NI 487 - November, 2015

Paris climate summit

A note from the editor

Heroes, villains and why there is still hope.

When we agreed to guest-edit a magazine on the upcoming Paris climate talks, we felt some trepidation. We’d been at the Copenhagen summit in 2009 – one of us inside the conference centre, the other outside with the protesters – and the bad memories still felt fresh. Grassroots, frontline and Indigenous campaigners thrown out of the talks. Thousands of activists locked in cages by the Danish police. A final stitch-up non-deal from a handful of polluting governments, and the overinflated hopes of millions of people brought crashing down. Was it all about to happen again?

But in the course of putting together this magazine, we have spoken to climate-justice activists from all over the world. Much to our surprise, we’re now feeling unexpectedly hopeful. There’s plenty to play for in Paris, and while there are no easy victories to be grabbed, the global climate movement could be about to take a big leap forward.

The story of Paris has only just begun. We’d love to see it through to the end, and bring you voices and perspectives from the talks that the mainstream media will ignore. That’s why we’re launching a crowdfunding appeal to allow us to report from the frontlines in Paris. We’re excited at the prospect of taking New Internationalist into the thick of the action – but we need support from you, our readers, to make it happen. See here for how to donate, and we hope you’ll join us – virtually at least – on the Paris climate rollercoaster...

Jess Worth and Danny Chivers for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

You Shell not pass: First Nations activist and singer Audrey Siegl confronts the oil giant’s drilling rig on its way to the Arctic.

Photo: Emily Hunter / Greenpeace

NI 487 - November, 2015

Paris climate summit

A note from the editor

Heroes, villains and why there is still hope.

The big story

While politicians drag their feet at climate summits, Jess Worth and Danny Chivers find hope in unexpected places.

Features

What we have, and what we can afford to burn.

Activist experiences of previous UN climate talks.

Is the world's most populous country a climate villain or an environmental leader? Sam Geall investigates.

Want to cause trouble for the polluters and procrastinators? John Jordan's top tips for the discerning summit-crasher.

Which proposals should we praise, and which should we protest?

Big Oil's history of denial, delay and distortion is laid bare by Greg Muttitt.

Southern campaigners, trade unionists and grasroots organizers discuss Paris, and beyond.

As Western Sahara marks 40 years of occupation, Dominik Sipiński listens to refugees tired of broken promises and dreams.

Roxana Olivera meets the documentary filmmaker renowned for delving into Chile’s dark past.

Hal Niedzviecki considers the case against the future.

Blogs

Canada is the most sued country in the ‘developed’ world, and that should be cause for grave concern, argues Maude Barlow.

Opinion

Meredith L Patterson and Deanna Zandt go head to head.

We need to push back against unacceptable corporate behaviour, writes Mark Engler.

Chris Coltrane has had enough of excuses about Britain being full.

Agenda

Radovan Karadzic will receive his sentence in December - but the International Criminal Tribunal is also under scrutiny, writes Nathalie Olah.

A new law will silence protesters and critics, says Clothilde Le Coz.

Claire Fauset on theshocking situation for Palestinians.

The low-down on Labour's new leader. By Richard Swift.

Emma Rose explains why animals should not be given so many antibiotics.

Workers in in Central America face an epidemic of a chronic kidney disease, new research reveals.

Onnik Krikorian on a case of unjust imprisonment in Azerbaijan.

Rebecca Cooke explains how grandmothers are stepping up.

Cristiana Moisescu reports on 'cinema in a backpack'.

Good news stories this month.

Regulars

Praise, blame and all points in between? Your feedback published in the November 2015 magazine.

The city is getting a facelift - but not everyone will benefit, writes Ruby Diamonde.

Cartoon by Simon Kneebone.

Louisa Reynolds on a country of great inequality still struggling with a legacy of civil war.

Arcadio Esquivel from Costa Rica with ‘Two Kinds of Migration’.

Cartoon by P J Polyp.

Cartoon by Marc Roberts.

Graeme Green talks to the Palestinian American author and human rights activist.

Film, Book & Music Reviews

Brooklyn, directed by John Crowley; The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, directed by Stanley Nelson.

Captain Hume’s Journey to India by Philippe Pierlot and Dhruba Ghosh; Rwanda Is My Home by The Good Ones.

Stealing the Future by Max Hertzberg; Stars between the Sun and Moon by Lucia Jang and Susan McClelland. Trans by Juliet Jacques; and Vanished by Ahmed Masoud.

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