The artist Paolo Cirio continues the fossil fuels industry in the name of the environment in Climate Tribunal: the fossil fuels industry on trialhis latest work corpus. In a new eponymous book accompanying the project, Cirio acts as a prosecutor. He compiled a test, articles and data as proof for the jury – in this case, the reader – to be assess.
His argument is simple. As the main source of carbon pollution emissions, the fossil fuel industry has caused our current climate crisis. These companies knew the consequences of their actions and lied about them, by deceiving the public and their investors and taking advantage of the process. It goes without saying that these companies should therefore be responsible for the damage caused by their actions.
However, in a way, the book stresses that the fossil fuels industry has not taken its fair share of the climate crisis, or its just part of moral and ethical responsibility by implementing corrective measures. Climate court aims to fight against the feeling of helplessness that we often feel around climate change by identifying a crime and passing the burden on the aggressor.
The very fact that Cirio has chosen to frame this project as a work of art and to present its case to the art world instead of the courtroom is an indictment of the judicial system itself. If governments do not have the power to regulate the fossil fuels industry because of its complicity, then who can? Who suffers accordingly and who has the right to justice? At the base, Climate court A quixotic project envisages a fundamental change in law and responsibility – after all, as Cirio could say, is that not what should be the law? What should to be, rather than what is?
Climate Tribunal: the fossil fuels industry on trialwritten by Paolo Cirio and published by the Network Cultures Instituteis available for free purchase and download online.
Publisher's note, 09/20/2024 18:09 PM is: a section of this article has been deleted at the author's request.
