Our Demands

Action against agribusiness

We demand that companies that process, trade, and sell food:

  • Stop importing food that does not respect our health and that destroys our ecosystems.
  • Respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP) and stop violating human rights of workers, farmers and indigenous communities here and around the world. 
  • Pay farmers a fair prices that are sufficient to cover their costs of production and make a living in a medium farm while working no more than 38 hours a week.

We demand that Belgian governments and the EU:

  • Immediately cancel the EU-Mercosur agreement and all other free trade agreements that benefit multinationals at the expense of farmers’ livelihoods, our health, and our ecosystems.
  • Redirect CAP subsidies to support the installation of new farmers, smaller-scale farming, and agro-ecological practices.
  • Stop speculation on land prices, and enable access to land for new farmers.
  • Support the transmission of farms for farmers nearing retirement and fund more education on agro-ecology and food systems.
  • Implement food social security, as advocated by the Collective for SSA, to guarantee the right to healthy, fair, and sustainable food.
  • Welcome and regularize all migrants to end exploitative working conditions, including in farms and the food sector.
  • Implement compensation schemes for farmers who already suffer the effects of environmental degradation.
  • Take much more ambitious action to prevent climate change and biodiversity loss, which threaten the viability of farms (see our previous demands about the fossil industry ;))

Code Red seeks social and systemic change. The effects of the socially unjust and climate-polluting capitalist system we live in are painfully clear. We demand change now. We cannot put this off any longer. These are our key demands:

END FOSSIL FUELS

A reduction in energy consumption on a global scale and a fast shift into renewable energy are vital to guarantee a liveable future.

AFFORDABLE ENERGY FOR ALL

Energy poverty is unacceptable. Affordable energy is a basic human right for everyone. This also entails that we strongly need to reduce the excessive energy use by major consumers. 

SOCIALISE THE ENERGY SECTOR

To bring about the changes needed to tackle the climate crisis and curb price rises, we need to remove energy from the logic of the market and socialize it as a common good.

NO NEW FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS

No to new climate bombs, such as pipelines running through East Africa or the Arctic, nor any unnecessary, polluting and destructive projects.

GOOD JOBS IN A CARBON-FREE ECONOMY

Workplaces need to install direct democracy. Unions and workers need to be closely involved to ensure a democratic and just transition. Qualitative retraining plans for employees working in polluting industries are vital to bring about a righteous transition into a circular and carbon-free economy. Moreover, we need a collective work time reduction without loss of pay (WTR) and with compensatory recruitment. This will enable us to reduce unnecessary production without destroying jobs, and to collectively regain control of our time and our lives.

RECOGNIZE HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUARANTEE DAMAGE FUNDS

Fossil fuels cause conflict, violate human rights, and maintain (neo)colonialism. We need to recognize the responsibilities of multinationals and Western countries (the Global North) within its historical context. Frontline communities are actively resisting extractive projects in their territories. We stand in solidarity with their struggles. The damage done needs to be repaired.

TAX BIG POLLUTERS AND BILLIONAIRES

To finance this transition, we need money, and we know who has it. It’s time to force the main culprits – the wealthiest and the biggest polluters – to pay their fair share, and to distribute wealth more evenly. Subsidies and grants for polluters must disappear.

INSULATE HOUSES AND BUILDINGS

Insulation lowers energy expenses and emissions of greenhouse gases, whilst also creating many new jobs. We need major investments that prioritize renovations of badly insulated houses and of those in precarious situations. The human right to adequate housing, meaning affordable and well-kept homes, must be guaranteed for all. Social housing is crucial in achieving this goal.

BETTER AND AFFORDABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Large-scale investments in public transport and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure are vital to have affordable (if not free), sustainable and accessible public transport. We can make another improvement by banning car advertising campaigns and putting a stop to governmental subsidizing of company cars.