Kick the polluters out of the COP (A COP24 Poem)
Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP Yesterday the world celebrated 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights In the Niger Delta we have endured 60 years of gross oil pollution, gas flares and human rights abuses Today the world has 12 years to right the wrongs. Shell and their cohorts must be held to account Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP Every oil well has been a crime scene Every gas furnace has been a crime scene Pumping tons of carbon into the atmosphere Causing extreme sicknesses in communities Cutting life expectancy to a mere 41 years Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP The oil rigs are nothing but gallows They’ve hung our heroes They’ve strung our mothers They suffocate our waters They pollute our lands They choke our babies We are refugees in our own land Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP Today oil, gas and coal companies populate the corridors and negotiation halls of COP24 They have the guts to claim to write false solutions into the weak Paris Agreement To entrench their misdeeds They are proud to claim they are writing even the PA Rule Book Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP They block nations from welcoming the IPCC Special Report With a mere 12 years to avert total climate chaos Oil and gas companies see 12 years of opportunities to steal and kill To pollute our environment, To kill our peoples, To kill our future To pile up dollars coated in blood How wicked can polluters get? Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP Shameful to have these polluters foul up the COP Time for real climate solutions: Keep the oil in the ground Keep the coal in the hole Keep it all in the ground No fracking in our seas and lands Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP11 December 2018 At COP24 Dedicated to all the environmental defenders whose lives have been cut short by the activities of fossil fuels companies Note: COP stands for Conference of Parties