[Resolution on the Crisis of Climate Change passed at the CCDS 2009 convention.]
On the need for an Eco-socialist perspective and leadership to prevent Catastrophic Climate Change.
Whereas CCDS’s Founding statement spells out many of the current facts on the dangers of climate change and the interrelated social, political and economic factors, it does not yet present an actionable position toward climate change or the issue of eco-socialism
Whereas CCDS members have been discussing what to do about climate change for years, made and passed proposals and held a successful “West Coast Regional Conference on the ecological crisis from an Eco-Socialist perspective” and yet CCDS still does not have a politically useful position on the environment, climate change or what to do about the potential of catastrophic climate changes
Whereas it is clear that the quality of life for the whole world’s people’s is effected by the interrelations between economic crises, political and military conflicts and climate change
Whereas unfortunately humankind has found it difficult to anticipate and prevent such crises or their consequences
Whereas the current climate change process is historically unique in that major changes are imminent, likely to be irreversible, and could add to or accelerate even more drastic changes
Whereas virtually all scientists now agree that any success in preventing or even moderating climate change outcomes will require major worldwide and coordinated changes in energy production and use and any ameliorative efforts must take place before relevant tipping points are breached
Whereas the current world leaders’ national and economic allegiances, are unlikely to unite around a successful environmental plan without major public pressure
Whereas major national, economic, political and military interests will resist cooperative efforts, preferring the risk of allowing others to bare the burden of climate change devastation and that these will fall most destructively on the poor countries and vulnerable peoples
Whereas the necessary efforts and sacrifices for a successful environmental world plan will require mass support on a world scale which can only be organized if the public is adequately informed of not only the specific and personal nature of the threats we each face, but also provided with believable and supportable plans that makes the public’s motivated and involvement possible
Whereas the people of the world, threatened with catastrophic climate changes dare not rely on the very leadership of the market and corporate forces whose institutional greed and indifference blindly brought us this crisis. By their nature, they will not act sufficiently or in time to prevent or even lessen the escalating damages to the majority of the world
Whereas the general environmental movement does see and critiques the damage done to our ecosystem by unrestrained capitalism, but it is not yet calling for a political or economic socialist response. Instead it is seeks to educate for improvements within the current economic systems that will slow down “global warming” and prepare for the changes that are seen as inevitable. While their sense of urgency and awareness of the looming crisis is increasing, they as yet are not calling for a worldwide plan or implementation of the changes to our political and economic systems that would be required to give us the best chance at thwarting the worst of the potential climate change outcomes. Further, this compromise position accepts suffering and death of millions
Whereas Eco-socialism approaches climate change from almost the opposite moral and scientific direction. A socialist approach requires both a comprehensive understanding of the political-economic causes of climate change and most importantly, a socialist based perspective on what should be done. A perspective that values all people equally and rejects the idea that some have more rights to survive climate change that others
Whereas the primary resistance to a successful environmental program will come from the nuclear military industrial fossil fuel complex ("MIC" for short) that President Dwight Eisenhower identified 60 years ago as the great burden on humanity. Therefore avoidance of C3 requires the end of oil and fossil fuel addiction, giving up the nuclear option and a rapid conversion to a high efficiency solar energy infrastructure. Since the major obstacle to this path is MIC, especially its U.S. component, this complex and its imperial agenda must be confronted, isolated, and finally eliminated as the biggest threat to human survival. More precisely, its material infrastructure should be solarized, with containment of its huge legacy of chemical and nuclear waste. A solarized and demilitarized world, a formidable challenge to say the least! Achievable only with a socialized or socialist approach
Whereas instead, leadership must be driven by a world wide, mass movement that understands the need for a comprehensive, crash program and is capable of requiring governments and industry refocus national and global priorities for the sake of saving human life on earth, even if it means reducing obscene short term corporate profits. The priorities of this program must be both the immediate needs of the people most affected by the crisis and the prevention of permanent climate changes before irreversible tipping points are reached
Therefore it is proposed that CCDS resolve:
CCDS asserts that a successful “What Is to be Done” for a climate change plan requires a socialist point of view. This eco-socialist perspective means a realistic, scientific and humanistic based analysis of environmental changes, the related economics and political issues and the consequences of addressing these factors all based on the interests of the majority of the world’s people. To obtain this plan will require a mass based demand on the current world leadership, both those in power and those controlling the resources. This leadership must be required to truthfully inform people of the specific dangers and likely time lines of climate change and the science based realities of effectively countering climate changes. This leadership must also quickly develop and implement a global plan based on preventing as much as possible of the damages from climate change and all in the interests of the majority of the people of the world.
That CCDS’s What Is to be Done on climate change calls for all progressives to demand that world leadership create and implement a plan to address climate change with effective and responsible actions on behalf of the people and planet. CCDS supports an approach that is in the interest of the majority of the people and that aims to prevent catastrophic consequences rather than leaving people to suffer consequences such as they did after Katrina and elsewhere. This call is offered as a rational and humane response working toward the best possible solutions to the damages caused by global capitalism to the environment and in the people’s long term interests. This call is based on the recognition that socialists everywhere have a role to play that is specific and unique in calling for world leadership as quickly as possible to create and put forward a workable plan based on the science of tipping points and time lines and the political economic factors involved.
That CCDS asserts that a socialist response to climate change is a necessary component if we are to be at all successful in combating the damages of climate change.
[This proposal was introduced by Walter Teague on behalf of the Metro DC CCDS chapter.
7/24/09]