Stay Grounded is a global network of more than 160 member organizations promoting alternatives to aviation to

address climate change Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels b ...

. Founded in 2016, their work is rooted in fostering

sustainable transport Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...

and campaigning against controversial climate strategies. The network consists of local airport opposition groups,

climate justice Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...

activists, NGOs, trade unions and academics, among others.

Mission

Stay Grounded's mission is rooted in campaigning for a reduction in aviation and airport expansion and supporting initiatives that promote alternatives to flying such as night trains and ships. The network's members campaign against offsetting emissions, geo-engineering and

biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

History

In October 2016, the

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

held a conference on the aviation industry's response to climate change. Their proposal was to have further aviation growth, incorporated with offsets that aimed to represent a way for airline passengers or 'emitters' to be encouraged to reduce emissions from other sectors as an individualized contribution towards global emission reductions. Climate activists viewed this proposal as a greenwashing strategy. While the conference was taking place, a group of locally-affected opposition groups and organizations coordinated complimentary global action days under the name ''Stay Grounded. Aviation Growth Cancelled Due to Climate Change,'' in various countries, including Austria, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, France and Australia. In conjunction with these actions, a petition was signed by 50 organisations, including Attac Europe,

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

International, Global Justice Now,

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

, Indigenous Environmental Network, among several others, which are united against airport expansion projects. A civil society statement was also signed by almost 100 organizations and NGOs, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, rejecting the ICAO's proposal of offsetting the aviation industry's emissions on the basis that it would propel global warming beyond 1.5 °C. Magdalena Heuwieser, a climate justice activist living in Germany, and Mira Kapfinger, an Austrian climate justice activist, are founders of Stay Grounded. Since 2017, they have been organizing network meetings twice a year.

Media attention

Since their inception in 2016, Stay Grounded has received attention as a result of activism and campaigns. Significant moments include the November 2019 climate protest at Berlin's Tegel airport in which several climate protesters staged a sit-in, resulting in traffic jams and delays for airline passengers. Approximately 50 members of the group gathered in the main entrance of a terminal to stage the sit-in while another 80 people organized a public demonstration. Many of the climate activists present were dressed in penguin costumes, and carried signs that urged people to think of alternative forms of transport instead of flying. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic recovery packages, the Stay Grounded network responded by launching a petition under the hashtag, #SavePeopleNotPlanes in which they are campaigning against allowing the aviation industry to receive bailouts during and after the pandemic.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Non-governmental organizations Climate justice Advocacy groups International environmental organizations Aviation and the environment Transport policy de:Am Boden bleiben