GO GREEN WEEk 11 - 15 FEBRUARY 2019 - Student handbook #gogreen2019 - People & Planet
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GO GREEN WEEk
11 - 15 FEBRUARY 2019
Student handbook
#gogreen2019
go green week 2019 fossil free finance
For Go Green Week educated through films
2019, People & Planet screenings and workshop. go green week 2019 focuses on COLLECTIVE
are supporting students LIBERATION, banks, fossil fuel finance anD
across the UK to escalate We can develop collaborative
the movement for climate camapigns on campus winning climate justice
justice. through understanding how
our liberation is linked and
We’re winning on fossil fuel working together towards Go Green Week is People & MONDAY 10
divestment. 350.org just climate justice. Planet’s annual national week
Get educated
announced 1000 institutions of student action on climate
around the globe have We’ll skill-up to escalate our change. Are you in? TUESDAY 11
committed to becoming campaigns so we can win. build solidarity
fossil free- 69 of these are
UK universities. Now we're We can build popular WEDNESDAY 12
demanding that banks support for a world of fossil plan the campaign
stop financing the fossil free finance and climate THURSDAY 13
fuel extraction driving the justice by organising on
climate crisis. our campuses and in our campaign tactics
communities. FRIDAY 14
Students are demanding
that Barclays, the dirtiest UK For much more information day of action
high-street bank, ditch all on the campaign and how to
fossil fuel finance. get your SU and University GET INVOLVED 15
to boycott Barclays, read our AFTER #GOGREEN2019
During Go Green Week Divest Barclays Action Guide.
2019, together we can get
get support from people & planet
People & Planet offers a range of fantastic training and workshops for
school, college and university students and staff. Get in touch to book:
peopleandplanet.org/FOSSIL-FREE fossilfree@peopleandplanet.org | 01865 403225
2 3
why Barclays? pinkwashing
banks have been funding social and
environmental injustice since the 1800s.
environmental injustice
The emergence of British banks such
as Lloyds or Heywoods bank in the
since the 1800s.
18th century was to provide credit (now
known as credit insurance) for the long-
distance Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The emergence of banks like Heywood
and Lloyds in the 18th century marks
Britains accumulation of wealth profitting
off the explotations of black slaves and
the land.
Heywoods bank then became a part
of Barclays who are carrying on
Britains legacy of funding and backing
oppressive regimes across the world
such as Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe Barclays has funded London pride consecutively for five years. This is an
and the South African Apartheid. opportunity for Barclays to showcase their own branding without supporting
LGBT+ lead initiatives, charities or organisations. The marketisation of Pride
is especially dangerous because banks like Barclays still fund oppressive
Barclays is a truly global player in the high stakes game of financing regimes across the globe. For example, Mugabe’s regime has systematically
catastrophic climate change. In 2016 alone, they sank more than oppressed LGBT+ people in Zimbabwe through regressive policy and
$4bn into these industries. That’s more than in 2014 or 2015!
propaganda. Barclays has since poured in millions of pounds to this regime.
Barclays like any bank are not invincible to public pressure. It is
our money, funnelled in to their mass gambling machine through The cost of our liberation in the UK should not be built off others suffering
their high street retail arm, that allows them to bankroll ecological elsewhere, we must critically question why pink-washing is necessary
destruction, human rights abuses, and climate change. for Barclays to survive. The pinkwashing demonstrated by Barclays is not
only hypocritical, it is a deliberate attempt to ‘wash-over’ their complicity
With a sustained campaign to divest Barclays and sever their in homophobia in the global south. Without the social licence afforded to
connections with cultural institutions that lend them false legitimacy, Barclays by actions such as their sponsorship of London Pride, Barclays
we can force their hand, and keep the remaining fossil fuel reserves would be exposed as deliberately standing in the way of the liberation of all
where they belong - in the ground. LGBT+ people.
