24 August 2017 – East Asia is a critical region in the climate change fight as the host of many fossil fuel energy development sites, which are detrimental to local communities and ecosystems. East Asia is also home to many nations that are financing the fossil fuel industry, both domestically and internationally.
350.org East Asia is sowing the seeds of energy revolution by empowering communities that are fighting fossil-fuel projects on the ground, demanding that finance for coal and other fossil fuel projects be moved to clean renewable energy projects. The organizations is also pushing governments to end their political dependence on coal.
In response to this need, 350.org East Asia has established the East Asia Climate Leadership Camp (EACLC) to serve as part of the East Asia Climate Leadership Program, which aims to provide a venue for organizations and individuals in the region to learn more and to exchange campaign ideas with each other.
Epri Wahyu Pratiwi, a IULI staff member, said that, “Since the 1st gathering in Vietnam, 350.org has provided training to a wide range of young climate change leaders on ways to tackle the fossil fuel industry. During the 2nd gathering in South Korea, this organization pushed further to form the Divest East Asia Network (DEAN) within key countries and regions (Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam). This year, through the 3rd gathering, the goal is to widen DEAN’s efforts among regions.”
During the camp which was held from 17-21 August, 2017 in Feng Chia University, IULI staff member, Epri Wahyu Pratiwi and a student, Dali Bayu Aji – Mechatronics 2016, were invited to work more collaboratively with other members on stopping fossil fuel financial flows, exchanging stories of fossil fuel struggles and brainstorming long term campaign strategy in their localities and in the wider to the East Asia region. In addition, there was a field trip to the one of the world’s largest and dirtiest coal power plants, Taichung Power Plant, accounting for 37% of the island’s electricity generation, which causes poor air quality in most cities in western Taiwan.
The goal of the camp was to raise awareness of social and climate change issues among the youth.
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