Target David Attenborough
International Climate Brigades | 11.12.2009 14:31 | COP15 Climate Summit 2009 | Climate Chaos | Social Struggles
International anti-fascist climate activists have disrupted a policy briefing of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT)(1) in Copenhagen. More than 30 activists from Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the UK occupied a conference room at the DGI-byen Hotel in the centre of town where OPT officials were due to brief anti-population campaigners and members of the press on its stance on the Copenhagen negotiations. The meeting had to be suspended.
Last week, in the right-wing populist newspaper The Sun (2) and in a television programme for the BBC, Attenborough had pledged his support for the OPT and their fear of overpopulation. This came after the Trust announced a new carbon offset scheme: instead of planting trees, they'll spend the money of those obsessed with their green egos on discouraging the birth of children in 'developing nations'.
The OPT have an ingeniously simple way of eradicating poverty in developing countries – eradicate the poor! And every African child that does not get born (now a ‘non-person’ as the OPT call it) won’t contribute to carbon emissions. Because the poor have this terribly unsustainable aspiration to improve their lives:
“In short, one less birth into poverty is not only one less person to suffer poverty and the expected severe impacts of climate change, but also one less to produce more greenhouse gases in (hopefully) escaping poverty. In recent years millions of previously-poor Chinese have been doing just this: getting richer, so inevitably causing more CO2 emissions”(3).
A British member of the Camp for Climate Action who was part of the action said: “It’s time to draw a line between us and the green austerity movement and anti-human campaigners. It’s time to oppose David Attenborough and the Optimum Population Trust.”
The negative focus on a population increase of poor people in the majority world is the kind of policy position they share with the fascist right. BNP leader Griffin has let it known that "every person we take from the third world with a tiny climate footprint and bring them [sic] into the western world, we're massively increasing their impact of carbon release into the world's atmosphere.” (4)
The OPT want to reduce the world's population by half to its 'optimum' level. They claim to object to control and coercion in this effort, though border control and deportations are very much part of the picture. All this in the name of carbon offsetting.
For the activists who successfully shut down the Trust's meeting in Copenhagen, this is anathema to the spirit of the ecology movement. Drax 29 defendant Paul Chatterton wrote last week: “this isn’t a movement against carbon, but one for greater equality and justice ... our fascination with the environment has brought a fascination with austerity and rationing.” (5)
With this in mind climate activists in Copenhagen will continue to target the proponents of false solutions this week, whether they come in the form of carbon trading or population management.
(1)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7803/
(2) http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2764068/Attenborough-on-a-growing-threat-to-mans-future-the-growing-population.html#ixzz0ZIaQK1T2
(3) http://www.popoffsets.com/faq.php
(4) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/10/nick-griffin-environmentalism
(5) http://www.redpepper.org.uk/New-article,1906
The OPT have an ingeniously simple way of eradicating poverty in developing countries – eradicate the poor! And every African child that does not get born (now a ‘non-person’ as the OPT call it) won’t contribute to carbon emissions. Because the poor have this terribly unsustainable aspiration to improve their lives:
“In short, one less birth into poverty is not only one less person to suffer poverty and the expected severe impacts of climate change, but also one less to produce more greenhouse gases in (hopefully) escaping poverty. In recent years millions of previously-poor Chinese have been doing just this: getting richer, so inevitably causing more CO2 emissions”(3).
A British member of the Camp for Climate Action who was part of the action said: “It’s time to draw a line between us and the green austerity movement and anti-human campaigners. It’s time to oppose David Attenborough and the Optimum Population Trust.”
The negative focus on a population increase of poor people in the majority world is the kind of policy position they share with the fascist right. BNP leader Griffin has let it known that "every person we take from the third world with a tiny climate footprint and bring them [sic] into the western world, we're massively increasing their impact of carbon release into the world's atmosphere.” (4)
The OPT want to reduce the world's population by half to its 'optimum' level. They claim to object to control and coercion in this effort, though border control and deportations are very much part of the picture. All this in the name of carbon offsetting.
