Introduction by Cara Pike, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Access

With climate advocates subject to surveillance and censorship and giant companies controlling the ways information and knowledge flow around the world, the fight to save our climate is now inextricably intertwined with digital rights. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has long been at the forefront of protecting those rights, has helped environmental activists protect their emails from Chevron, understand the surveillance they are under and develop “Security Self-Defense” practices to protect themselves. Cindy Cohn, EFF’s Executive Director, one of the nation’s leading civil liberties attorneys specializing in Internet law, will explain why EFF’s push for open access to scientific information, for net neutrality, for open source/patents, “creative commons” licenses, and more, is critical in the fight to prevent climatic unraveling.