You must stop pretending that we can solve the climate- and ecological crisis without treating it as a crisis

Here are our demands of this open letter:

These are some first steps, essential to our chance of avoiding a climate- and ecological disaster​.

• Effective immediately, halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels.

• EU member states must advocate to make ecocide an international crime at the International Criminal Court.

• Include total emissions in all figures and targets, including consumption index, international aviation and shipping.

• Starting today – establish annual, binding carbon budgets based on the current best available science and the IPCC’s budget which gives us a 66% chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C. They need to include the global aspect of equity, tipping points and feedback loops and shouldn’t depend on assumptions of possible future negative emissions technologies.

• Safeguard and protect democracy.

• Design climate policies that protect workers and the most vulnerable and reduce all forms of inequality: economic, racial and gender.

• Treat the climate- and ecological emergency like an emergency.

We understand and know very well that the world is complicated and that what we are asking for may not be easy.​ The changes necessary to safeguard humanity may seem very unrealistic. But it is much more unrealistic to believe that our society would be able to survive the global heating we’re heading for, as well as other disastrous ecological consequences of today’s business as usual​.

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The last few months the world has watched with horror how the COVID-19 pandemic has hit people all over the globe. ​During this tragedy, we are seeing how many – not all – world leaders and people around the world stepped up and acted for the greater good of society.

It is now clearer than ever that the climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, neither from the politicians, media, business, nor finance. And the longer we keep pretending that we are on a reliable path to lower emissions and that the actions required to avoid a climate disaster are available within today’s system – or for that matter that we can solve a crisis without treating it like one – the more precious time we will lose.

There is one other thing that has become clearer than ever: Climate and environmental justice can not be achieved as long as we continue to ignore and look away from the social and racial injustices and oppression that have laid the foundations of our modern world. ​The fight for justice and equity is universal. Whether it is the fight for social, racial, climate or environmental justice, gender equality, democracy, human-, indigenous peoples’- LGBTQ- and animal rights, freedom of speech and press, or the fight for a balanced, wellbeing, functioning life supporting system. If we don’t have equality, we have nothing. ​We don’t have to choose, and divide ourselves over which crisis or issue we should prioritize, because it is all interconnected.

When you signed the Paris Agreement the EU nations committed to leading the way. The EU has the economic and political possibility to do so, therefore it is our moral responsibility. And now you need to actually deliver on your promises.

Net zero emissions by 2050 for the EU – as well as for other financially fortunate parts of the world – equals surrender. This target is based on a carbon budget that only gives a 50% percent chance of limiting the global heating below 1,5°C. That is just a statistical flip of a coin which doesn’t even include some of the key factors, such as the global aspect of equity, most tipping points and feedback loops, as well as already built in additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution. So in reality it is much less than a 50% chance.

And distant emission targets will mean nothing if we just continue to ignore the carbon budget – which applies for today, not a faraway future.

Talking about a “Next Generation EU” investment program while continuing to ignore the climate crisis and the full scientific picture is a betrayal to all “next generations”. Science doesn’t tell us exactly what to do. But it provides us with information for us to study and evaluate. It’s up to us to connect the dots. Well, we have done our homework and we will not accept your extremely irresponsible gamble. The insufficient 50% budget means giving up. And that is simply not an option to us.

Of course we welcome sustainable investments and policies, but you must not for one second believe that ​what you have discussed so far will be even close to enough. We need to face the full picture. We are facing an existential crisis, and this is a crisis that we can not buy, build, or invest our way out of. ​Aiming to ‘recover’ an economic system that inherently fuels the climate crisis in order to finance climate action is just as absurd as it sounds. Our current system is not ‘broken’ – the system is doing exactly what it’s supposed and designed to be doing. It can no longer be ‘fixed’. We need a new system.

The race to safeguard future living conditions for life on Earth as we know it needs to start today. Not in a few years, but now. And this needs to include a science based pathway which gives us the best possible odds to limit the global average temperature rise to below 1.5 °C. ​We need to end the ongoing wrecking, exploitation and destruction of our life supporting systems and move towards a fully decarbonised economy that centres around the wellbeing of all people as well as the natural world.

