Climate crisis solutions proposed by first regional XR People’s Assembly

EXTINCTION Rebellion has held its first People’s Assembly in Newcastle, as a first step in a strategy to create a ‘citizens’ crisis parliament’ for the UK.

In a busy Star and Shadow Cinema, in Warwick Street yesterday (Sunday 9 October), an enthusiastic crowd of activists and general public gathered to grapple with the question ‘In what ways might we respond to the crises we face together?’

The crises referred to included climate change and others linked to it, such as the environmental and social harm of global capitalism – and inability of government to find real solutions.

They are all, said the organisers, inextricably connected.

“The problem with our politics is that our politicians are in a popularity contest that ends every five years,” said XR event facilitator Andy Redfern, who runs The Green Heart Collective clothes-recycling social enterprise in Team Valley, Gateshead.

“We don’t have time to wait for our politicians to find their backbones and do what ordinary people like us need.”

The People’s Assembly idea is XR’s plan to speed up change, by creating a ‘people’s voice’ too loud for the politicians to ignore.

XR is staging regional Assemblies across the country, then bringing together all the ideas for change they produce, to create a national ‘people’s agenda for change’.

This agenda would be the basis for a national Citizens’ Assembly, which would use them to propose a national crisis action plan, the aim being to push the Government – and companies – into action.

“What’s going to make the change is corporations and governments actually signing up to what’s really going on and delivering the plan we need,” said Andy.

The first step in the process saw the audience at the Star and Shadow asked to identify the issues important to them, and come up with solutions.

Working in groups, they came up with ideas for action which included:

• devolving political power down to ‘community’ level, to allow local people to create localised solutions, such as food-growing schemes;
• harnessing public ‘consumer power’, for example by persuading people to switch their bank accounts and investments away from ‘harmful’ institutions en-masse;
• creating a carbon rationing system to limit personal pollution, alongside a campaign to stigmatise carbon release – in the same way as used against smoking;
• creating a public conversation to re-define ‘wealth’ away from money and possessions and towards more spiritual and philosophical measures, such as happiness, health and positive action.

XR event co-facilitator Issy Crocker, a trainer and coach in adult education, told the meeting: “Humanity has the resources and technology to feed and clothe every single person alive today. All we need to do is overcome the political obstacles.”

What is needed, she said, is “peaceful people power”, adding: “We bring hope, and hope is what is needed as an antidote to the despair and hopelessness that so many – young people in particular – are experiencing today.”

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How the conversation went (an observer’s takeaway)

‘FRUSTRATION’ might be a good word to sum up the feeling within the People’s Assembly working group who allowed us to sit in on their session.

Frustration at the global corporations they blame for the climate crisis, and at the inexplicable inaction of governments and most of their fellow-citizens in the face of the threat to us all.

But also frustration at their own inability to come up with practical global solutions.

The group articulated very clearly their individual feelings and philosophies on the situation, but time and again ended by saying “…but I don’t know what we do about that”.

Despite that, the conversation felt uplifting; like a real beginning, a sharing of collective ideas which could lead eventually to those elusive practical measures, given time.

A desire for revolutionary change was powerful, but the lack of aggressive or militant approaches was striking, especially at an event organised by a group associated with often-controversial direct action.

Here is a flavour of the conversation…

Frances – “I already think I’ve consumed too much in my lifetime and I’m living frugally now, and I’m actually really enjoying it, and I think we’ve got to find ways to do that and to enjoy it.”

Jen – “All this time I think I’ve been focusing on fighting the Government and getting the Government to listen, and now I’ve changed my view. I don’t think the Government is going to change anything.

“Now I think everybody needs to come together in every community and let’s just start to breed positive things on our communities; just be the people who plant the seeds for change.”

Steve – “It’s about focusing on what unites us, rather than what divides us. It’s becoming more apparent that our Government isn’t going to help us, so we need to do these things ourselves, and it’s a learning process.

“What we need is courage to take bold steps, and steps that may be emotionally very uncomfortable at times, and have difficult conversations and to do things that we don’t really want to have to do. People in power have to have the courage to envisage a different system and a very different way of doing things.”

Jen – “Local social enterprise might be a good way to go, but these are global problems we’re facing, so that has to be applied across the world somehow and connected up in some way.”

Janine – felt it is important to take a positive approach, not just to protest but to advocate for a better way. “I’m against genetically modified food, but my attitude is not to focus on the negative of that but on the positive, and to talk about what I do want rather than what I don’t,” she said. “That seems a better way to get the message across.”

Tom – “The views of people in power are too narrow, they’re too concerned with their own agenda, not the bigger picture, and it’s the same with people on the street, who say ‘No, I’m OK, go away’ whenever you approach them to discuss it.”

Joe – “We need to tap into the wisdom of the people, and also really value the younger generation and be mindful of health and wellbeing.”

Sue – “There’s a problem with the media, I think. There’s a massive discrepancy between how the information is coming through and how it’s feeding into power. What can we do to address that?”