Canadian Youths Occupy Rio+20 Brazil

Betrayal of Women Photo Lindsey Gillies

Youth and Civil Society Raise the Stakes for World Leaders to Stop a #RioFail

Call on leaders to put people ahead of polluters and make ambitious agreements

by Amara Possian
http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/11449
Posted at Censored News

Photo Hannah Freedman

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Youth from around the globe joined with Civil Society groups to push world leaders to increase their ambition and prevent the failure of Rio+20. The action began on the second to last day of the talks when mock representatives from big polluting corporations unveiled a "true" version of the Rio text called "The Future We Bought".

"World leaders have delivered something that fails to move the world forward from the first Rio summit, showing up with empty promises and empty pockets at Rio+20" says Mariana Calderon, a young woman from California. "This text is a polluters plan, and unless leaders start listening to the people, history will remember it as a failure for the people and the planet."
The "Future we Bought" text was then ritually destroyed and rejected, followed by over a hundred youth leading civil society into a sit-in and "People's Plenary".
"The Rio text saves political face but fails at protecting people on the frontlines of climate and environmental crises," Calderon explained. "The current text shows no ambition on the most important issues here in Rio - protecting Oceans, ensuring the right to food and water for all, ending handouts to big polluters, addressing climate change or setting goals for the creation of a just and sustainable future for people and the planet."

Ta'Kaiya Blaney/Photo Hannah Freedman

Organizers were joined by representatives of a wide range of groups in Rio, including eleven-year old Ta'Kaiya Blaney of Sliammon First Nation, located in British Colombia, Canada.
“As Indigenous Peoples our priorities are the land and water and to the land and water, we have a responsibility not only as Indigenous peoples but as humans. Though many leaders do not understand this, they send the world into a future of no life. Especially our government of Canada pushing the controversial tar sands,” said Ta’Kaiya Blaney of Sliammon First Nation.
The group occupied the hallway outside of the main plenary space giving a voice to solutions from civil society and social movements, and calling on politicians to heed their words and step up their commitments in the final day of talks.
"Youth, civil society and social movements are building the solutions the planet needs," said Adrian Fernandez from Bolivia. "Politicians here in Rio to need to start listening, step up and stop a Rio Fail".

Breaking news from Rio+20: Canadian youths Occupy action at the official summit

Update: 4:30 pm. Occupy protestors have just left the UN summit grounds without arrest after conducting a Peoples’ Assembly for three hours to denounce the failure of the Rio+20 sustainability summit to protect future generations. – the Climate Connections team

Photo Lindsey Gillies

Note: This action is continuing as this report is being posted, and the occupying group of about 50 young people has been ordered by security to leave the area, but the Peoples Assembly continues. – Christy Rodgers, reporting from Rio Centro for the Climate Connections team.

By Global Justice Ecology Project
http://climate-connections.org/2012/06/21/breaking-news-from-rio20-canadian-youth-occupy-action-at-the-official-summit/

Youth and Civil Society Raise the Stakes for World Leaders to Stop a #RioFail
June 21, 13:00 hours Rio de Janeiro time
Youth from around the globe joined with civil society groups to push world leaders to increase their ambition and prevent the failure of Rio+20. The action began on the second to last day of the talks when mock representatives from big polluting corporations unveiled a “true” version of the Rio text called “The Future We Bought.”
“World leaders have delivered something that fails to move the world forward from the first Rio summit, showing up with empty promises and empty pockets at Rio+20 says Mariana Calderon, a young woman from California. “This text is a polluters’ plan, and unless leaders start listening to the people, history will remember it as a failure for the people and the planet.”
The “Future We Bought text was then ritually destroyed and rejected, followed by hundreds of youth leading civil society into a sit-in and “People’s Plenary.”

Photo Lindsey Gillies

The Rio text saves political face but fails at protecting people on the frontlines of climate and environmental crises, Calderon explained. “The current text shows no ambition on the most important issues here in Rio – protecting oceans, meeting implementation commitments, ending handouts to big polluters, addressing climate change or setting goals for the creation of a just and sustainable future for people and the planet.”
Organizers were joined by representatives of a wide range of groups in Rio, including ten-year old Ta’kaia Blaney of Sliammon First Nation, located in British Columbia, Canada.
“As indigenous peoples our priorities are the land and water and to the land and water, we have a responsibility not only as indigenous peoples but as humans. Though many leaders do not understand this, they send the world into a future of no life. Especially our government of Canada pushing the controversial tar sands,” she said.
The group occupied the hallway outside the main plenary space giving a voice to solutions from civil society and social movements, and calling on politicians to heed their words and step up their commitments in the final day of the talks.
“Youth, civil society and social movements are building the solutions the planet needs,” said Adrian Fernandez from Bolivia. “Politicians here in Rio to need to start listening, step up and stop a Rio Fail.”