You can’t stop us

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  Helen Aker

  Climate & Energy Editor

Several thousand people from different countries and continents demonstrated at the Climate Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. They chanted slogans such as “we are not defeated”, “you can’t stop us” and “no climate justice without human rights”.

The Sharm El-Sheikh summit lasts for two weeks, similar to previous climate conferences. In previous years, like last year in Glasgow, large demonstrations took place over the weekend, with tens of thousands of activists taking to the streets.

This is not the case in Egypt. The right to protest was restricted by the government. And according to AI, you have to register in advance if you want to pretend. The idea is that this deters activists.

Unlike in other years, today’s demonstration remains entirely within the walls of the Congress. It extends over several well-protected halls, large tents and open spaces in between. During the Summit, these territories are officially considered United Nations territory. The UN guarantees the safety of activists, after that there is no guarantee. Don’t make the protesters less combative. Who are they and why are they taking action? Three pictures.

“In my country, there is a lot of deforestation and the land is becoming less fertile due to the increasing heat. We recently had landslides after heavy rains that killed people and destroyed homes. I am 29 years old and I work a lot with women and children. They have noticed very well that the climate in Cameroon is changing We are happy that the summit is now in Africa I think Africans should take the floor and make sure they are listened to.

As for the solutions to be implemented in Africa due to the climate, the people themselves must take action. Give Africa some money, let Africa look at themselves and point out the problems they are facing and let them implement the solutions themselves.”

“It’s hard to make our voices heard here. It took me more than twenty hours to get here in Sharm El Sheikh. I am 25 years old, I studied anthropology. Fortunately, today we were able to campaign for the first time. Rich countries must take responsibility, Japan must Also to pay, so that other countries can adapt to climate change, Japan has released a lot of greenhouse gases, which is why we have to act, as well as for other countries in Asia.

Personally, I am very concerned about the climate. Japan island. There are more and more heat waves, and many people who work outside are already lost from the heat. I hope they succeed here at the climate conference to limit temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5 degrees.”

“I am joining the demonstration because it is good to protest with other young people from all over the world. I am 29 years old, and I work in a youth organization. I represent the region where I come from, in the northeast of Brazil: there are a lot of discussions in my country about cutting Forests, and I’m very happy that we recently had a new president, under the leadership of his predecessor Bolsonaro, there has been a lot of deforestation in Brazil, which is bad for the climate.

Under his successor, Lula da Silva, we hope that will stop. We will definitely pressure him to do so. I hope in the coming years more young people will hear themselves at these kinds of climate conferences, even if it’s hard to get there.”