Jade Lindgaard
in Léo Matarasso, Seminario del 6 dicembre 2008, Cedetim, Parigi
I’ll keep it simple. Perhaps what we are doing echoes what you are doing, and we could meet again and exchange at another time. Our proposal is as follows: we wondered whether it would be possible today to refer the climate project to the Tribunal. The difficulty is to identify very clearly the “climate” crime, which would mean establishing a link between the climate and the environment with social rights, human rights and political rights.
This week, we are reading a book that is a warning. In the last few years, we have seen a very clear concern about climate issues. But the situation today has nothing to do with the situation ten years ago. There is a real awareness among political decision-makers and activists. But at the same time, we can see that on the ground, with the economic recovery plans, we are ignoring many things that were said a short time ago.
So what should we do? We can recall that it is really a question of the right of human beings to a clean environment, to unpolluted soil, to food sovereignty, to energy sovereignty. It seems to me that the issue of climate justice is a good way to raise this question of rights and at the same time strong acts are needed to underline this, symbolic moments, working moments. Decisions should be taken that are as legal and as institutionally based as possible.
In discussions with Gus in particular, I thought that the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal could be such a place. There is also the question of North-South relations in this issue. All of this is very much linked. I have come to see you because my group is very keen to work with you.
What could we imagine that would be legally serious, while perhaps being experimental? Would you be interested in working on this subject and in that case could we meet again to work on it?
Lindgaard, Jade