G7 climate plans compared to ‘assault on human rights’ by Amnesty International

As protestors plan to take to the streets across Cornwall, Amnesty International has condemned G7 members for hurting “billions” with their climate plans.

Amnesty International has released a report saying none of the G7 countries have submitted adequate plans to stop disastrous climate change becoming a reality.

This comes as demonstrators gather in Cornwall to oppose the weekend’s summit and what its leaders stand for.

The summit has also been accused of disrupting the lives and businesses of Cornwall locals.

‘Assault on human rights’

According to Amnesty International, G7 members are still subsidising the fossil fuel industry and have not made good enough plans to cut emissions by 2030.

2030 is the year scientists say we must halve emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change. If this doesn’t happen, billions will be affected via droughts, starvation, and displacement.

As a result, the charity is calling on G7 members to take action to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

Chiara Liguori, human rights and environment policy advisor for Amnesty International, said:

The unambitious climate plans submitted by G7 members represent a violation of the human rights of billions of people. These are not administrative failures, they are a devastating, mass-scale assault on human rights.

The G7 and other wealthy industrialised countries have historically emitted the most carbon and bear the greatest responsibility for the current climate crisis. They also have the most resources to tackle it – but their strategies to date have been woefully inadequate, and their support for other countries has been stingy.

Protest coalition

This supports the sentiments of the Resist G7 Coalition, who have come together to protest the G7 summit in Cornwall. The groups will launch a day of action June 12 against the summit.

The coalition is protesting the G7 to stand against global inequality, including vaccine inequality, arms sales, rich countries ‘wrecking our planet’, and police presence.

A spokesperson for Resist G7 said: 

Local people are angry and we want our voices heard. We welcome protesters to Cornwall. Our voices will not be heard unless we take to the streets. It is the G7 that has disrupted us. Don’t blame protesters for this – put the blame where it really belongs – on the police, on the G7 itself and on the capitalist system that disrupts our lives on a daily basis.

They added:

The G7 is a meeting of the world’s most powerful political leaders. These leaders govern the richest countries in the world and the G7 exists to keep it that way. Global capitalism is the default setting. The system that creates vast inequalities, both in the UK and around the world, is presented as the only option.

Disrupting Cornwall

The summit has meant homeless people have been moved out of temporary hotel accommodation, and local businesses have been forced to close.

Resist G7’s spokesperson added:

The G7 is taking place in Cornwall, one of the poorest places in Europe. The communities of Cornwall are disrupted daily by poverty. We are disrupted by rich second home owners treating Cornwall as a playground while price houses soar well beyond the reach of most local people.

We are disrupted by a lack of infrastructure, by an expensive and unreliable privatised transport system. We are disrupted by millions being spent on vanity projects and new roads while our services have been slashed to the bone.

Featured image courtesy of Resist G7