10 November 2020
How the Asia Climate Rally collective was born ?
Despite our inability to go down on the streets this year, the climate movement doesn't remain idle. Since last year, a camaraderie across youths organizing strikes in Southeast Asia was built.
Internally, the loose collective held online learning classes, and meetings to understand what we are facing is not only a national issue but a transboundary one.
We have came out as a collective voice to increase visibility of the climate rallies in Southeast Asia last year. Read our press release in September 2019, "Our House is on Fire". September 2019 climate rally was the largest assembly of youth on the streets demanding governments across Asia to walk the talk and start to ACT.
Who are we ?
Youth climate groups from across Asia strikes back in 2020
In the year 2020, the collective began striking digitally and physically in May 2020 and the most recent September 2020, where Malaysia participated in a hybrid of digital action and physical action below
In November 2020, the collective of youth climate activists across Asia gets more organized and working collaboratively more than ever. On November 11th, we kick start with our press conference, watched more than 5000 people, to inform the media of the Asia Climate Rally, or ACR campaign -- the first in Asia to increase public participation in demanding our governments, banks, multinational businesses and institution to shift towards JUST RECOVERY.
Five collective demands
across 10 ASIAN countries including Malaysia are:
1. Climate action NOW!
Ensure urgent implementation of bold climate action that encourages the divestment from climate polluting fossil fuel industries and invest in renewable energy;
2. Defend environmental defenders and uphold people's democracy!
Protect the lives of our environmental and human rights defenders and actively advocate for climate justice and people’s democracy;
3. Policies for the people and planet!
Strengthen climate and environmental laws and policies to uphold the holistic health of the people and the environment and repeal environmental destructive laws and policies;
4. Demand ambition, collaboration, & accountability!
Ramp up our country’s NDCs, accelerate the implementation of measures to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and demand accountability from big climate polluters because of their contribution to the worsening impacts of the climate crisis while providing spaces for genuine youth participation; and
5. Towards a just recovery!
Implement proactive efforts to achieve a green and just response to the climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of common but differentiated responsibility and socio-economic justice.
Finance in Commons
This ACR campaign also coincides with Finance in Commons, the first summit of all public development banks. To give an overview, the public development banks financed billions of dollars for an industry that will not have a future in a decarbonized economy. As seen below, the top 4 public financiers of coal are China, Canada, Japan and Korea. Asia has some of the most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis, but also one of the biggest funders of the fossil fuel industry.
We are urging our governments and public development banks to divest from dirty industry, and invest in our futures. The ACR committee wrote an open letter for the World Bank, the AIIB, the ADB and Public Development Banks (PDBs) to stop using public money to finance the deadly fossil fuel industry. Read it here on our website !
Read the declaration of these banks, released on 12th November, in pursuit of recovery, aligned with Paris Agreement. We will continue to monitor such pledges.
Malaysia Action
>> Get updates by following our social media !
Apart from the regional action, Malaysia through Klima Action Malaysia run the local campaigns to increase pressure towards our MPs in the November parliamentary sitting, as well as increase public participation on defending the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve.
Read our Malaysian demands & activities in our digital action infokit ! Participate in the digital action with twitter storm templates and use the climate artworks that we provided to creatively put your messages out there !
Regional Day of Action - 28th November
The ACR campaign will hold a Regional Day of Action on 28th of November. Your voices are crucial to hold governments and corporations accountable. We are a new breed of climate activism, led by the youth but not only for the youth, building resistance across borders.
We want transformation in all levels of society regardless of age, socio-economic background, and most of all providing safe spaces for vulnerable communities and environmental defender to speak out !