LOS ANGELES (USA), September 29— “We all need to take climate change seriously. If we don’t, we won’t have much of the earth planet anymore,” a student told classmates.
“Politicians are often seeking their position of power and end up making regulations or policies that worsen our conditions,” commented another.
Record heat waves across the northern hemisphere have young people boiling with rage.
Tens of thousands marched in New York on September 17 “to end fossil fuels.” Sponsored by the Sunrise Movement, it was part of a week-long international project of a non-profit called the Climate Group.
The Covid pandemic temporarily derailed the youth climate movement that took off globally in 2019. Now it’s back and growing.
Global climate change is real. Young people’s anger is justified. We applaud their activism. But we must warn that cynical politicians and other pro-capitalist misleaders are steering them into a dead (and deadly) end.
Capitalism can’t be reformed to fix the climate crisis it created. We shouldn’t make “demands” on governments or corporations. We shouldn’t try to “hold them accountable.” Instead, we should organize for communist revolution to overthrow them and their disastrous capitalist system.
Non-Profits Serve Capitalist Interests, Not Ours
The Climate Group explains, “We work with leaders and decision makers from business and government because they shape the market frameworks that can help the world achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”
Those “market frameworks” are exactly the problem. Capitalist markets force companies to compete for maximum profits. Industrial companies need money to start up, to retool, and to guarantee their cash flow. They get it from financial companies who invest (and compete) for maximum returns. All those profits come from exploiting workers’ labor.
Let’s. Get. Money. Out. Of. It. We, the working class, must become the leaders and decision makers. Only we can create a framework that can serve our needs. Including our need for a livable planet.
Communism is that framework. It gets rid of capitalist markets, profits, money, and all the evils they create and sustain. Instead, we will work to decide what we need, produce it, and share it. Is that possible? Yes! The masses, when mobilized for communism, will become a mighty global force.
Youth and the US Democratic Party: Contradictions
The US Sunrise Movement calls itself “The Climate Revolution.” But it is committed to pacifism and elections, not real revolution.
Sunrise tries to be the “radical” wing of the Democratic Party. In primary elections, it only endorses candidates without direct ties to fossil-fuel interests. But in general elections, it will support a so-called “lesser-evil” candidate even if they fail the fossil-fuel test.
Sunrise activists protested at the office of (Republican) House Speaker McCarthy on September 28. They demanded he prevent a government shutdown and keep the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) active during the hurricane season. But the real goal was to build youth support for Democrats. Signs read, “The GOP hates Gen Z.”
The Sunrise Movement also demanded full implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This is President Biden’s signature “climate legislation.” You won’t hear Sunrise talk about helping US imperialism prepare for world war. But that’s what’s at stake with the IRA. (See “US Auto Strike,” page 2.)
Sunrise already has problems keeping its young activists tied to the Democratic Party. Last March, the Biden administration approved ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. It green-lighted the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline in West Virginia.
“Biden hasn’t been the climate president that he had promised,” complained a New York climate activist.
“That betrayal was so stark,” declared another.
Politicians will always betray the working class when their capitalist bosses demand it.
Climate Crisis is a Class Issue, Not an Age Issue
The United Nations recognizes that “the world is home to the largest generation of youth in history.” Young and older workers have the same class interest in ending the devastating capitalist system. And in building a communist society that will reverse climate catastrophe and unify the masses around the world.
Young activists will become “agents of change” but not (as the UN says) by becoming capitalist “entrepreneurs and innovators.” We invite them to become real change agents by joining, building, and energizing the International Communist Workers’ Party.
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