1. Coconut-leaf windmills dotting the Pacific
Photo: Pacific Climate Warriors from Vanuatu get ready to Rise.
At 19 events across 15 nations, people from Pacific island states will be featuring Kikonang. Made from coconut leaves, they’re intended to symbolize the immediate need for a just transition to renewable energy. Despite contributing the least to the causes of climate change, whilst enduring some of its worst effects, Pacific people are showing real climate leadership. They’ll be handing in petitions calling on local institutions, leaders and governments to pledge by 2020 that they will commit to 100% renewable energy (Tokelau is already there!)
2. Huge numbers in Paris, France
The Facebook event for the Paris march, featuring this image, is approaching 100,000 people interested.
Paris is set to have record-breaking numbers at its Saturday march. Last week, France’s famed Environment minister Nicolas Hulot suddenly resigned over an inability to get meaningful work done for the climate. Following the announcement, organizers have seen a major spike in attendance, and more than 60 events are planned in France.
3. Women-led action against coal in Asia
The 2018 Women’s Day march in Manila.
In the Philippines and Thailand, women are leading marches against coal. In Quezon City (Philippines), a women’s march in front of the Department of Environment will push for the end of coal development in the region. They’ll be acting in solidarity with women marching against coal and rallying in front of the UN Climate change meeting in Bangkok. Some of the projects they’re combating include the Thepa Coal Plant in Pattani (Thailand) and projects in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao (in the Philippines).
4. The world’s largest street mural in San Francisco
At a recent Rise for Climate press conference introducing the mural in San Francisco
At the flagship location in San Francisco, tens of thousands will march in the biggest climate mobilization the west coast of the U.S. has ever seen. So to do it justice, people will be painting the biggest street mural the world has ever seen, to permanently lay down the message: we must stop all fossil fuels and accelerate to 100% renewable energy that works for everyone.Painting is already underway – read more here.
5. A callout from Turkey to California
In August, this hot air balloon flew over Capadoccia, in the heart of Anatolia, Turkey to spread the word about #RiseforClimate around Turkey and the world. Photo: 350 Turkiye
Kadıköy, a municipality in Istanbul, is expecting a big turnout over the weekend for a festival featuring movie projections and public forums. The Kadıköy Climate Ambassadors and members of the local community have been key organizers, and are campaigning for the municipality to commit to 100% renewable energy. The mayor will be in attendance – and along with citizens, they’ll call on other local leaders gathering in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit the following week to commit their municipalities to action.
6. A big moment for a just transition in Portugal
A march to keep it in the ground and stop oil development from 2016 in Lisbon. Photo: Salvar O Clima, Parar O Petróleo
The movement to go Fossil Free has been building up in Portugal, and now we’re seeing some important forces join. People mobilizing to halt oil development – most recently offshore drilling of the southwestern coast near Aljezur – will march alongside the country’s biggest trade union, and more than 40 other groups. They’re joining together to demand a fair and rapid transition to renewable energy, and an end to all new fossil fuel projects in Portugal. That means a concrete plan for an energy transition towards renewables. Lisbon will host the biggest march, but others are planned in the cities of Porto and Faro.
7. A #RiseforClimate Ship sailing into Sydney Harbor
Photo: Sydney’s famed opera house sits on the harbor. Here, an action from 2009.
That’s right – in addition to the 40 events planned across the country-continent, a ship with sails featuring images from Rise will sail across the iconic harbor. They’re also publishing a report with the most inspiring renewable projects and actors from across the nation, and a big anti-fracking rally will take place in the remote Northern Territory.
8. Multi-day action in Nigeria to go renewable
David Michael on television September 4, 2018 to lay out #RiseforClimate plans for Abuja, Nigeria.
In Nigeria’s capital, the Abuja Climate Summit will kick off on Thursday to push for real commitments to go Fossil Free in a country dominated by oil development. Politicians and religious leaders will gather to share ambition and commitments they’re making for a Fossil Free world. Then, a public, art-infused march, led by youth, will showcase this action on the 8th. It’s an impressive application of the theory of change behind Rise: getting actionable local commitments to go Fossil Free.
9. One of the world’s first “Virtual Hologram Marches” in Manila
A pixelstick can be used to project images in public spaces, like this group did in Manila in 2017. Photo: 350 Pilipinas
What to do when policing makes it hard to hold a march? Get creative! Organizers in the Philippines are using technology to enable participation from home. People are sending in images of themselves to be projected in iconic locations around the city, where a “normal” rally might never reach.
And that’s a wrap – with 748 events now in 89 countries (and rising daily!) you can be sure that September the 8th is going to be both amazing and incredibly inspiring.
Wherever you are in the world, there’s bound to be a #RiseforClimate action happening near you. You can still join an event near you, and follow all the live coverage over the weekend: