No climate justice on occupied land!
Propagandists called
Remi Kanazi
Them barren
Land expropriated
For Europeans
Thirsting for
Territory
Jenny Cooper argues that there is no climate justice or just transition without an end to the occupation in Palestine
“No climate justice on occupied land!” was the call of the huge civil society protest at COP 28 in Dubai last year, a concrete city in the desert coping with extreme flooding at the time of writing. Palestine has been the headline in almost every protest this year whether we are addressing climate change, anti-racism, the economy, or anti-war. And rightly so – from the tragedies of October 7th we have had an opportunity like never before to put the spotlight on the atrocities that take place daily in the Palestinian territories not just since October but for decades. Countless groups have met, talks have taken place, weapons have been fired, protesters have marched, stalls have been run, lectures given, books written and art hung. But world leaders carry on, witnessing the fall of the Berlin wall and the release of Mandela but ignoring the call for freedom for Palestinians, and accusing those that voice the call of antisemitism.
It is not only Palestine of course. At COP every year we hear the stories and share the tears of every person representing a displaced people; the first indigenous people of the Amazon and the Congo basin, the nomad people of the Sahara and the Samis of the Arctic circle to name just a few. These original inhabitants of the land understand how to live as part of nature, nowadays often risking their lives to save it unlike those that move in with the aim of destruction. Like the olive growers of the West Bank, groups who live in harmony with nature can produce food and nutrition in the most unlikely places, understanding the ecosystems and weather patterns they have worked with for generations. These people, more than anyone else, understand the connection between climate change, climate justice and land.
For it is the land which feeds and sustains us and gives us a space to call home with shelter, warmth and safety. Our children may not know that in the rich Global North – after all, it is frequently others’ lands which are exploited to grow our food and to produce our greedy energy demands. The Sami reindeer herders were obstructed by imposed wind farms on their herding lands whilst Amazonian communities have lost their forest homes and food webs to the destruction of the forest by loggers and companies connected to Tesco meat. In Palestine, road blocks, the wall, and Israeli guards separate olive growers from their trees, particularly at harvest time, in a deliberate attempt to break up the local economy and the growers’ abilities to grow. Gaza’s fishing boats are not allowed past the three-nautical-mile limit which would allow them to catch bigger species and the sardines they used to enjoy. And I haven’t even touched on the massive carbon footprint of the ongoing war and weapons linked to occupation.
“In our thousands in our millions, we are all Palestinians!” I chant alongside protesters against the occupation on our London marches. But my complicity in land grab is evident: I have eaten meat without knowing whether forest was chopped for the animals. I have eaten avocado without knowing whose land was grabbed to develop the new plantations needed to satisfy our ridiculous growing demand to have it crushed on sourdough for breakfast. “We are all settlers” may be more accurate.
But as with all climate justice, we can try to make individual choices and changes – and yes, we should boycott Israeli companies that have blood on their hands – but it is of course big system change that is needed. We must not accept from any incoming political party an assumption that green colonialism is ok. It is not. Land grab for wind farms IS as damaging as land grab for coal or oil. And plonking miles and miles of solar panels in the desert with the belief that “no one lives there” is not a valid solution. The people of the Sahara are traditionally a people whose livelihood depends on a nomadic lifestyle. This does not make one patch of the desert available for colonisation to suit our own selfish needs. As the Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi wrote:
orchards flourished
propagandists called
them barren
land expropriated
for Europeans
thirsting for
territory
Izzeldin Abuelaish lost his entire family to Israeli attacks in Gaza in 2009. He believes there is no “magic” square yard, or hilltop, that if ceded by either side would bring peace. “Peace”, he says, “can only come about after an internal shift…what we need is respect, and the inner strength to refuse to hate”. For those of us who are least likely to be targeted for speaking out on oppression, the responsibility is huge. On the last London march I chatted to a Muslim school rep from one of my local schools. She explained how she had been marching for Palestine ever since she was a child. “Our mother used to bring us – she had to” she said and went on to explain “Now that others have stepped up we no longer have to be here every single week – we can share it!”.
Once again we come back to the argument of Just Transition and the fact that it is inextricably linked to international solidarity. A Just Transition is only just when it has human rights and freedom for oppressed peoples at its core. A Just Transition is only just when it keeps all children safe from weapons and war. A Just Transition is only just when people can live without fear and hunger. What are we saving the earth for if not for people? People before profit should remain our mantra. People everywhere. But to make that a reality it is incumbent on all of us-particularly those less likely to be targeted – to speak out loudly and to act, without fearing the names we may be called as a consequence.
- Jenny Cooper is a member of the National Education Union’s National Executive Committee.
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