From 'Front-Lines of Climate Crisis,' Gathering Calls for New Economy

That is the theme of an international gathering that kicked off Wednesday in Richmond, California, bringing together hundreds of people on the front-lines in the fight against environmental destruction and social inequality to tackle the ambitious question: how do we build an economy that works for people and the planet?

“Our growth-driven, global economy is about to crash the planet… Now we are in a moment of transition, but what is not clear is whether justice will be part of that transition.”
–Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan, Climate Justice Alliance

Under the banner of a campaign called “Our Power,” participants hail from dozens of organizations representing indigenous peoples, people of color, and working-class white communities that collaborate through the Climate Justice Alliance. Three days of conversations and strategizing will conclude Saturday with a day of action to highlight local alternatives to fossil fuel dependence.

This is the first national gathering of Our Power and, according to organizers, builds from an intense season of mobilization, including a gathering of youth and young adults that took place in Detroit in June, as well as ongoing preparation for the the Peoples Climate March and Summit, to take place in September in New York. Those convened in Richmond are ultimately shooting for a big goal: connecting local, national, and international struggles of the marginalized and dispossessed to chart a “just transition” to a new economy.

“Our growth-driven, global economy is about to crash the planet. Communities on the front-lines of this crisis have been feeling that for a long time,” Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan, co-director of Climate Justice Alliance, told Common Dreams. “Now we are in a moment of transition, but what is not clear is whether justice will be part of that transition. It is critical for communities on the front-lines to be leading the transition so solutions don’t throw anyone under the bus. No community, place, or home is a sacrifice zone.”

The gathering takes place in a Bay Area city that is under threat of becoming such a zone, facing long-term pollution and poverty that devastate public health, including a fire in 2012 at a 112-year-old ever-expanding refinery owned by oil giant Chevron that sent 15,000 nearby residents to the hospital. But Richmond is also the site of long-term environmental justice organizing by grassroots groups including the Richmond Environmental Justice Coalition, which is co-hosting the gathering.

“Why us? We live every day on the front-lines of the climate crisis, with illnesses and the danger of explosions—and on the front-line of the economic crisis, when we can’t keep money and jobs in our city,” said Mey Saechao, an Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) member who lives on the border of Richmond and San Pablo.