ISL international socio-environmental meeting: yeah look up. there is no planet b

The magnitude of the global climate crisis leaves no room for denialism. The elites and world economic powers appropriate the concept of ecological transition as a distraction plan in the face of the growing degree of popular awareness of the socio-environmental disaster. In business mega-summits with ecological packaging, budget incentive plans are encouraged with public money for the sustainable reconversion of polluting corporations. They are variants of green capitalism in the hands of sorcerer's apprentices. Faced with this scenario, from the Executive Committee of the International Socialist League we convene the First International Socio-environmental Forum in the month of September with the participation of referents of groups, activists and representatives of countries of the 5 continents. From South America and Western Europe to Africa. From Australia to Central America. From Eastern Europe to South Asia, going through the middle east. because we and we, we do look up.

ByMariano RosaCoordinator of the Ecosocialist Network of Argentina

Last year Netflix released "Don't look up", starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The plot of the movie is very simple.: a group of young scientists discover through astrophysical calculations that an asteroid is going to hit the Earth in six months and cause a mass extinction. The story expresses three ideas that we rescue to present a parallelism with the current planetary panorama, real, non-cinematic:

• collapse is inevitable, scientifically proven in advance.
• Political and economic powers promote disinformation, confusion and exits at low economic cost for large capitalist companies.
• We see the size of the mess, but, even so they want to hide it from us.

Against the current of common sense installed by those in charge, the group of young scientists combat the idea of ​​"not looking up", that is to say: they combat skepticism in conditions of extreme minority.

Of course we are not going to romanticize that movie or uncritically recommend any Netflix cultural product with all its ideological load.. But we do take an underlying message as orientation and basis for the call to our 1st International Socio-environmental Forum: yes, we look up, With wide open eyes. Because there is no planet B.

not another minute

The book "Losing the Earth", by Nathaniel Rich raises an unappealable thesis: in 1979 we already knew practically everything we know today about climate change. climate science in the 70 Y 80 anticipated the central coordinates of the dynamics that today is being fulfilled almost to the millimeter in terms of the greenhouse effect. Expect, postpone, to deny, distract, It is the response that the capitalist powers of the world deployed from then until today. James Hansen, NASA climatologist, published in 1981 an article about it in the journal Science and appeared in 1988 before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Presented categorical evidence pointing to a clear conclusion: CO2 emissions derived mainly from the massive use of fossil fuels cause an upward increase in the average temperature of the planet. He gave a resounding voice of alarm in the heart of the imperialist political power. He was stigmatized and persecuted. Condemned to scientific ostracism.

even more, in the prehistory of the socio-environmental movement, we know today that scientists from the Exxon oil company accurately predicted in 1982 the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere that we recently reached. With that input as a precious social instrument in hand, the corporation chose to hide everything and earmarked millions of its ad budget to foment unabashed militant climate denialism. after all that, IPCC reports followed one another since 1990 until the last one a few weeks ago, all the hypotheses of Hansen and of the climatologists of long ago were verified and supported with scientific solidity 50 years. But to end this section of the article, a fact that quantifies the consequences of capitalist delay in urgent measures: since 1992 To date, 50% of all CO2 emissions in the history of mankind have been emitted into the atmosphere. Awesome.

Sorcerer's apprentices seeking to square the circle

As the emissions curve grew year after year, the need for structural and global measures became evident. This corners global capitalism and its economic dynamics that presses towards a permanent expanded and petrodependent reproduction.. For emergency rescue 1% paid spokespersons for climate science are always on time to offer innovative technological solutions. Since some years, few, the intervention of these unworthy science figures is clearly noticeable in the IPCC reports riddled with various acronyms: 

• BECCS(Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage).  
• DAC(Direct air capture). 

These novel solutions would make it possible to make capitalism compatible with the reduction of emissions. They are called “negative emission technologies”, and its purpose would be to remove the CO2 that already exists in the atmosphere. Thus, so, What are the consequences of the action of these discoverers of the quadrature of the circle?: 

Fossil fuels can continue to be burned for longer.

Operate a slower decarbonization and forget about the cumbersome drastic reduction plans. We can even temporarily exceed the heating limits of 1.5 or 2ºC to then return to stabilize the climate below.

Although the foregoing seems to incur a certain exaggerated technicality, actually, is what the “net-zero” slogans hide, “carbon offsets” and “nature-based solutions” that dominate official climate policies around the world.

However, what is the small and secondary detail? They were never tested or working, nor the viability of these technologies.

Definitely, like in Di Caprio's film, instead of deflecting the asteroid, the direction of the official climate policies of dominant capitalism wants to risk the fate of the entire civilization to very expensive and uncertain technological instruments capable of solving everything at the last minute. Be the tenths shouting: no way!

With eyes wide open: to understand, Act, change what is necessary

Make 20 O 30 years, Possibly denialism had more room for action and powerful influence. But as the impacts of global warming became more visible, social awareness increased. Especially with the green wave of pre-pandemic youth mobilization that forcefully put the seriousness and urgency of the matter on the agenda with major international protests.. Otherwise, the spotlight is now on eco-social rescue measures for our civilization.

and in that plane, the anti-capitalists and eco-socialists of the LIS, We have a lot to talk: by fighting experience, by theoretical-political elaboration, for actually having your eyes wide open to understand, act and transform everything that is necessary.

From that perspective, to the left of the entire so-called international community co-opted by corporations, We convene the 1st International Socio-environmental Forum, and we especially make a call to the youth that fight throughout the world against the atrocities caused by the capitalist productive matrix and that threaten the future of planetary life.

In order to reach common conclusions and organize ourselves consciously, we are going to propose deliberating in panels with exhibitors from various countries on various strategic thematic axes: 

• The socio-environmental crisis on the current agenda: Marx's clues and the point of no return.
• Territorial resistance.
• The environmental balance of Stalin's USSR: from Chernobyl to false socialism.
• The disputed transition: ecosocialist internationalism in its own defense.

With participants from 5 continents. over the borders. With the historical task of activating the emergency brake. 10 Y 11 of September. Because there is no Planet B.