For the activists who successfully shut down the Trust's meeting in Copenhagen, this is anathema to the spirit of the ecology movement. Drax 29 defendant Paul Chatterton wrote last week: “this isn’t a movement against carbon, but one for greater equality and justice ... our fascination with the environment has brought a fascination with austerity and rationing.” (5)
With this in mind climate activists in Copenhagen will continue to target the proponents of false solutions this week, whether they come in the form of carbon trading or population management.
(1)
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7803/ (2)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2764068/Attenborough-on-a-growing-threat-to-mans-future-the-growing-population.html#ixzz0ZIaQK1T2 (3)
http://www.popoffsets.com/faq.php (4)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/10/nick-griffin-environmentalism (5)
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/New-article,1906
International Climate Brigades
Homepage:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk
Comments
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Leave him alone
11.12.2009 15:41
Anonymous
Worrying action
11.12.2009 16:09
Talking about population is a real taboo. Anyone who dares to mention it is immediately labeled a fascist. Just because the far-right use these issues doesn't mean we should be scared off talking about them. There are now about 7 billion people on the planet. In 1900 there were around 1 billion. We need to move a zero-carbon economy. We eat oil. We move by oil. We are heated by fossil fuels. The only way we have got to a population of 7 billion is by fossil fuels. In a post oil world the population will be smaller than it is now. We can choose to move there by lowering the birth rate or letting chaos ensue as we don't have enough food, fuel, water to sustain all the people on the planet.
As far as I am aware (and I have to admit I don't know much about it - I didn't see the BBC programme and I'm not in the habit of reading the sun), the OPT are planning to provide access to reproductive health care for people who don't currently have access to it. Bringing people out of poverty and giving women control over their lives are greatly enhanced by access to contraception and abortion.
Carbon off-setting is generally a load of dangerous crap. However, giving the poorest access to contraception is very worthwhile - I certainly appreciate the free contraceptive services available to me.
I have been a climate change activist for many years (I was in Den Haag for COP6 in 2000), have been to all the climate camps (except this years), amongst many other things. I am really worried by this action.
To dismiss people as fascists because fascists pervert a subject is really dangerous. Its about time we had a serious debate about how we move from a fossil fuel dependent world with 7 billion people to a zero carbon furture.
Concerned - ecologist
Whom in this has behaved as a facist would?
11.12.2009 16:22
Fascists come in all colours - including, it would seen, Green.
By their actions shall ye know them...
The American Christian right
11.12.2009 16:30
The Catholic Church is another great opponent of family planning / contraception.
This carbon offsetting, according to their (the OPT) website, is a way of giving access to family planning to people who don't have it. The American Christian Right and the Catholic Church are enemies of women's rights to choose. I don't think we should be attacking people who are advancing those rights.
When I was in Den Haag for COP 6, I found it really difficult to think of effective actions. Climate chaos is not something that can be attacked, like genetic modification. In the end I didn't do any actions, I just helped with activist infrastructure. The need to act can be really strong, especially if you've traveled to another country. I would say it is often better to do nothing than act for actions sake.
Concerned - ecologist
Sorry...
11.12.2009 16:36
AH
It's tough one
11.12.2009 16:40
However, contraception is not a punishment - far from it. I bet most of us who oppose this plan also were disgusted by Papal condemnation and refusal to provide working condoms out in the Third World.
My personal conclusion is that contraception shold be made available, but not as a means of carbon offsetting (which is clearly a total rich man's way off offsetting guilt, and is a sham). Carbon offsetting should not be part of the solution, nor should other authoritarian methods; it'd be all too easy to sleepwalk into a Green Police State. And go easy on David Attenborough, as has already been said he was a platform by which many people learnt about the rich diversity of the world and encouraged people to defend it - even if I don't agree with him now. Besides, individuals aren't to blame, the system as a whole is what needs changing, and Attenborough is not a figurehead or mastermind behind global capitalism, let's face it.
sorry - anon
judge for yourself
11.12.2009 16:53
OPT has called for balanced [zero net] migration since 2003, as part of a policy to enable UK population to decrease to a long-term environmentally sustainable level. But on 19 November 2008 new figures from the ONS revealed a near-record net inward migration level of 237,000, up 46,000 on 2006. See figures below.
