring a gun and then say that they have found a gun in my house. And you know, here in Kenya, if they say that, it means you are done. My boys were crying and we didn't have anybody to help. Maybe they will take me to the police station, maybe they will shoot me, maybe will make me disappear and what will happen to my boys? I knew there are environmentalists who have disappeared, who have been killed. So but then there was a part of me telling me that no, you have to go on, you have to go on. 

I think it's a passion, you know, activity activism is a calling, so despite having all these challenges, I still have strength to go in front of the government in front of cameras on TV or radio and still say that no, this should not go on. The government have to give respect to community deliberations, and they have to implement projects which are sustainable. They should not sacrifice their own community at the expense of few business, few rich people, they have to uphold the human rights of their own people. 

Gerry’s son singing: “ADB spends public money on harmful projects and dirty energy, their new energy policy must exclude coal, gas and oil…”

I started as a student activist, going to the urban poor communities to work with them, empower them. It just moves me. That's my purpose. And now that I have kids, it's about their future.

So I'm Gerry Arances, currently the executive director of the Center for Energy Ecology and Development. I am also a lead convener of a broad coalition called Power for People.

No one can forget we were hit by the strongest hurricane typhoon in the history of humanity which really devastated and killed thousands, tens of thousands of Filipinos. In the last decade, there was a push by the Philippine government to actually expand the coal fleet in the Philippines. So it was mind-boggling from our end that our Energy Department is pushing for the same energy resources that has put the world in this dire situation. Fortunately for everyone, last year, we was able to force the national government to finally declare a coal moratorium.

Unfortunately, there's another detour. So because of all that winding down, there's a lot of pressure to import LNG, liquefied natural gas. One of the developments of the LNG expansion in the country was brought up when Secretary Kerry had a meeting with the Philippine government, and what they talked about was the support of the US government for the Philippines to develop its LNG industry. Quite recently, there was a USAID paper on the prospects of LNG development in the country. And it was a gross misrepresentation of what LNG will be doing to the power sector of the country. There’s no mention of the impact to the Verde Island Passage!

So the Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,000 Islands. Along with these beautiful islands are really rich marine biodiversity. Some would even compare it to the Great Barrier Reef. That passage is called Verde Island Passage. It's warm and you can see a lot of species underneath you. The shore fish. They look like Nemo. So there's a lot of Nemos and marine turtles, what we call in the Philippines as pawikan, the big ones. And then you see dolphins playing. And it's just, it’s just breathtaking.

That place is a hot spot right now of a massive expansion of liquefied natural gas facilities. Almost 90% of the planned LNG power plants now in the pipeline are all located beside the Verde Island Passage,  They drill. And there's a platform which basically sucks the gas from underground. And it would have massive implications, not just for biodiversity, but the tens of thousands of fisherfolks that rely heavily for their daily lives on their fish catch.

So you can see that it's not just double whammy. It's many layers of problems surrounding this massive detour. It is mind-boggling for us that LNG is still touted as a transition fuel. Why would a country that's supposed to be leading peddle the concept that Asia needs to get rid of its coal, but transition it to fossil gas as a bridge fuel? It's a no brainer to pursue renewable energy. It's clean, you get to achieve your climate targets. It's less impact to the environment. And it's indigenous. So all these detours are lame excuses for the status quo to still profit from our dire situations. 

So at 1.5 degrees, it's already a death sentence to many thousands and even millions of Filipinos. At two degrees, we lost 99.8% of our coral reefs. 60% of the protein intake of Filipinos depends on marine resources. 60%! Can you imagine the next generation not having that resources, which will be lost because of global warming?  

I have three kids, and I educate them on climate change. Like when we usually eat fish, I always tell them that you might end up not being able to eat this in the next 20 years, or 30 years. Because that's the fact. One of CEED’s and Power for People's engagements is the ongoing energy review of the Asian Development Bank, which is still opening up financing for LNG development in Asia. And my 7-year-old son was actually the voice behind one of the songs targeting the Asian Development Bank. So my son knows the politics of the ADB, the song goes like this, like ADB spends public money... and at the end of the song, he asked ADB you should be investing on renewable energy.

