CAFES member Fridays for Future Ottawa-Gatineau is taking their organizing to a new level this year! At this September's annual Climate March, Fridays for Future Ottawa-Gatineau is combining the colourful march with public education. The march will stop at six organizations' doorstops in downtown Ottawa that are blocking effective climate policy and action, spreading misinformation, and providing funding to the disastrous fossil fuel industry.
Fridays for Future is a climate movement inspired by the actions of youth activist Greta Thunberg. Since 2018, Fridays for Future has grown into a global movement with local chapters all around the world –including here in Ottawa.
The Fridays for Future Ottawa (FFFO) team is a small intergenerational group of volunteers who believe that we need collective action to demonstrate our growing concern about the immediate changes that are needed to address climate breakdown. FFFO is demanding that our political leaders and governments step up with urgent collective action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees and protect populations from climate risks.
Climate change is a global crisis that impacts everyone; yet, we are not all equally responsible for causing it, nor are we impacted by it equally. In fact, the communities who are the least responsible for climate change often experience the most detrimental impacts, including flooding, heat islands, pollution, contamination and physical and mental health impacts. We need an immediate transition to renewable energy that is just and equitable, and supports our Net-Zero goals - which refers to a state in which any greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere. For this to happen, nations across the globe must immediately stop the use of fossil fuels.
On Saturday September 21st at 11:00am, join FFFO and march to the downtown locations of six of Canada's CLIMATE CULPRITS standing in the way of climate action. The gathering will begin at Ottawa's City Hall at 110 Laurier Avenue and the rally will continue at several locations around the city (see map below). Read on to learn more about the Climate Culprits, provided and written by FFFO:
Municipal climate action can be a powerful force for change, but it requires strong leadership, dedicated support, and follow through in order to work — and we haven’t seen that in Ottawa. We’re calling out the City of Ottawa for their lack of timely, decisive action on climate change.
The fossil fuel industry is held up by the financial support of banking institutions like the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which is consistently one of the largest funders of fossil fuels in the world. We’re calling out RBC for throwing their customers’ money onto the deadly climate fire!
The Canadian Gas Association (CGA) is an industry association that represents Canada’s natural gas distribution industry. Its members are distribution companies, transmission companies, equipment manufacturers and others; all cogs in the machine destroying our planet and pushing for the continuation and expansion of the industry through lies, lobbying, and propaganda. We’re calling out the Canadian Gas Association for lying to Canadians through their fake online persona, Voice for Energy!
Addressing the climate crisis requires large-scale systemic change, and we can’t do that without the support of our provincial government. Strong climate action at the provincial level would create fertile ground for municipal climate action, and further federal climate action – it’s all connected. Instead, Ford’s government only seems interested in fighting federal climate policy and expanding harmful fossil fuel industries like gas. We need a provincial government that works toward, and not against, a green, sustainable future for all. We’re calling out the Doug Ford government for blocking affordable, abundant, renewable energy for Ontarians!
CAPP is an industry association (like the CGA) representing the interests of 35 Canadian oil and gas companies. Its membership is responsible for most of the country’s annual fossil fuel production – and all of the pollution that comes with it. The oil and gas industry is Canada’s largest and fastest-growing source of pollution - and while other sectors are cutting back on their emissions, CAPP’s members are free to pollute as much as they like. We’re calling out CAPP for polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we need to survive!
The fossil fuel industry can’t function without financial support… so why do we keep funding oil and gas companies with subsidies and loans? Export Development Canada (EDC) is a Crown corporation that supports international trade by providing loans, insurance, and subsidies to Canadian companies to support exports–which include fossil fuels. We need to shift government-backed financing away from fossil fuels and into renewable energy, and that starts with EDC. We’re calling out EDC for pouring fuel on the climate fire! Don't forget to also sign the Fridays For Future Ottawa’s petition demanding that EDC close all fossil fuel portfolios NOW.
CLICK HERE to find more actions you can take to expose the culprits.
Interested in volunteering for the Climate March? Head straight to the registration link to indicate your interests in volunteering to make signs, hand out posters, support social media and web design, marshall at the event, fundraise, and lots more!
Planning on attending the March? Check out this link to explore the many different ways you can "plug in" by donating, spreading the word, attending the march, and promoting FFFO on social media.
Check out the road map below to see where we will be marching:
For more information visit the Fridays for Future Ottawa website or contact info@fridaysforfutureottawa.org (or complete the contact form).