COP29 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference which is currently underway in Baku Azerbaijan. However, Portugal’s climate activism group Climáximo has spoken out against the summit. The group has called it a fraud claiming that the event does not serve the planet’s interests. Climáximo says it favors fossil fuel companies and their profits. The group plans a protest in Lisbon on November 23 to bring attention to what they see as failures in climate policy.
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Climáximo Climate Group Criticizes COP29
Climáximo’s frustration with COP29 grew after a video of the summit’s chief executive surfaced. The chief executive appears to discuss agreements related to fossil fuel expansion in the video. Climáximo argues that this shows the summit is more focused on business than on helping the environment.
According to the group, the event is just another chance for fossil fuel companies to secure deals while avoiding real action on climate change.
Climáximo said in the statement:
No solution will come from these conferences, which are designed to fail: every year global leaders sit around the negotiating table with thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists to decide how they will continue to expand the burning of oil, gas and coal and enrich themselves at the expense of the devastation of the entire world
A spokesperson for Climáximo Inês Teles spoke out strongly against COP29. She said the yearly climate conferences are part of a soap opera of civilizational collapse. Teles argues that fossil fuel lobbyists hold too much influence at these events. Every year global leaders sit around the table with fossil fuel lobbyists.
They discuss how to continue burning oil, gas, and coal. They put their profits over the planet’s health. She believes that the conference’s official goals of cutting emissions and increasing climate finance are only empty promises.
Current Climate Crisis In World
The climate crisis feels more urgent than ever. Severe storms hit Spain recently that caused more than 220 deaths. Events like this remind people of the worsening effects of climate change. Many point to the delayed action and weak policies set at previous COP conferences as partly responsible.
The recent United Nations Emissions Gap Report for 2024 adds to this urgency. The report warns that, if current policies continue the Earth’s temperature will rise by 3.1ºC by 2100. This far exceeds the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to below 2ºC.
Climáximo uses this report as evidence that COP29 is not doing enough to address the crisis. They argue that even after 28 previous COP events the world remains on a dangerous path.
Teles said:
When we consider the options that the current system presents us with – aiming for hell or an even worse hell – it seems that there is no way out of the catastrophe
Teles also criticized her own country’s government for lacking climate action. She pointed to a recent draft of Portugal’s state budget and said it almost ignores climate issues. She also noted the recent re-election of Donald Trump in the United States calling it another setback.
In her view, people are being forced to choose between two bad options. Letting the climate crisis worsen or taking risky measures to drive change.
Support For Anti-COP Movement
Support is growing for alternative climate actions. Last week, activists gathered in Mexico for an event known as the anti-COP. The anti-COP brought together over 250 activists from around the world. This group included people from indigenous, peasant, migrant, and anti-colonial movements. They spent several days discussing ways to achieve real climate justice and creating a shared declaration.
Climáximo said:
After several days of work, the final declaration of the event affirms the unity of peoples around the world to stop the war that governments and companies have declared on peoples and the planet, reaffirming links between the movement for climate justice, indigenous, peasant, migrant, national liberation and anti-colonial movements
They claim that companies and states are really at war with people and the environment. Their view is that climate change is not only a problem for the earth, but also for people and the government.
Protest Planned For November 23 In Lisbon
In Lisbon, Climáximo is preparing a protest scheduled for November 23. The event is called Parar Enquanto Podemos, or “Stop While We Can.” Protesters will gather at Praça Paiva Couceiro and march to Praça do Chile. Climáximo hopes this event will raise awareness of the climate crisis and pressure leaders to act.
This protest is part of a larger movement for climate action. In a statement, Climáximo urged people to speak out, saying that political leaders often meet privately, but the public must make its voice heard in the streets. The options our current system gives us are bad. We are choosing between a terrible outcome or an even worse one. She argues that the climate crisis cannot wait any longer.
