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As a couple years of planning draw to a close, the protests in Paris around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference, or COP21, are shaping up to be an edgy and diverse treasure chest of mass spectacles and organizing hubs. They will serve as a poetic contrast to what is widely considered government inaction on the pressing issue of runaway global temperature and the violence embedded in the terrorism of climate chaos. Now, after the French government outlawed mass protest following the November 13 attacks in Paris, the dedication of activists embracing this new reality as a way to encourage ever more decentralized, creative and committed action is nothing short of inspirational. An unwavering understanding that the "biggest threat to security, to life in all its forms, is the system that drives climate disaster" is fueling the actions being planned in Paris to shine a light on the state of emergency on the climate front. Ongoing conversations continue about the shape and tenor of actions during COP21, which will take place from 30th November through 11th December. Many are brainstorming ways around the mass demonstration ban, which forbids political gatherings of more than two people in Paris. Also numerous activists have been placed under house arrest, and accommodation for activists has been subject to heavy handed police raids and searches, raising concerns over a broader crackdown on civil liberties. The Climate Coalition is proposing a 'Ghost March' in which all the art and placards and props are placed in the street without the people; Avaaz is collecting shoes to stand in where people have been outlawed; and following the ban of the 29th November march a 'Human Chain' protest is to take its place. Ortganised by 350.org, Attac, Alternatiba, Friends of the Earth France, the International Trade-union Confederation and its members (CGT, CFDT), the FSU and Solidaires, activists will join hands to form a human chain along Avenue Voltaire, past the Bataclan theater where the tragic attacks took place, and down to Place de la Nation. People will hold signs, placards, and banners that they would have been carried in the banned climate march. The main message of the Human Chain is: we are in a state of climate emergency and we demand a climate of peace and peace for climate. The action is taking place on the sidewalks and will not obstruct traffic. It has not been prohibited by police. Some organizers who are committed to having the 'last word' on December 12 are moving ahead with a call for a mass civil disobedience action, which is being referred to as D12. Meanwhile, banner painting and stenciling continue across Paris as the situation develops. Five of the most innovative and captivating schemes of resistance to COP21 that were put in motion are still moving ahead in some form. Telling their stories and plans is salve for the soul, and an antidote to the calls for violent retribution against ISIS. Overwhelmingly, as they move forward they also underline the importance of taking care of each other and ourselves - of an accurate assessment of risk and of avoiding harm. This won't be easy in a shifting situation, but it's essential. This moment also offers opportunities to do more outside of Paris in solidarity with the victims and survivors of all forms of terrorism - to draw the lines between the root causes of climate chaos and injustice everywhere. The Climate Games have taken a page from the pop culture hit the 'Hunger Games', capitalizing on the attractiveness of games and play, but without taking it too seriously. Isa Fremeaux, an organizer with the Climate Games, speaks about the games as a way to take "the creative activist framework to bring forward the joy of the world that we want to propose." The first version of the Climate Games were played in 2009 versus a coal plant in Amsterdam. The games involve a mobile-friendly website with an interactive map that allows teams to form anonymously. Teams can add information onto the game field (the map) or retrieve information that would inform their actions. Then, action reports can be submitted, and teams can nominate themselves for awards. Some awards are just for laughs, but most serve as a genius way to encourage effective actions and reward helpful behavior. Awards will go to the most innovative tactic, the best supporter of other teams; the best model of courageous behavior, or use of the best Plan B; the best reporting on 'Team Blue' (the authorities) or best modeling of solutions. Over 100 teams signed up prior to November 13. The very premise of the Climate Games that "we are not defending nature - we are nature defending itself" is a masterful re-framing. And publicly claiming the world as a giant direct action playing field for climate justice opens up opportunities for everyone to take part, wherever they are, and to identify the many aspects of 'the Mesh' - or the real and pervasive system as represented by fossil fuel corporations, industry lobbyists and shill politicians - as it intersects with their own lives. As part of the Climate Games, a specific call was put out for participants to join actions surrounding the location of the COP21 on 12th December, focusing on the theme of 'red lines'. A red line is defined as a minimal necessity for a just and livable planet, and, for this day, specifically a call for sustainable energy transformation, justice for impacted people and the right to food and water. Blockades are planned that would use the red line theme to highlight solutions, and to shift the focus away from the talking heads in the negotiations to the resisters as part of the sustainable and just future beyond COP21. D12 is scheduled as the meeting closes and the officials head home to hold the governments participating in COP21 accountable, to speak the truth about any outcome that is less than what is needed, and to capture the last word.
