I am writing this from my kitchen table at home in Montreal, from where I’ll be flying to Europe tomorrow. I can’t believe how quickly the time seems to race by: we are officially less than a month away from the conference that I’ve been thinking about for years now.

I don’t think I can ever be prepared for COP21; I know it will all just fly by and feel like a blur. I have been following the negotiating texts, and know not to expect the “miracle agreement” the media have been feeding us. As it stands, we have no reason to believe there will be a miracle in Paris. Nonetheless, COP21 will be a moment for climate change.

Climate justice organizers are riding on the heels of yet another big victory: the Keystone XL pipeline was fully rejected by U.S. President Barack Obama just two days ago. To think that in 2011, the pipeline was considered a done deal – we have come a long way.

So, what should we expect from Paris? I am less interested by the negotiating text itself, and more interested by what civil society produces. We’re on track to have one of the largest rallies and acts of peaceful civil disobedience take place in the lead up to COP21. How will we mobilize? More importantly, how will we react and move forward once COP21 ends?

I strongly believe Paris stands to be the end of the beginning. Whereas COP15 in Copenhagen was a deflating moment for climate justice, I believe COP21 could be an accelerator for these movements. Rather than focus only on the texts that Paris will or will not deliver, I would like to also focus on the movement we would like to build after Paris.

With solar and wind energy technologies skyrocketing, the stalling of Alberta tar sands production, and world leaders making bold statements on climate change, I honestly think we would be selling ourselves short if we thought COP21 is the only opportunity we’ve got for climate action. We are capable of so much more than that – we are creating these opportunities for ourselves.

B”H