UGM - November 2019
Should LSESU declare and lobby the LSE to declare a Climate Emergency and Ecological Crisis?
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Proposed by: Isabella Pojuner
Seconded by: Angus Paget
What is the issue?
The climate crisis will affect everyone, including LSE student and staff community and it requires immediate and significant change to respond to this crisis. This response cannot only be about limiting future risks to Western states but must centre the appeals of those communities across the Global South and in the Global North who experience the structural violence of the climate and ecological emergency the most. The climate and ecological crises are the result of centuries of colonial and capitalist projects and the declaration of an ‘emergency’ must be aware of which ‘crises’ are recognized, at what point in time and who is called upon for acting on them. LSE is currently neglecting to do so and to address this issue with urgency. LSE is failing to be a leading influence, by choosing conservative climate action targets and rejecting its responsibility to uphold social justice.
What is the solution?
1. LSESU should declare and lobby the LSE to declare a Climate Emergency and Ecological Crisis, which acknowledges the scale, severity and injustice of change in the climate system, caused by human action, and shows commitment to deliver a meaningful action plan for the pursuit of climate justice.
2. LSESU should call on LSE to divest from all direct and indirect holdings and investments in fossil fuel companies as well as to divest from all forms of armaments, as this would be an essential first step in communicating a narrative of climate justice.
3. LSESU should call on LSE to meet net zero carbon emissions as an institution by 2030.
4. LSESU should advocate for the LSE to prioritise student input into policy making regarding climate justice, as well as prioritising climate justice in curricula and pedagogy across courses and research at LSE.
5. LSESU should disaffiliate from any current and future affiliations with fossil fuel or armaments companies, in order to uphold the SU’s commitment to climate justice.
6. LSESU should support the Youth Climate Strikes and climate justice collectives in London.