“Act for Climate Justice” which defines itself as a movement calling for civil disobedience actions to increase social justice and climate protection, led a poster campaign during the night of Tuesday through to Wednesday. The aim is to rally Belgian citizens to “wake up” and “question” their ministers with responsibility for climate issues.
The movement indicated that it had distributed nearly 2,000 “Wake up your ministers” posters in various large cities, including Brussels, Namur and Liège, posters being put up in advertising spaces in bus shelters, metro stations and other public places (“the lighting used for an advertising billboard is equal to the electricity consumption of three households.”). Thousands of stickers are likely, during this morning, to have been stuck in public transport to engage the population by making them realize the urgency to demand political action upon climate.
“We, citizens, will continue until they [the politicians] understand that it is necessary, at all costs, to change the rules,” the movement indicated in a communiqué. In the same vein, for example, “Students for Climate” and “Act for Climate Justice” is demanding, above all, an ambitious “climate plan”, and the ending of the shifting of responsibilities between ministers at various levels of power.
Through the initiative “question your ministers” everyone is called upon to forward a message to the four ministers responsible for climate and environmental issues. They are Marie Christine Marghem (for the federal government), Jean-Luc Crucke (Wallonia), Céline Fremault (Brussels) and Joke Schauvliege (Flanders). Somewhat unflattering photos have been used on the dedicated site. Via a QR code (matrix bar code) or this specific action site, a message can therefore be, after having been potentially personalized, sent via e-mail, SMS or social networks (Facebook or Twitter). The addresses of the ministers are pre-encoded, as well as a message proposed.
“The aim is to send messages to ministers, so as to force them to provide a structural and political solution, at the height of the climate crisis,” stress those initiating the action, stating that their site is “acting completely within the law in questioning a minister. It is even the right of everyone citizen.”
Around 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the website counter tool displayed that close to 1,800 people had in this way “questioned” the competent politicians.
The Brussels Times
