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Climate Camp Scotland
Jun 28, 20233 min read

Indigenous leader and Ukrainian activist among international speakers at camp - Press Release



Climate Camp Scotland Press Release 27 June 2023

  • Indigenous leader and Ukrainian activist among international speakers to address Climate Camp in Grangemouth

  • The programme of events for Climate Camp Grangemouth, taking place 12-17th July, has been released and will include a number of international speakers, as well as sessions focusing on Scottish independence and land rights.

  • The Camp will be opened by Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza, Ecuadorian activist (pictured above) and president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador.

  • Grangemouth will also hear from Ukrainian activist Iryna Zamuruieva about the Russian destruction of land and environment in Ukraine, and autonomous resistance in the country.

  • Campaigners from Kurdistan and India will also speak at the camp.

  • The camp will challenge INEOS’s petrochemical plant in Grangemouth, Scotland’s biggest polluter, emitting 2,752,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2020 (1)

Free Photos of speakers and camp at this link:


International speakers and activists will join local communities and campaigners as part of the programme at a climate camp in Grangemouth.


Held from 12 to 17th July, the camp is a chance for local residents, workers and activists to meet and build relationships. With guests from Ecuador, Ukraine, Kurdistan and India, the camp aims to forge solidarity between those affected by the fossil fuel industry worldwide.


The camp will be opened on 12th July by Ecuadorian activist Leonidas Iza, leader of the country’s biggest indigenous group. Iza led the 2019 and 2022 protests against the Ecuadorian government’s austerity measures and rising fuel prices, which disproportionately impacted the country’s poorest.


Later in the programme, campaigner Iryna Zamuruieva will hold a session about Russia’s destruction of Ukranian ecosystems and land, exploring the resistance to such practices in the country.


Other international speakers include representatives of the Internationalist Youth Coordination, who will share knowledge on Kurdish ecology and youth mobilisation, as well as a session on LGBTQ+ climate activism in India. Discussions on land rights, rewilding and Scottish independence will also feature, among other topics.


Quân Nguyễn, a spokesperson for Climate Camp Scotland, said:


"Climate Camp Grangemouth is an orientation point for climate activists to think about our strategies and tactics, and how we can restore momentum to hold polluters and governments to account. Having so many activists and resistance leaders from abroad leading the debate helps us learn from those on the frontline of the climate crisis. This knowledge in the face of an ever intensifying climate crisis is more urgently needed than ever."


Climate Camp Grangemouth speaker Iryna Zamuruieva added:


“Ukraine's resistance is also a climate justice struggle. This war reinforces the need to end the fossil fuel economy which Russia uses to fund ecocide and genocide. It also shows the need to join up our struggle with those defending their kin-regions against imperial and colonial violence.”


INEOS petrochemical plant in Grangemouth, the location for this year’s climate camp, is Scotland’s biggest polluter, emitting 2,752,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2020. Last month INEOS refused to participate in a Parliamentary inquiry about transition at Grangemouth (2) Levels of inequality in the surrounding areas are high, with 25% of children in the Falkirk council area living under the poverty line (3) while INEOS’s owner, Jim Ratcliffe, consistently ranks as one of the UK’s richest people (4).


The organisers of the camp say that this same pattern of inequality and exploitation exists across the world. By bringing international leaders and activists together, they hope to learn from each other’s struggles for fairness, equality and safe environments.


NOTES TO EDITORS


Climate Camp Grangemouth is being coordinated by Climate Camp Scotland, who are bringing workers, front-line communities, and climate action groups together to build the movement for a swift just transition from fossil fuels, and to take mass action that brings about climate justice. www.climatecampscotland.com


1. INEOS controls four sites in the top 20 climate polluters in Scotland, all in Grangemouth town. See: https://theferret.scot/rogues-gallery-climate-polluters-top-20-revealed/


2. Petrochemical giant Ineos snubs Scottish Government net zero committee refusing to 'go on the record' - Falkirk Herald https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/environment/petrochemical-giant-ineos-snubs-scottish-government-net-zero-committee-refusing-to-go-on-the-record-4126406


3. One in four children across Falkirk council area living in poverty - Faklirk Herald https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/politics/council/one-in-four-children-across-falkirk-council-area-living-in-poverty-4179839




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