You say my tone has changed. Not in a bad way. Just different. More personal, more human.

Of course. The climate is changing, why wouldn’t I? Me, you, the world around us - we work in tandem. Animals get sick, we get sick. The planet burns, we choke. Forests thrive, we grow. The climate crisis disrupts the status quo - so shall we.

You tell me creating a just and regenerative world requires sacrifice. I say we have been in a constant state of sacrifice every day we do not create that world.

You tell me it’s hard. It’s a path laden with frustrating dead-end negotiations, broken bike tyres, false solutions and rich men telling us to calm down.

I say nothing is harder than the path of least resistance. Nothing is easier, more joyful, more natural than opting out of the road to 3 degrees.

greendreamerkamea

A post shared by kamea (愷渼)🌺 (@greendreamerkamea)

The world changed - we are changing it back. I am changing back.

Men in suits in glass towers have been telling us what we need and how to live. They have made childish attempts to keep us divided and disconnected as a population. To turn us into stereotypes. Left wing or right wing. With us or against us. Success or failure.

No. I believe we are not divided, we are diverse. Just like an ecosystem, we need a hundred different opinions and experiences to keep the world running.

You see, the climate movement, we are the counter-revolution. The anti-radical, back-to-basics pendulum swing. The common sense approach. We’re bringing back the parks and forests and the hope. We’re rebuilding the communities and diversity and independence that we lost.

We are resting and rejecting the guilt trip to keep ‘hustling’ for the boss. Sustainable growth is in the soil, not the banks. And we are doing these things because they are good for us and good things to do. That’s it. That’s all.

earthrise.studio

A post shared by earthrise (@earthrise.studio)

Creating a safe world for our children is the only profit we seek to reap.

We work in tandem. When we reclaim our health, it means reclaiming planetary health. To grow - we need to plant seeds.

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What’s Going On?

Focus On… Corporate Justice

“Total… stopped me from using my land and yet they have not paid us. Now I am in total suffering. I have no way of getting food because my main source of food was from farming on the land that has been taken.”

— Anonymous person living in Uganda, where TotalEnergies displaced thousands of people from their homes to drill oil wells without consent.

“The smoke from the fires caused long-term damage to my breathing and my heart. I ended up with brain trauma as well, which is the reason I face difficulty talking. I cannot walk either. Because of all this I cannot work, rendering me unemployed.”

— Muhammad Hanif, a worker who survived a factory fire in Pakistan caused by negligence by German fashion retailer KiK.

Coalition campaigners stand outside a prop of a giant scales that say 'Tip the scales' and are holding pebbles that have been marked with the words 'Power to the people' and 'Justice' — Campaigners outside the EU Council on the campaign launch day. Philip Reynaers / Photonews

European businesses have been exploiting people and the planet for decades without repercussions.

We are a coalition of civil society and trade union organisations from around Europe and beyond. We are launching the Justice is Everybody’s Business campaign because we believe people power is crucial for meaningful change.

In early 2022, the EU proposed a law to turn corporate accountability into a reality. This legislation will require EU businesses to identify and prevent human rights exploitations and damage to the environment throughout their supply chains.

But after decades of European companies exploiting workers, destroying natural habitats, displacing communities from their homes, driving carbon emissions and chopping down trees for corporate profit – and with corporate lobbyists working hard behind the scenes to make sure nothing changes – you’d forgive us for being sceptical.

This law could be huge. But this is just the first step to cleaning up supply chains built on exploitation.

Corporate lobbyists are working to water down the proposed law. So we launched the JIEB campaign to counter their lobbying attempts and defend a due diligence law that works.

What does ‘due diligence’ even mean?

Due diligence is a process that gives companies guidance on how to identify risks of harm in their investments and supply chains, including their subsidiaries, subcontractors, and suppliers. A due diligence requirement would require businesses to fix and improve conditions in their operations to prevent and end these harms to people and the environment.

So what does that actually look like? How do you hold companies accountable?

We have 10 demands for exactly what an effective law would look like.

Companies that abuse human rights or the environment in any way must be held legally responsible through civil liability (which means, for example, they could be ordered by a court to compensate people affected by their activities or to cease with the activity that causes harm) and administrative liability (meaning they can be sanctioned for failing to conduct due diligence to prevent harm from occurring, even if it hasn’t occurred yet).

Also, everyone – including workers, trade unions, human rights defenders, land and environmental defenders, communities and civil society – must be able to get justice if a corporation’s activity violates their human rights or local environment.

Isn’t it just a few ‘evil’ corporations doing these things? Why do we need an EU law?

The European Union is the largest single market in the world, but only 16% of European companies carry out human rights due diligence checks on their investments and supply chains, according to a 2020 study for the European Commission. Even fewer are doing anything to mitigate their impact on the environment and climate.

Many companies make voluntary commitments, but these cannot be enforced by the state or the courts, making it almost impossible to make sure companies are actually doing anything.

How can I support the campaign?

Campaigners at the giant artificial scales add pebbles to the weights to tip the scales — Campaigner at the campaign launch outside the EU Council. Credit: Philip Reynaers / Photonews

You can sign the call for an effective law on our website, and spread the word through our social media toolkit using the hashtags #JusticeNotProfit and #HoldBizAccountable. You can also learn more about due diligence and corporate justice through our case studies.

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So Now What Do I Do?

LEARN MORE

Read: 5 small but radical ways to change the world right now.
Does your phone break every year? Find out why it’s so hard to repair tech these days - and what to do about it. 14th September.
Tune into NYC Climate Week 19th - 25th September for a series of talks and events on climate action.

TRY SOMETHING NEW

CHANGE THE SYSTEM

Apply to be a facilitator encouraging young people to apply for funding for green transition projects! Deadline 9th September.
UK: 16-24 underrepresented activists can apply for the Climate Youth Society to be paired with an experienced campaigner! Deadline 11th September.
Why not shoot your shot to be the new Secretary-General of Youth Environment Europe? Full-time job in Prague. Deadline 20th September.

By the way…

The Brussels Climate Drinks are back! 14th September at Kamilou. Are you joining?
The Green Fix is now offering low-cost sponsored slots on the newsletter. Book your slot here.

Stay in the loop

You can connect with me on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also follow the Green Fix Twitter and LinkedIn page here for more climate opportunities.

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