AUGUST 4th. COP26 COALITION WEST MIDLANDS – Action Planning

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cop26-coalition-west-midlands-action-planning-tickets-164965756017?fbclid=IwAR2a9cp5HpgRUsRvB0Y4E3GofdBLFiTfhi8D2PIV7FF91lDEiCdyx7ssybA

Today!

AUGUST 4th COP26 COALITION WEST MIDLANDS – Action Planning

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/cop26-coalition-west…

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The UN Climate Conference “COP26” in Glasgow in November is a vital international event. COP26 Coalition are supporting a wide range of actions running up to November to bring together local and global movements to bring climate justice to COP26.

Following the hugely successful launch of COP26 Coalition West Midlands on 20th July, this follow up online meeting on 4th August will focus on practical actions in five categories:

1) Supporting the day of action in Glasgow on / around 6th November.

2) Local actions around our region, especially during “Great Big Green Week” and other key dates.

3) Supporting various campaign walks visiting our region in the run up to COP26.

4) Boosting our collective lobbying of local and national politicians to take climate action.

5) An introduction to COP26 – key themes and priorities – framing our campaign communications.

These discussions will be in 45 minute breakout sessions. Register for free now and chose a breakout session.

COP26 will be a critical point for our diverse movements to come together to build power for system change and climate justice. To make this happen across the UK, we need as many people to come together and take action – not only in November in Glasgow, but across the West Midlands and beyond, before and after COP26.

Connect with and beyond the climate movement, joining up with trade unions, faith groups, housing campaigners, anti-racist activists, LGBTQ campaigners, local community organisers and more. The different crises we face are interconnected, and they can only be tackled if we connect all of our struggles. We are keen to welcome in folks from a broad spectrum of groups; please get in touch if you have any questions about this.

Let’s join together to bring about real change. For more information, please get in touch on

westmidlands@cop26coalition.org

Accessibility

This event will be an online video call – joining details will be sent after you register.

We aim to make presentations and workshop notes available afterwards.

We may record the event and/or share a transcript afterwards with anyone who gets in touch to let us know.

Please get in touch if you have other accessibility needs.

Care and Justice

We would like to invite the West Midlands Coalition to work towards aligning with COP26 Coalition’s Care and Justice Policy.

There will be short presentations at the start on topics relevant to the climate crisis.

Stephen Earle Rogers will come and talk on West Midlands pensions/divesting from fossil fuels.

Camille from the COP 26 Coalition will come and talk on “What strategic effective grassroots action leading to COP 26 can look like”

The meeting will be chaired by Anneka.

Register for the event above.

Please share with your friends and networks.

Want to work together for climate justice across the West Midlands?

We’re inviting you to be a part of the COP26 Coalition West Midlands conversation

🚀🚀Join us on Tuesday 20th July, 7-8.30pm for our public Launch Assembly.

Connect with and beyond the climate movement, joining up with trade unions, faith groups, housing campaigners, anti-racist activists, LGBTQ campaigners, local community organisers and more.

COP26 Coalition West Midlands Launch Tue 20 July 7-8.30pm on Zoom

Around the world, we are facing multiple crises. Climate justice means understanding that these crises are connected, and that it can only be tackled if we connect all of our struggles. When COP26 takes place in Glasgow this November, it will be a critical point for our movements to come together to build power for system change. To make this happen across the UK, we need as many people to come together and take action – not only in November in Glasgow, but across the West Midlands and beyond, before and after COP26.

The COP26 Coalition are supporting a series of events running up to November to bring together local and global movements and begin some action planning of how we will bring climate justice to COP26.

Connect with and beyond the climate movement, joining up with trade unions, faith groups, housing campaigners, anti-racist activists, LGBTQ campaigners, local community organisers and more.

Join this gathering to come together and discuss how we can:

• Gather: Why is climate justice crucial to all of us? What are the great things already happening in the West Midlands?

• Support: What support do we need? What support can we offer? How can we come together to grow our ability to bring about real change?
• Send: Discuss how we can build mass mobilisations for COP26, both remotely from the West Midlands and in person in Glasgow.

• Grow: Convene and grow the movement for climate justice in the West Midlands.
  

Let’s join together to bring about real change. For more information, please get in touch on westmidlands@cop26coalition.org

The different crises we face are interconnected, and they can only be tackled if we connect all of our struggles. We are keen to welcome in folks from a broad spectrum of groups; please get in touch if you have any questions about this.

Accessibility

This event will be an online video call – joining details to follow.
We will make presentations available afterwards.
We can record the event and/or share a transcript afterwards with anyone who needs this.Please get in touch if you have other accessibility needs.

This event is hosted by Climate Action Network West Midlands. See us on Facebook. The Zoom link will be published there near the date.

