Ahead of this week’s United Nations COP28 summit in Dubai, one of the key architects behind the Paris Agreement – to which Canada is a signatory – said that breaking the law was necessary to advance climate goals.
Speaking about her past as a climate activist and lawyer, Farhana Yamin told a panel held by The Conduit that the far-left ideas of “decolonization” and “reparations” went hand in hand with the objectives behind the climate movement.
“I glued myself to the Shell headquarters because I realized that at some point, there was no point in me being a lawyer and sticking to laws, it was better to break the law and show how little the law was doing,” said Yamin.
“We are benefiting from 300 years of resilience based on colonialism and based on very deep pockets which resulted from the exploitation or appropriation of other people’s resources and assets… Just trying to deal with climate change without dealing with decolonization, without dealing with reparations, you cannot do repair without reparations.”
“Decolonization” is a concept promoted in left-wing activist and academic circles advocating for the “removal or undoing of colonial elements” in society, including “Western ways of knowing and doing.”
In 2019, Yamin was arrested after charging through a police line and supergluing herself to the London, U.K. headquarters of Shell.
Yamin was instrumental in crafting the 2015 Paris Agreement and particularly bringing about the specific goal of net-zero global emissions by 2050.
Canada is expected to send delegates to this year’s summit.
Along with the European Union, the Canadian government is set to announce a “Green Alliance” aimed at promoting carbon pricing and increased renewable energy production globally.
Despite the apparent failure of Canada’s existing federal carbon tax to substantially reduce emissions, both parties are expected to advocate for carbon pricing as one of the most efficient means to lower greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate investment in low-carbon solutions.
