Successful climate justice organizing relies on an accurate and comprehensive analysis of the problems confronting humanity. 

We have exposed exploitative systems and oppressions as the root causes and threats to life on Earth. (For example, capitalism is an extraction economy based on greed, racism, classism, sexism, colonization, genocide, and war.) These systems and oppressions have successfully used a “divide and conquer” strategy to confuse oppressed peoples about their common goals and turn us against one another so they can maintain power and weaken our movements for change. This parallel event will explore strategies for climate justice organizing that transcends the oppressive concept of human enemies.

One of the divide-and-conquer tactics has been to define certain individuals as enemies who must be defeated.  Organizing around the concept of certain humans as enemies is now limiting our reach and effectiveness as a climate justice movement.  The next step for movement builders is to recognize the concept of human enemies as a tool of systemic oppression and that our liberation movements will always be constrained by using a tool of oppression.  Setting human against human will never dismantle the forces that have created and perpetuated the climate crisis.

This workshop will explore an evolution in strategy for climate justice organizing that transcends the oppressive concept of human enemies. Caring for people and all living beings remains central as we develop a strategy more focused on opposing all systems of human oppression. We will explore the tools that can assist us to make a critical shift in our collective mindset. This shift can enable us to engage more people, act more decisively, and support effective, united global action.