Deforestation in Africa accelerates ~ UN food agency | CGTN Africa
https://africa.cgtn.com/2020/05/07/deforestation-in-africa-accelerates-un-food-agency/

Africa is the only continent in the world where deforestation is accelerating, according to key findings of a five-year report released Thursday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“One explanation is certainly population growth in the region. Much of the deforestation in the region is due to small-scale subsistence agriculture,” Branthomme told AFP.

Insufficient poverty reduction, combined with population growth, “is increasing the pressure on forests, which is very unfortunate since forests in Africa are also a very important source of food, firewood, wood energy,” she added.

At the global level, forest loss has continued to slow, though this positive trend has weakened over the past decade.

Amid Oil Price Crash, Climate Change Protesters Urge Divestment From Fossil Fuels
https://foreignpolicy.com/...crash-revives-fossil-fuel-divestment-campaigns-climate-change-activism/

“There might not be another moment where there is the political and economic window to take the drastic action on climate that is necessary,” said Connor Chung, the communications coordinator for Divest Harvard, a student activist organization. “We don’t have the luxury of trusting that we can nudge the industry into behavior or that the market will fix the problem by itself.”

Divestment organizers—climate activists who are pushing government and financial institutions to divest from the fossil fuel industry—have been using the pandemic’s ripple effects throughout the global economy, most notably through the oil and gas sector, to demonstrate just how dire the need to remove pension funds and other investments from the struggling sector really is.

biden / climate

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1262110174698811392.html

We're seeing climate policy teams emerge to try and fill the deficit in Biden's plans & the void left by the suspension of the Bernie campaign,& it's important to understand that they aren't offering unique policies: this may be a strategic shift, and one that is questionable. /1

Let's start with the basics: writing policy isn't hard. Most of the ideas were born from the frontlines & organizers, with feedback into academic/policy spaces- primarily to legitimize them. What's hard is navigating political landscapes, which have shifted. /2

The big prize is defining Biden's climate plan right now, which is garbage. Biden needs the youth vote to win,& youth care about climate. That gives us tremendous leverage.

These climate think tanks are positioning themselves as a solution for Biden & climate activists /3

The big question is 'whose side are they on?' It can't be both, even if they believe it.

So it's important to understand their self-interest- whether it's career-building, saving the planet for kids, etc. & it's VERY important to understand their theory of change. /4

If their theory of change relies on closed-door deal-making, climate activists will lose. This has been the strategy for decades, & it's cost us dearly.

If it's grounded in leveraging the power of a mass movement to win demands that they turn into policy, that's better /5

My concern is that there is more focus on getting positioned within the Biden camp than enabling the movement, & the fear of another Trump presidency is being used to excuse a strategic shift to focusing on a primarily inside vs. outside strategy./6

Here's the thing: Biden will lose without the youth vote, which is more diverse & concerned w/ justice & climate than other generations. He will need to make large concessions to build enthusiasm for his campaign. I don't think attempts to manufacture consent will be enough. /7

The movement is in shock right now, but PEOPLE still have the power. If climate policy groups are conceiving their value as connecting Biden w/ voters, then they need to authentically represent the will of people. Not through grasstops 'consultation,' but by aligning w/ them /8

People need to be making grassroots demands. The demands need to be winnable, have science-driven timelines, materially improve people's lives,& alter the relations of power.& we must fight for them.

This criteria is important for policymakers too-esp altering power relations /9
The Biden climate taskforce may host some of these dynamics. It may be good that Bernie appointed people that have a theory of change anchored by people power.

Policy groups will compete for influence.
But the participation of people will determine its value. /10

A return to closed-door deal-making would be the nail in the coffin of real change. The power to win real change ultimately lies with PEOPLE, & policy groups w/ interest in real change need to join movements & adhere to the will of people-not replicate hierarchies of power. /11

We can't allow fear to drive us back toward familiar patterns of "change-making" that have failed to deliver the progress we need. There is too much at stake to stop fighting- we have leverage right now. The New Deal wasn't gifted: it was a concession to prevent revolution /12

We are powerful, and we must be brave enough to use our power for authentic victories. If we stick together, we can win. A better world is still possible. 13/13

DRSH: já to nechápu

TADEAS:

Amazonie mizí. Tempo jejího odlesňování se kvůli koronaviru urychlilo
https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/...ovani-pralesa-se-za-pandemie-koron/r~eb749f1e984411eab0f60cc47ab5f122/