“African narratives on energy and climate Justice”
The right to live in an environment that is not harmful to one’s health and well-being, the right to self-determination, the right to work, the right to a dignified life, are just some of the fundamental human rights that are systematically violated by big corporations across the globe, with the support of coopted governments, and with particular incidence and severity in Africa and across the global South. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence and popular condemnation, corporations still manage to continue to destroy lives with impunity. The results of a neoliberal, corporate-led, extractives-based, patriarchal socio-economic model that places profits before people are there for everyone to see, as transnational corporations make record high profits amidst pandemics and other deepening crises, and externalize the impacts of their activities to society. From the climate crisis, to wars and genocide, to the biodiversity crisis, the role of big capital in fueling death and destruction has become a subject of research and analysis, but also of massive mobilizations, as social movements and civil society organizations from across the globe demand accountability, system change, a life of dignity for all and peoples’ centered alternatives to the current global order.
The Maputo Workshop on Corporate Impunity and Human Rights, now convened in its 8th consecutive year, has become a crucial space for grassroots communities, civil society organisations, activists, academics, lawyers and government representatives to discuss and learn from each other about the complex and obscure ways through which transnational corporations have managed to capture our democratic structures and processes. Through lobby, economic influence, corruption and other tactics, corporations have been slowly making these structures and processes work for the benefit of the corporate elites, and against the interests of the people. It is also a space to learn about iconic struggles against corporate power, get inspired by collective actions demanding the right to say no to harmful investments, and forge new ways of resisting, mobilizing and transforming our societies.
In 2024, our workshop will focus on African narratives around energy and climate justice, discussing topics such as:
– Who is at the frontlines of facing climate impacts?
– What have been the strategies used by fossil fuel companies to delay and weaken urgently needed climate action?
– Which narratives coming from within the continent help reinforce models of exploitation and carbon colonialism?
– What are false solutions, who is pushing them, and how do they distract us from the real solutions?
– What are some of the instruments and tools that corporations have at their disposal to reap profits out of crises?
– What hides behind the word ‘development’, as we see more and more dirty energy projects being promoted in our territories in the global South?
– And in what ways are the shrinking of civic space and increased government authoritarianism a reflection of the corporate hijack of our democracies?
As we debate and try to answer these and other questions, we will also look at solutions: what kind of clean and popular energy solutions are being implemented across the continent and across the globe, that not only present a solution to the climate and energy crisis, but also contribute to rolling back the unregulated power of transnational corporations?
As Justiça Ambiental JA! celebrates it’s 20th anniversary of its official founding, we invite you all to join us for this radically emancipatory event about understanding corporate power in its many forms, and taking collective action to dismantle it. Our purpose here will be to collectively understand how our daily problems have origins in systemic issues, and how we can address the injustices of the current systems by organizing our movements and taking collective action against the corporate take-over. Our climate, our planet, our humanity demand it!
The Workshop will take place in Maputo, on August 12th to 15th. To register, please write an e-mail with your name and institution to impunidade.corporativa@gmail.com or via phone on +258 86 8242893 / 21 496668.