Winning Climate Justice: COP26 and Global Solidarity – Mon 12 July 19.00-20.30 on Zoom

Join speakers from the COP26 Coalition and across the Labour movement to discuss how we can win this battle for climate justice.

CLIVE LEWIS | JEREMY CORBYN | MERCEDES VILLALBA

REBECCA LONG-BAILEY | ASAD REHMAN | CAMILLE BARBAGALLO

HOSTED BY: GAYA SRISKANTHAN AND OLLY ARMSTRONG

by COP26 Coalition

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Over the next year, we will see huge battles between a just recovery from the pandemic and attempts to maintain the status quo – against a backdrop of a deepening climate crisis. These battles will determine whether we intensify the crisis to the point of no return, or lay the foundations for dignified lives, sustainable jobs and climate justice across the world.

It’s already clear that under the political elites’ mask of ‘green recovery’ is a total resistance against making the systemic changes necessary to stop the multiple crises we face. To win, progressive Labour and social movements need to rapidly deepen global solidarity, build people-power and put vigorous energy into developing collective visions that address these crises. The solutions are clear, now we must put them into action.

Join speakers from the COP26 Coalition and across the Labour movement to discuss how we can win this battle for climate justice. Hear the exciting plans on how we will bring climate justice to COP26 and beyond with a global climate justice mobilisation on Saturday 6 November.

Partners: COP26 Coalition, Momentum, Labour for Green New Deal, Peace and Justice, The World Transformed

Two events this Saturday: NHS Rally and Women Chainmakers’ Festival

NHS 73rd Anniversary Rally – 2.00pm on 3rd July in Victoria Square, Birmingham

This event is to protest for patient safety, pay justice for all NHS workers and an end to the privatisation of our NHS. Please come along and show your support for NHS workers who have done a fantastic job looking after us all throughout the Covid crisis. We now need to show our appreciation and solidarity for our NHS heroes.

TUC Women Chainmakers’ Festival – online event 10.30am-1.00pm on 3rd July

Once again, this event will be online this year and will celebrate the and recognise the role of women in the trade union movement. The event will involve two panel sessions focusing on leading women in the trade union movement and women who have been ‘on the front line’ fighting for workers this year. Speakers include TUC General Secretary, Francis O’Grady and NEU National Officer, Louise Regan.

The Council’s new Climate Assembly model isn’t fit for purpose – we need consultation on an alternative

The Council held the first Climate Assembly on June 23. It replaces the Route to Zero Taskforce meetings. In the two hour webinar there were 5 slide-show presentations: an introduction followed by Housing, City of Nature, Brum Breathes and Birmingham Net Zero. There were apparently around a hundred present but names weren’t shown.

There were a number of key issues that needed to be challenged, or were omitted altogether, but there was little time for questions and no discussion. However, here we just focus on the most important one: that this new Assembly model means there will be just 3 Assemblies a year, in February, June and November. That means just 6 hours a year to deal with all the Climate Emergency issues facing us. This is completely unacceptable. 

Hostels from hell: the ‘supported housing’ that blights Birmingham

The private hostels are meant to care for vulnerable homeless people. But as crime soars, users suffer and neighbours despair, questions are being asked. Read this article in today’s Observer at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/hostels-from-hell-the-supported-housing-that-blights-birmingham

Here are some more extracts:

The Limitations of Community Wealth Building – a response to ‘Paint Your Town Red’

After Labour’s general election defeat in 2019 CWB has seemed to continue to offer a viable localist strategy under the Conservative government, including a solution to the economic crisis created by Covid.

The case for CWB is spelled out most recently in the book Paint Your Town Red by Matthew Brown, the leader of Preston Council, and Rhian Jones, the editor of Red Pepper, published in May this year.

Contrary to its claims, CWB is not a programme for radical transformation of a neoliberal capitalist economy, but it can raise important issues of local politics for socialist activists. Momentum held a webinar on ‘Paint Your Town Red’ on 16 June this year with the leaders of Preston, Salford, Wirral and North Ayrshire councils and is now developing a CWB Toolkit. CWB will be a theme of TWT at Labour Party conference.

Read the article at Anti-Capitalist Resistance https://anticapitalistresistance.org/the-limitations-of-community-wealth-building/ – with a link to the longer version with references to Birmingham.

 

‘A Better Recovery for the West Midlands’

This report by the TUC was launched online on 6 July 2020 by Frances O’Grady (TUC Gen Sec), Annmarie Kilcline (Unite), Ravi Subramanian (Unison), Lee Barron (Midlands TUC Gen Sec) and Liam Byrne (Labour candidate for WM Mayor). (The GMB speaker was unable to attend.)

 It is now nearly a year old, but it is the most recent TUC report on economic recovery for the West Midlands.* What we need urgently now is an update on what actions have been taken and what progress has been achieved. We are publishing key local extracts to help see where more action and stronger policies are needed.