Energy Democracy Declaration
Energy is crucial to life for all beings. It cannot be subjected to the laws of the market. Agree? Find out more and sign the Energy Democracy. Without intervention from a strong movement, capitalists’ embrace of green energy will wreck the planet and leave the working class behind. We must work together and fight for a real #JustTransition globally.
Movements Declaration: Our Future is Public – Energy Democracy
The influence of profit-driven energy corporations on governments, international institutions, and environmental conventions is evident. These policies prioritize greed and capital accumulation over ecological and human needs, revealing flaws in neoliberal market economics. As energy poverty and high bills affect billions worldwide, there’s a critical opportunity to transition to a just, democratic public energy system that prioritizes people and the planet over profit. This movement aligns with the broader struggle for climate justice, addressing intersecting issues of racism, classism, capitalism, gender exploitation, and environmental harm. While challenges exist, groups advocating for energy democracy are leading the way toward systemic changes for a better future on local, regional, national, and international levels.
PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL FOR JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION (PTJR)
The Make Big Polluters Pay global campaign was launched in 2019 to ensure that those largely responsible for the climate crisis are held accountable, and alternative paths are found for reparations in the face of corporate abuses, human rights violations, and destruction of the planet.
Conveners of the Make Big Polluters Pay campaign in Africa held a retreat in Uganda from the 15th – 17th of May 2023 and were hosted by the Kasenyi community in Buliisa District. This retreat included a community visit, dialogue, and a mock trial which was referred to as “The People’s Tribunal on Justice and Reconciliation.”
The People’s Tribunal was used as a platform to amplify the voices of community members, and to bring their claims of environmental and human rights infractions against them to light. The tribunal also assessed whether Total Energies has a case to answer, and to ensure these communities get the justice they deserve
Orange Farm Booklet: Just Energy Transition in Driezek, Orange Farm
The Driezik 1, Orange Farm Project, Metropolitan Municipality of Johannesburg Community & Youth group comprises a team of fourteen members, consisting of women and youth from the area. After attending workshops organized by GenderCC SA, we initiated a cleaning campaign to address the issue of illegal dumping sites in our locality. We reached out to our ward counsellors for support, and only one of them responded positively. He connected us with Pikitup, a government service provider responsible for waste management. Pikitup inspected the site with illegal dumping, which was causing obstruction in the proper functioning of the stormwater drainage system. They provided us with some cleaning materials, although not everything we required.
The Kathlehong Booklet Title is: Just Energy Transition in Kwanele, Kathlehong
The installation and training of a biogas digester in Kathlehong, Municipality of Ekhurhuleni included hands-on instruction on how community members can feed and maintain the digester. We are extremely pleased with this initiative as it provides significant assistance to the school’s feeding program and the wider community. Furthermore, we are utilizing the slurry produced by the digester as a fertilizer for the food garden that was initially started by the elderly group. We have now joined forces with them to support and contribute to the garden. In addition, we are excited about the prospect of selling the surplus slurry, which serves as an organic liquid fertilizer, to the public. This endeavor will enable us to generate funds for both the elderly group and the youth group.
Urban Agriculture Project: Agroecology in the Gauteng Province
Agroecology urban farms are crucial for establishing sustainable enterprises and localized food systems by incorporating agroecological principles and practices into urban agriculture. The Urban Agriculture Project is currently working on developing three agroecological farms in Gauteng Province, specifically in Kathlehong and the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality, as well as Newlands and South Hill in the City of Johannesburg Municipality. Our primary objective is to establish five sustainable enterprises at each project site, with a particular emphasis on engaging women and youth within the community.
COP 27 Done and Dusted – So What Now?
COP 27 which was dubbed as an African COP because it was held on the African soil happened at a time when inequality in South Africa and the entire world was and is still worsening; costs of living are going up tremendously; and unemployment skyrocketing especially among the youth in South Africa, amid a crippling energy crisis and a life-threatening heat wave which has claimed the lives of Seven Farm Workers in the Kakamas in the Northern Cape in South Africa.
Flanders Southern Africa – Gender CC Southern Africa (GCRCI Project)
The Flanders Southern Africa – supported resilience building and vulnerability reduction project implemented by GenderCCSA for smallholder farmers in Hebron, Northwest Province and Vhembe, Limpopo Province was able to train farmers on how to dry their produce with solar dryers in collaboration with Food Masters SA.
Climate Change and Subsistence Farming in South African Communities
Climate change is one of the most important societal issues currently facing the world. Recent weather events across South Africa have sparked popular interest in understanding the role of global warming in driving extreme weather.
Gender into Urban Climate Change Initiative (GUCCI Project)
The Gender into Urban Climate Change Initiative (GUCCI) project is the brainchild of Gender CC – Women for Climate Justice, Berlin. Funded by the German International Climate Initiative of the German Ministry for Environment and implemented by All India Women’s Conference – AIWC in India, AKSI! For Gender, Social and Ecological Justice & Solidaritas Perempuan in Indonesia, Equidad de Genero in Mexico, and GenderCC SA – Women for Climate Justice in South Africa.