Last week we got together with 22 people in Amsterdam for a first big brainstorm to talk about Global Divestment Day actions in the Netherlands. We split up into four groups that produced a lot of inspiring ideas. This past Monday we met again, to decide on what to do and how to organise ourselves… and the results are exciting!
Sustainable Amsterdam?
With its canals and bikes, the city of Amsterdam has a sustainable image. However, few people know that the municipality is also part-owner of a 650 MW carbon-spewing coal fired power plant in the western harbor, operated by NUON. In addition, Amsterdam is home to the largest gasoline port in the world, as well as the second largest coal harbor of Europe. And as if this wasn’t bad enough, the Amsterdam municipal council recently voted almost unanimously to invest over 100 million euros of public money in further expanding the capacity for coal and gasoline shipment in the harbor!
As greenhouse gas emissions increase year after year, we know the time for action is now (if not yesterday!). As Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State eloquently put it: “We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.” And we understand what that doing something means. Stop investing in fossil fuels and move forward to a 100% renewable future.
Get your bike ready!
On Saturday the 14th of February we will therefore organise a big Global Divestment Day activity in Amsterdam that brings together the entire Fossielvrij NL network and broader climate movement in the Netherlands. Together, we will raise the alarm of Amsterdam’s risky and dirty investments in the fossil fuel industry. We will tour the city in a loud, massive and colorful bike parade. Ending at the Amsterdam city hall, where we will surround the building with our bicycles, bells, sirens, whistles and drums – as a strong symbol of people power. We will ring the emergency bell to show the urgency to avoid a climate disaster and invest in a sustainable society.
Decades of inaction filled with unprecedented storms, droughts and wildfires have demonstrated convincingly that, left to themselves, politicians are utterly incapable of stopping greenhouse gas emissions from increasing year after year. Decades of talking and stalling have shown us that only a movement from below that directly challenges the fossil fuel industry will be able to open up a space for real and urgent action on climate change.
We are winning
The rapid growth of the global divestment movement over the past years–and the major victories that it continues to score in universities, cities, religious institutions, foundations, pension funds and other institutions all over the world–has proven that, when ordinary people come together and organise themselves, this is entirely possible.
On February 13 and 14 we will therefore build on this momentum to take the next big step for the divestment movement in the Netherlands. On the 13th we invite you all to take action at your own local university, institution, municipality or pension fund – register your action here. On the 14th we’ll see you in Amsterdam. Together, we will show that fossil fuels are history and renewables are the future!