You can no longer imagine why the US or why developed country governments are pushing for LNG development. Something has got to change in this system. Unfortunately, many of our governments are actually captured by the massive lobby of big business. We need to change: the interest of the people first, before profits. Environmental justice is intrinsically connected to human rights. It goes hand in hand, the people's interest and the planet goes hand in hand.

Gerry’s son: “In a climate ‘mergency, planet earth, must be fossil free.”

MELISSA KOWARA

Alright, so here we have Eliza the pig. I like to name them. This is Hans the orangutan, who is completely endangered. And this one is Sausage the dog. And it's also an abacus to help children count.

I’m Melissa Kowara, and I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. And I'm actually a wooden toy maker. But recently, I've been a somewhat full time activist trying to save my own life and others around me.

I didn't even know about the situation of the climate crisis at all until maybe late 2018. And I panicked, I absolutely panicked. I started with a plastic straw, then went on to single use plastic, went on to a solar panel at home, went on to making a wooden toy workshop that upcycles waste wood.

Jeda Iklim means a break for the climate. It’s the climate strike of Indonesia. It started with a global climate strike in 2019. There was a march in the city center. 

Jeda Iklim sound from YouTube (0:14)

Went on the streets, did some yell yell chanting and whatnot. It was so exciting. It felt like there was hope. I think I lost my voice that day. That was the first time that I was able to channel my anger. 

Growing up in Jakarta, you were very exposed to the polarized world. I mean, it's just completely different extremes, that’s why you have the Crazy Rich Asians. And that’s how I felt my entire life. I felt guilty that I have all these privileges, that I can be in the car and people were begging outside of the street knocking on the window and I really couldn't do anything about it. But when I found out that it was a systemic injustice, I felt like this is it. We are all victims of the system that is designed to have people over-consume, it is designed to exploit. 

Indonesia is one of those places that are actually very vulnerable. Here in Jakarta, we had a massive flood, half the city was underwater. This year alone, we've had 6.3 million people having to seek refuge and suffer from disasters.  That's a huge number. When there’s disasters happening, the President himself would come out on TV and say that this is because of heavy rainfall. like, would you really blame the people to not understand science if the President himself is not really using proper science on TV? So the first demand is definitely for the government to tell the truth about the climate crisis. We need a legally binding, concrete plan from the government that promises real solutions.

A lot of people talk about uprooting the system. System change, not climate change. And I absolutely agree with this. But I would like to go further. Right now, the entire world economy is measured by GDP, money. In places like Indonesia, there's a huge part of the economy that does not even fall into the GDP. These are your informal economy.  So people who sell food in the streets, people who sell fruits in the market, people who give haircuts door to door. It's become apparent that money should matter less now, because when the planet is burning, there will be no use of money. When the last tree is cut, what are you going to buy oxygen from? Economy of the people is what matters. Instead of giving money to the corporations so that the corporations can create jobs that will then give them crumbs, directly fulfill the needs of the people by giving them things that will fulfill their needs permanently, renewably and independently. Things like energy sovereignty, water sovereignty, food sovereignty. Let the communities thrive without the need of money. That should be the goal of governments everywhere.

I strongly believe in the 3.5% theory. Throughout history, every single social movement that demands systemic change has been successful when done by at least 3.5% of the population through non-violent direct action. 100% success rate. So change is coming. The more messed up the world's going to get, the bigger the urge for change. We all want this to change and it will change in our lifetime. I’m so excited about that.

Music: Kedaulatan Rakyat (XR Anthem) by Pram (0:28)

The lyrics are: 

(Indonesian)

Kedaulatan Rakyat

kuasanya di kita

bisa dirasakan

selalu makin dekat

Kuasa Rakyat

Hidup Rakyat

(English)

Power to the people

The people got the power

Tell me can you feel it (x2)

Getting stronger by the hour

Power People

People Power