If all countries were to actually go through with the emission reductions they have set as goals, we would still be heading for a catastrophic global temperature rise of at least 3-4°C. ​The people in power today have so far practically already given up on the possibility of handing over a decent future for coming generations. They have given up without even trying.

The world’s planned fossil fuel production by the year 2030 accounts for 120% more than what would be consistent with the 1,5° target. It just doesn’t add up.

When you read the IPCC SR1.5 Report and the UNEP Production Gap Report, as well as what you have actually signed up for in the Paris Agreement, even a child can see that the climate and ecological crisis cannot be solved within today’s system.

That’s no longer an opinion, it’s a fact based on the current best available science.

Because if we are to avoid a climate catastrophe we have to make it possible to tear up contracts and abandon existing deals and agreements, on a scale we can’t even begin to imagine today. And those types of actions are not politically, economically or legally possible within today’s system.

In order to limit global heating to 1,5 degrees, the upcoming months and years are crucial. The clock is ticking. Doing your best is no longer good enough. You must now do the seemingly impossible.

And even though you might have the option of ignoring the climate crisis, that is not an option for us – for your children. Right now, there is no place on earth where children face a future in a safe environment. This is and will be very much a reality for the rest of our lives. We ask you to face the climate emergency.

by:
Luisa Neubauer

Greta Thunberg

Anuna de Wever van der Heyden

Adélaïde Charlier

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This letter has been signed by the following people, along with thousands of activists and citizens, and hundreds of scientists.

