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Yesterday afternoon in Geneva, various special workshops were organised on the general question of ‘free trade and crises’. With the help of Maxime, I lead the workshop ‘climate crisis’.

Representatives of various social movements in Latin America and a spokeswoman from a movement for the rights of the Maori people shared their experiences with us − an avalanche of experiences of ecological and social disasters caused by multinational companies invading the local markets, by the overexploitation of fossil resources, deforestation, and the destructive effect of green capitalism on local communities.

- A representative of Accion Ecologica presented the ITT project which is promoted by the Ecuadorian government and encouraged all social movements across the world to support what seems today to be a real alternative at the negotiation table on climate change

- A representative of peasant movements in Paraguay explained the consequences of the taxation of transgenic soya on family farming, of the land re-concentration which followed and the increasing precarious living conditions of peasants. He also talked about the current struggles, which are supported by the new government and aim to reverse the situation and re-establish the control of land by communities.

- A Mexican comrade described the disastrous effects of wind farm projects in the Guaxaca region: expulsion of peasants and land confiscation, transformation of the local ecosystem and endangering of endemic cereal species in spite of their fundamental role in local food systems.

- A representative of the Puna populations (Panama) explained how the energy projects of the Columbian and Panamanian governments are threatening the Indians and their living conditions.

- Finally, the representative of the Maori Indians, who was highly motivated, underlined the fact that, unless ambitious measures are taken in Copenhagen, the populations of the Pacific islands will disappear in the very near future. For these people, the rise of the sea level is already a tangible reality.

And all this was presented in three languages, thanks to basic translation skills…

After the discussion, the participants concluded that it is impossible to find an solution to the climate crisis within the current political and economical framework and will be as long as the rights of the people to control their environment and natural resources is flouted, commodification is the norm, and rights of multinational companies are better protected than the right to food sovereignty. And market solutions wouldn’t be an answer − quite to the contrary. Emissions trading, REDD, compensation mechanisms… primarily enable countries of the Global North and their companies to shirk their responsibilities while maximising the opportunities offered by the ecological crisis.

Several of these activists for ecological justice will be in Paris at the end of the week and will be present in Copenhagen for the COP15. They will explain the reasons behind their activism and intense struggle.

Translation from french : Fiona Scuiller, Coorditrad