MEDIA ADVISORY: Coalition of Climate Justice Groups Announce a Week of Protest at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco

MEDIA ADVISORY

BAY AREA CLIMATE JUSTICE SPOKESCOUNCIL

Contact:

Scott Parkin, 415-235-0596, sparki@riseup.net

Piper McNulty: 408-202-9416; pipermcn4climate@gmail.com

For Immediate Release:

Coalition of Climate Justice Groups Announce a Week of Protest at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco

San Francisco, CA: This week, a coalition of climate justice groups announced a week of protest and action during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in mid-November. The summit will feature 1,200 corporate CEOs, including the heads of Exxonmobil, Chevron and Citibank, and 20 heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden, President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines. APEC will have major impacts on the climate crisis, the global economy, human rights, worker rights and more for decades to come.

What: A week of action protesting the APEC Summit in San Francisco. Organizers are demanding corporate and governmental officials act to end climate pollution, end the disproportionate impact the climate crisis has on impoverished communities of color in their own nations and globally and stop trade attacks on climate action.

When: November 11-18, 2023

Who: A coalition of climate justice groups,that includes Extinction Rebellion SF Bay, 350 Bay Area, Oil & Gas Action Network, Mt. Diablo Rising Tide and the 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations. This grouping is part of the larger “No to APEC” coalition made up of labor, trade, diaspora, student and local community groups organizing to say NO to APEC’s corporate agenda.

Why:

“Once again world leaders and CEOs of giant corporations are coming together behind closed doors to determine what is possible for huge portions of our society without any input from those most affected,” said Leah Redwood of the Oil and Gas Action Network. “This will result in the continuation of the business as usual that is causing havoc with our climate, abuse of working people, and extreme poverty for many. We are coming together to say no more to neoliberal exploitation of this planet and its people.”

“When world leaders extend invitations to CEOs from the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex and big surveillance you can be sure that whatever “free trade” agreement is decided on will not be in the interest of the environment, of labor and of the popular will of the people,” said Nik Evasco, Organizing Director at 350 Bay Area. “The San Francisco Bay Area has a history of popular resistance to neoliberal exploitation and the APEC gathering in November will be no different.”

“Younger generations are angry about the threats climate change poses to our future, and we’ve had enough of empty promises.  One meaningful step world leaders should immediately take is announcing a Climate Peace Clause under which they agree to end trade attacks on each other’s clean energy and other climate initiatives,” said Will Wiltschko, director of the California Trade Justice Coalition.  “We can’t allow outdated trade rules to continue being used to weaken and delay ambitious climate action.  Our homes are on fire now.”

“We need to prioritize the people and planet over the profit and plunder that APEC will be pushing in November,” said Rhonda Ramiro with the No to APEC Coalition. “We’re going to take to the streets to oppose this elitist country club of the rich and fight in solidarity with people around the world struggling for social, economic, political and climate justice.”

“Starbucks Workers United Western States have signed on to the No to APEC Coalition because we know what will happen behind closed doors during the APEC summit is exactly what happens when large multinational corporations and their board of directors meet behind workers backs but at an exacerbated rate,” said Edith Saldano of Starbucks Workers United. “We know what will happen during the APEC summit will only hurt the working class of these 21 different countries and the workers here in the United States have a duty to shut it down.”

“We stand with the No to APEC resistance in November alongside climate justice groups, Indigenous and frontline groups to defend and protect  each other and future generations from the destructive assault by APEC leaders, CEOs and their policies,” Maureen Katz of the 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations said.

More Information: https://bit.ly/ResistAPEC, https://www.bayclimateaction.com/ and https://linktr.ee/no2apec

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