4 5
anti-apartheid lessons front-line solidarity
Students have taken on Barclays They targeted recruitment Whenever we campaign for and people who live most
before, and they won! In a drives and advertising at banks to ditch fossil fuel projects intimately with their
campaign to end South African universities to create a culture we should remember there environments whose livelihoods
apartheid, that spanned three of opposition to the bank and are communities leading the and lifestyles are being
decades , students in the UK their complicity in apartheid. resistance against those disrupted first by dramatic
targeted Barclays demanding Eventually the demands were projects on its frontlines. changes to the climate.
they withdraw from the continents.
apartheid regime. It showed that That means residents in On the frontlines of fossil fuel
grassroots action against a bank This time though, we don’t communities threatened with extractions, the fight of these
of any size can get the goods. have three decades to win the fracking; indigenous peoples communities is often a matter
fight. We need to keep fossil whose land and water is being of life and death. We take our
The campaign involved mass fuels in the ground now and we threatened with a pipeline and inspiration from them and they
boycotts that took a huge can learn from the success of oil fields; farmers and rural direct the tone and messaging
chunk out of Barclays’ share the anti-apartheid Barclays communities being displaced to of our campaigns, as well as the
of the student banking market. boycott to win our demands make way for a new coal mine; types of action we take.
Importantly too it used a quicker. Our campaign will
diversity of tactics to disrupt need to escalate quicker, be
Barclays’ profit- making even more daring in our use
operations, as well as sabotaging of direct action, and more
their brand and ambitious in our campaign to
reputation on campuses and wreck their reputation.
beyond.
They packed out stores opening
and closing accounts as slow
downs.
They did occupations and
sit-ins to disrupt Barclays’
day-to-day operations.
6 7frontlines: colombia collective liberation
A third of the coal we burn in the UK, collaborated with and paid This Go Green Week, take some time “However, be careful that
we import from Colombia, one of the paramilitaries to protect their mining to reflect on your group’s relationship the invite isn’t just a tick-box
operation in Cesar, Colombia, through with other societies on campus and in exercise to fill a diversity
places most notorious for human quota. These groups should
rights abuses in the name of coal campaigns of violence against local your local community, and invite them be involved in the planning and
extraction. Key players include Anglo communities. to link up struggles. We love these messaging of the day. Ask
American, BHP Billiton and Glencore, words from organiser them what they think and take
who jointly manage the 70,000 Not only are they necessarily complicit Tisha Brown, writing for New their concerns and
hectare Cerrejón mine in La Guajira. in these human rights abuses, Internationalist: ideas on board.”
Barclays have also helped to prop up
Barclays’ total backing of these the dirtiest fossil fuel when it needs “If we are serious about building a “Intersectional organising
companies and their abuses phasing out as quickly mass movement, then we have to needs to be at the heart of
amounted to $3.5bn in 2013, with as possible. There’s only one thing for become more intersectional in our- what we do. For us to fight off
other UK banks not far behind. The it: they must commit to cut all financing politics. We have to reach out to black the worst effects from climate
for coal mining and power companies. and brown organisations and ask change and help support the
mine has grown steadily since 1976. people in the Global South
And it’s up to us to make that happen. how we can help and maintainthat fighting on
In that time it has displaced and relationship if we want them to build a the frontlines, we are going to
destroyed whole communities of mass movement. need the help of everyone.
indigenous and Afro-Colombian
people, in particular the Wayúu. That means we need to ensure
Even meagre compensation for the that our spaces are not only
expropriation of their land and homes welcoming and safe but also
has proved almost impossible to accessible. We have to look at
extract from either the companies or power and privilege in groups
the Colombian government. and be serious about finding
ways to address it.
Workers at the mine fare no better.
Their union, Sintracarbon, say 700
workers at Cerrejón suffer from
serious health problems as a direct
result of the poor working conditions
at the mine. Industrial strike action
has been met with dismissals and
even the murder of union leaders.
Barclays have also financed
Drummond, a company which
8 9get educated build solidarity
Launch off Go Green Week with a film Understand how climate change is a workers rights
screening followed by an awesome panel issue, a migrants issue and Create your own content
Join People & Planet and SOAS intersectional campaigning and
on what climate justice means to you
Decolonise Environmentalism solidarity to achieve climate
society in London to launch Go justice. Today,you have the educate yourself on the divest
Green Week with an exclusive opportunity to creat their own Barclays campaign and skill up
panel. content about what climate on campaign tactics: email us
justice means to them. You to book a wworkshop.