Malala Yousafzai, Activist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Founder Malala Fund
Billie Eilish, Artist and Activist
Leonardo DiCaprio, Actor
Priyanka Chopra Jonas , Actor, Producer, Activist, Unicef Goodwill Ambassador
Opal Tometi, Human Rights Activist, Writer and Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter
Shawn Mendes, Artist
Michael Mann , Distinguished Professor, Penn State University and Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Coldplay
Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Laureate and Human Rights Activist
Ben Stiller, Actor, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
Sônia Guajajara, Indigenous leadership, Executive Coordinator of APIB (Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation)
Mark Ruffalo, Actor, Justice Activist
Greenpeace
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber , Atmospheric Physicist and Founding Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Scientist
Emma Thompson, Actor
Naomi Klein, Author, Rutgers University
Margaret Atwood, Author
Jake Gyllenhaal, Actor
PETA
Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, University of Manchester
Annie Lennox OBE, Singer, Songwriter, Activist
Ellie Goulding, Artist
Baltasar Garzón, lawyer (former Judge of the National Court of Spain). President of the International Baltasar Garzón Foundation, FIBGAR
Jojo Mehta, Co-Founder, Stop Ecocide
Valérie Cabanes, international law expert, End Ecocide on Earth
Carlos Nobre, Earth System Scientist, University of São Paolo
Russel Crowe , Actor
Kumi Naidoo, Global Ambassador of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace & Dignity
Stefan Rahmstorf, Professor of Physics of the Oceans at Potsdam University
Bill McKibben , Author and Founder 350.org
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim , Indigenous Peoples representative and Coordinator of the Indigenous Women and Peoples’ Association of Chad
Joaquin Phoenix, Actor, Environmentalist, Animal Rights Activist, Producer
The 1975
Daniel Ellsberg, US Economist, Human Rights Activist and Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Björk, Artist
Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel , Secretary General German Advisory Council Global Change
Juliette Binoche, Actor
350.org
Jameela Jamil, Actor, Founder of I Weigh
David Hogg, Co-Founder of March For Our Lives
George Monbiot, Writer and Activist
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actor
Susan Sarandon, Actor
Nicolas Hulot, Author and Former Minister for the Ecological and Solidary Transition of France
Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-President The Club of Rome
Simon McBurney OBE, Director
Dr. Vandana Shiva , Indian Scholar and environmental activist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director Greenpeace International
Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Chrissy Hynde, Artist
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of CAN International
Varshini Prakash , Cofounder and Executive Director, Sunrise Movement
Dallas Goldtooth, Keep it in the Ground Campaigner, Indigenous Environmental Network
Sabine Gabrysch , Professor of Climate and Health at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Professor Gail Whiteman, Executive Director, Arctic Basecamp
Winona LaDuke , Economist, Author and Co-Founder of Honor the Earth
Lily Cole, human being
Rajiv Joshi, Community Organiser & Founder, Bridging Ventures
David Suzuki, Academic and Activist
Isak Stoddard, CEMUS Uppsala University
Alyn Ware, Peace Activist and Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Mercy For Animals
Farhana Yamin , lawyer and climate activist, Think & Do Camden
Peter Kalmus, Data Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, Secretary General of CARE International
Dr. Ruchama Marton, Founder and President of Physicians for Human Rights, Right Livelihood Laureate
Raoul Martinez, Author
János Vargha , Hungarian Biologist and Photographer, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Roger Waters , Artist
Jane Fonda, Academy Award-winning actor, founder of Fire Drill Fridays
Prof. Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro , President of Fundación para la defensa del ambiente, Argentina, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Kate Raworth, Author Doughnut Economics , University of Oxford
Stella McCartney , Designer
Prof. Dr. Anwar Faza l, Director of the Right Livelihood College, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Peter Sarsgaard, Actor
Igor Levit, Pianist
Sigrid, Artist
András Biró , Hungarian Journalist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Francesca Martinez, Comedian
Nnimmo Bassey , Nigerian Architect, Health of Mother Earth Foundation and Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Rina Sawayama , Artist
Angie Zelter , Trident Ploughshares, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Volker Quaschning , Engineer and Professor on Renewable Energy, Co-Founder of Scientist for Future
Beabadoobee, Artist
Dr. Monika Hauser , Founder of Medica Mondiale, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Tokatawin Iron Eyes
Rajiv Joshi , Founder Bridging Ventures
Dr. Sima Samar , Chairperson Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Laurie Anderson, Artist
Mike Skinner, Artist
Basil Fernando , Asian Human Rights Commission, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Jon Hopkins, Artist
Martín von Hildebrand , Founder and Director of Fundación GAIA Amazonas, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Brian Eno, Music Producer
Frances Moore Lappé , Co-Founder Small Planet Institute, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
March For Science
Arizona Muse , model
Sarah Shanley Hope, Executive Director The Solutions Project
Tony Rinaudo , Agronomist, World Vision, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Rania Batrice, March For Science, Interim Executive Director
Dr. Lucky Tran, March For Science, Managing Director
Sinéad Gleeson, Author
Hunter Lovins , Natural Capitalism Solutions, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Alejandro Sanz, musician, singer and composer, Spain
Dr. Paul F. Walker , Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Mercy For Animals
Mohamed Adow , Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa
Warren Ellis, Author, Creator
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Engel, Environmental Economist
Ludovico Einaudi , Pianist and composer
David Byrne, Artist
Udo Lindenberg , Musician
Jenny Ricks , Fight inequality alliance Global Convenor
GRAIN, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka) , Artist
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Dr. Ayana Johnson , Marine Biologist
International Baby Food Action Network, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Dolores Huerta , President and Founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers
Olivier De Schutter Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human right at
the United Nation
Pat Mooney , Founder ETC Group, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Extinction Rebellion
Helen Mack Chang, Fundación Myrna Mack, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Siila Watt-Cloutier, Canadian Inuit Human Rights and Environmental Activist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Dr. Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, Council of Canadians, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Walden Bello, Filipino Human Rights and Environmental Campaigner, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
John F C Turner, British Architect, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Juan Pablo Orrego, President, Ecosistemas, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Nicanor Perlas, Center for Alternative Development Initiatives, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Fred Gibson , producer
Rainn Wilson, Actor
Prof. Dr. Theo van Boven, Dutch Human Rights Activist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Bianca Jagger, Founder, President and Chief Executive, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Sam Fender , Artist
Jacqueline Moudeina, Chadian Laywer and Human Rights Activist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Khadija Ismayilova, Azerbaijani Investigative Journalist, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Alice Tepper Marlin, President and Founder, Social Accountability International, Right Livelihood Award Laureate
Ben Howard, Artist
Roger de Weck, Author and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe
Prof. Dr. Swati Banerjee, Professor and Chairperson, Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation (CLSI), School of Social Work,Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Pierre Ozer, scientist, teacher at ULiege Belgium
Marie Esmeralda, Princess of Belgium, activist
Dr. Friederike E. L. Otto, Acting Director Environmental Change Institute
Professor Raveendran, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), Right Livelihood Award Laureate

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