Fight the Fire – A New Ecosocialist Magazine Is Born

System Change Not Climate Change warmly welcomes the debut of Fight the Fire, a new online magazine devoted to ecosocialism. The magazine grew out of this year’s Fifth International Ecosocialist Encounters held in Lisbon in January 2022. More than 200 people participated in the Encounters which brought together ecosocialist organizers from many European countries and elsewhere. The Encounters’ final report contains notes from discussion groups as well as numerous links to videos and other valuable resources.

Here is the statement of purpose by the editors of Fight the Fire that appeared in the first issue of the new magazine:

The project of a magazine such as this one has long been in the making. Many of us have been involved in organizing encounters and conferences on Ecosocialism, while at the same time taking on to the streets, the marches, the blockades and direct actions at the core of the climate justice movement.

The objective of this magazine is quite clear: to provide an ecosocialist framework to the climate justice movement. The revolutionary subject of an ecosocialist revolution, the one that we need in order to prevent climate breakdown, is within this powerful movement. Yet, a lot of work needs to be done. A revolution will not simply happen, it will be organized, planned, and done, or it will never happen.

The editorial board of Fight the Fire – Ecosocialist Magazine, comprised of militants in various social movements around the world, assumes the commitment of providing insights for the movement and for ecosocialists around the world on the tactics and strategies followed by social movements everywhere – including the ones in which we participate – not in a sectarian way, but as a critical assessment on how close we are of achieving a victory, that is, of blocking climate chaos.

We assume our debt and commitment to the International Ecosocialist Encounters, which many of us have participated in and helped organize in past years. They have become a meeting point for ecosocialists and allies and they need to continue.

Our first number comes from within, from the hands of our own editorial board, as a first glimpse on where we come from and where we’re aiming at. It is a Revolution.

Today is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. A massive heatwave scorches dozens of countries, burning forests and crops, while a war rages in Eastern Europe. This is the time of our lives. It is the time to act.

Judging by the first issue, Fight the Fire will not be a stuffy academic journal but a practical tool for building the ecosocialist movement. Issue number 2 will be coming out in September.