Following the screening of the Not in London? No problem, Get can also explore how migrants
film ‘The bottom Line: Have you in touch with us at fossilfree@ rights and workers rights are
heard from Johannesburg’ where peopleandplanet.org to organise a integral to climate justice.
we’ll be joined by special guests screening on your campus, and for
talking about why climate change advice on how to fund the license An example would be the
is a race issue and why we need fee through your SU. mining in Cerrejón. the
extraction of coal is an
environmental issue, but
this is tied into farmers land
‘The bottom Line: Have you heard from being to expand the mine.
[tuesday]
[monday]
The farmer’s lose their
Johannesburg synopsis source of income and may be
forced to work in precarious
This is the story of the first-ever international grassroots jobs or factories with very
campaign to successfully use economic pressure to help little workers rights, nor
bring down a government. Recognizing the apartheid opportunity to unionise. .
regime’s dependence on its financial connections to If you’re interested in writing a
the West, citizens all over the world, from employees blog piece to go on the People
of Polaroid to a General Motors director, from student &Planet website connecting
account-holders in Barclay’s Bank to consumers who these issues, please email
boycott Shell gas, all refuse to let business with South fossilfree@peopleandplanet.
Africa go on as usual. org
This is also an opportunity to
Read more here: http://www.clarityfilms.org/
haveyouheardfromjohannesburg/episodes.php
10 11campaign tactics Plan your action
Learn about Divestment being an effective Invite all memebrs, old and new to your
tactic in achieving social justice action planning/ decorating meeting!
Join our webinar with student ask in questions in regards to In prep for the Day for action If you would like some advice
campaigners from campuses the action day on Friday. tomorrow, Get creative and on how to claim expense
across the country to hear create some Divest Barclays through your SU or you’re at a
more about the history of Barclays Banners for an Post-1992 (newer) university
Global banks like Barclays outside outside a Barclays and you would like a regional
investing in social and Branch, or for the twitter organiser to facilitate the
environmental injustice and storm on Friday. banner space email us at
financial activism from two fossilfree@peopleandplanet.
[wednesday]
experienced activists. org
Immediately after the webinar,
there will be time to asked
[thursday]
these very experienced
activists about divestment
tactics, campaigns strategy
and more about their work.
This is a great opportunity to
12 13Day of Action get involved: after #gogreen2019
sign up 1000 people to boycott Just because GGW is over doesn’t mean conversations about
barclays until they divest fossil fuel finance end. With #GoGreen2019 coming to an end,
now is the time to get this momentum in motion (pun intended)
We will be attacking Barclays can circulate the petition on by preparing a motion in preparation to submit to your SU in your
online with a twitter storm campus and nationally. universities democratic period. Check out our template online.
with a series of statements
asking them to come clean Do an action outside your
about their investments in local Barclays branch to Find out more about divestment from Banks and fossil fuel
dirty energy. We will also be get signatures from local companies in the wider context for social and economic justice by
challenging universities on members of the public. Do an attending the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s event: ‘Apartheid
their investments in a bank online photo campaign with and Fossil Free: Divest for justice’ on Friday 1st March in London.
that fund the climate crisis. the banner you created on This has a look at why divestment is such a powerful tactic in
Get staff and alumni on board Thursday and tweet Barclays
and tweeting at the university with it, remember to use the evoking social change and looks collectively working on these
also! hashtags #BoycottBarclays issues of injustice.
#DivestBarclays.
Resources & staff support
Petition
[MONDAY]
Find more information on fossil free finance and running the Divest
Barclays campaign in our Action Guide.
[friday]
We want 10,000 people on
campuses across the UK to
pledge to boycott Barclays Contact fossilfree@peopleandplanet.org for campaigns support
until they ditch fossil fuels by before, during and afterGo Green Week or if you have any
the end of #GoGreen2019 questions about the week.
(link twitter). Can you help by
signing up 500-1000 people Fundraising
on yourcampus?
People & Planet is a radical student network of activist groups
Using the People & Planet campaigning for climate justice, sweatshop free supply chains and
petition tool, (link this) migrants’ justice.
signatures calling on your We rely on small regular donations from members and supporters
University to boycott Barclays to support our groups and organise events like #GoGreen2019
feed into the national petition
(link this) https://peopleandplanet.org/donate
There are several ways you
14 15You can also read
