Secure rights are the foundation of rapid transition. Without secure rights and a say over how to address climate change, decisions imposed from above may be resented or rejected.
For rapid transitions to work for all, they have to be just, and based on real, accessible and democratic decision-making. All kinds of positive rights have been agreed internationally over decades. Access to food, shelter, dignity, and freedom from persecution for all, sit alongside the rights of the child. But too often economic systems become entrenched that make securing these rights practically impossible, and climate breakdown is a further assault on all of them.
Sometimes the conflicts become stark and unmissable, such as when land, forest or fishing waters are grabbed from communities for remote, private gain, or a privatised water system prevents access to safe water. Finding ways to reclaim basic rights and see them properly realised and respected is a fundamental part of the picture of rapid transition.
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Story of change
A kiss of life for climate action: the rapid growth of youth protestA global youth movement to force government action on climate change has brought 1.4 million children and young people out on strike and created a dilemma...
Commentary
Given Half a Chance: Ten Ways to Save the WorldEnvironmentalist Edward Davey’s new book, Given Half a Chance: Ten Ways to Save the World shows how little it would take to set a rapid transition in...
Commentary
What would a climate emergency plan look like?Across the world, national and local governments are declaring a climate emergency on the back of dire warnings from UN scientists about the need for urgent...
Story of change
The simple strike goes global, led by young peopleIt might seem strange that bringing things to a standstill might help bring about a rapid transition, but that is exactly what a huge number of young people...
Story of change
Rojava in Syria – growing local democracy and defending ecology in the midst of conflictIn 2012 in Rojava, Northern Syria, a group of Kurds set up a secular, ethnically inclusive and bottom-up democratic system, in which all ethnic and...
Story of change
Transition Towns – the quiet, networked revolutionThe Transition Network began in 2006 in the small rural UK town of Totnes, Devon. It was initially a response to the twin threats of climate change and peak...
Story of change
A different Wind of Change – harnessing Africa’s largest wind project for climate actionAfter commencing only in 2015, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) in Kenya has rapidly become the largest such initiative in Africa, and Kenya’s...
Story of change
Educating girls is more effective in the climate emergency than many green technologiesHydrogen powered superyachts and donations from billionaires often grab headlines in the fight against climate change. Whilst more simple and potentially...
Story of change
‘Charismatic’ crisis-leadership by communities reveals a potential for rapid transitionsOften overlooked is the degree to which communities as a whole, rather than individuals demonstrate leadership in times of change and crisis. Charismatic...