Environmentally unsustainable migration
OPT
Homepage:
http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.more.migration.uk.html
?!
11.12.2009 17:49
Climate change is a worldwide issue - how the fuck is introducing racist immigration controls going to stop it happening. You reveal a racist edge to your policies, even if you're right and we need to curb population, why does it matter where that population resides?! It shows you care about the blood of people from the U.K more than anywhere else. To you and your OPM I extend a hearty fuck you.
sorry, anon
silly
11.12.2009 21:32
How big do we let it get? 50 billion? 500 billion?
Max
Immigration and climate change
11.12.2009 23:01
Kia
Reality check
12.12.2009 00:18
And people tend to have more kids in poorer countries because infant mortality is higher and life expectancy lower.
Can't you see from what a position of complete and utter privilege this argument is coming from?
This analysis also either reveals a shoddy understanding of the UK's history of exploitation, or sheer imperial arrogance.
This is not to say that population growth shouldn't be discussed, simply that the OPT ignores the real issue - the endless growth in profligate consumption.
Note the blatant positive correlation between low income countries & low carbon footprint. In Burundi for example, 93% of the population live on under $2 a day. It is also the country with the lowest carbon footprint per capita.
Lets concentrate on destroying the obscene capitalist machine instead of building walls to keep the poor from taking 'our' resources.
Important action - nice one people!
Eco-Anarchist
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OPT
12.12.2009 09:47
AH
population and eugenics
12.12.2009 11:38
"The Optimum Population Trust (OPT), a UK-based “think tank” and registered charity, has launched a new initiative urging wealthy members of the developed world to participate in carbon offsets that fund programs for curbing the population of developing nations. The scheme is being promoted as a more cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions than investing in alternative energy sources and offers a way for elitist racists to feel ethical in their quest to exterminate the third world masses."
bbc
the new evangelicals
13.12.2009 11:44
Calling for a gradual reduction of the world population - something which most sane people would agree is necessary for the survival of our and other living species - is hardly calling for the "extermination of poor people", or a "way for elite racists" to come together. This is lazier intellectual work than even the BNP would engage in.
And Attenborough and Griffin in one post? I worry about the evident decline in the intelligence of those involved in climate change issues. It's gone from an informed perspective about 10 years ago, to one which seems like a cult - attacking anyone and everyone regardless of their perspective.
All this evangelical posturing and the use of terms such as 'deniers' and 'believers' - even though i feel strongly about this, I couldn't get involved, it would make me feel sick.
How depressing.
JC of Nazareth
obvious racism
13.12.2009 21:56
this organisation does not simply want to reduce or prevent the growth of the world's population, they specifically want to reduce the population of developing countries.
how complicated is this? why can't you people see it? its written very clearly in all their literature.
they don't mind people in rich countries breeding, they just dont want the people in poorer countries to.
well done the activists who did this action.
concerned
Developing countries
13.12.2009 22:43
That's not racism, it's demographics.
Max
population reduction good, OPT bad
14.12.2009 17:01
What is bad is when some people who support the idea also support racist authoritarian policies like immigration controls. But that doesn't invalidate the original argument.
And interestingly the main report which is referenced to spiked-online rings alarm bells. Spiked is run by the people formerly behind Marxism Today, who did a political about-turn some time ago and are now ultra-right libertarian free marketeers who believe in things like legalisation of child pornography. You often see them in the mainstream press writing controversial articles in various topics. They are rabidly anti-environmentalist, so avoid them like the plague and treat them with extreme caution. They have a serious hidden agenda.
See here for more details:
anon anti-fascist
Paul Chatterton links to Spiked Online?
14.12.2009 17:38
The Great Debate has close links to Spiked Online:
Frank Furedi is the "spiritual leader" of the former Living Marxism people at Spiked:
Tenuous links maybe but suspicious.
Although Chatterton seems to be from the anti-authoritarian left whereas Furedi is from the right, and very anti-environmentalist.
Spiked and Living Marxism do have a history of entryism.
anon anti-fascist
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