More than a million students have walked out of their schools and colleges urging action to address the climate breakdown
Greta Thunberg, who sparked the climate strike movement, has garnered worldwide attention though her activism. At age 15, Greta was inspired by the Parkland, Florida school protesters who were on a school strike to protest school shootings. She sat outside the Swedish Parliament on a school strike for three weeks protesting the inaction on the climate crisis. Through her posts on Instagram and Twitter, her actions soon went viral.
She decided to continue striking every Friday, until Swedish policies are in line with the Paris agreement. The hashtags #schoolstrike4climate #FridaysForFuture and #Climatestrike spread, and many students and adults began to protest outside their parliaments and local city halls all over the world.
The school strike movement and other environmental movements worldwide have emerged in conjunction. The British-based direct action group Extinction Rebellion occupied major locations in London for ten days in late April, garnering major support for action on climate. Their first demand, for the British government to declare a state of “climate emergency,” received approval from parliament on May 1.
In the U.S., the young activists of Sunrise Movement have pushed to transform climate action into a political reality by calling for a Green New Deal, attracting the support of several legislators and 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.
Greta Thunberg
After being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, Greta overcame her depression over the state of the world, to become a charismatic speaker who confronts her audience with the stark reality of our climate crisis.
Greta has an unflinching ability to speak truth to power even when some of the most powerful members of our society are in the audience. When she spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, she roasted the audience.
“Some people, some companies, some decision-makers in particular know exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue to make unimaginable amounts of money, and I think many of you here today, belong to that group of people.”
The important work Greta has been doing has not gone unnoticed. This year, she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was also named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2019.
And Thunberg lives by her ideals. She no longer travels by plane, and she eats a vegan diet. She’s also made her parents do the same. In her bid to travel sustainably, she famously traveled by train throughout Europe to attend speaking events and join climate actions.
Sticking with her ban on planes and cruise ships, Greta will be sailing across the Atlantic in a high-speed racing yacht this month to attend the UN Climate Action Summit in New York and COP25 in Santiago, Chile. The yacht is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines which generate zero-carbon electricity.
Greta Thunberg gave a rousing speech to British Parliament in April, 2019.
We children are not sacrificing our education and our childhood for you to tell us what you consider is politically possible in the society that you have created. We have not taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us, and tell us that you really admire what we do. We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.
Support For The Movement
Adults have backed the school strike movement, as leading scientists and academics signed an open letter in support of Greta Thunberg and the school strike movement in February. On International Mother’s Day, thousands of moms took to the streets in London and across the world to demand urgent action on behalf of Mother Earth and their children, whose futures are under threat from the global climate breakdown.
Mothers Rise Up called on the governments of the world to confront the climate crisis with bold action.
We are inspired by the young people who are striking for climate action, but we can’t leave it to our children to fix the mess that past generations have created.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has endorsed the climate strikers and urged drastic action at the next Climate Summit.
My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry.
Direct Action Brings Results
The response to these climate strikes and actions by governments and the oil industry is a testament to the effectiveness of this strategy. Parliaments in six countries – the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Argentina, Canada, France – have declared a climate emergency, as have dozens of municipalities. In the US, New York is the first major city to declare a climate emergency.
In this year’s European elections Green parties nearly doubled their vote to finish second with 21%, boosting their MEP numbers to a projected 71. Many of the gains came from northern European countries where young people have taken to the streets inspired by Thunberg. The result gives the Greens a chance of bringing about real change in the new European parliament.
The general secretary of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Mohammed Barkindo said that “there is a growing mass mobilisation of world opinion… against oil”. He also described climate campaigners as “perhaps the greatest threat to our industry going forward”. Greta tweeted in response “Thank you! Our biggest compliment yet!”
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged to end its financial support for oil, gas and coal energy projects by the end of 2020. This is monumental as the EIB is the largest multilateral lender of fossil fuel projects. In 2018, they financed oil, gas and coal projects with more than €2.4bn. It will be setting up a fund to help EU countries transition to cleaner economies.
Next Steps: Get Involved
Several prominent thinkers and activists including Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben and Margaret Atwood are supporting the movement’s next event, a global strike on 20 September, saying that “disrupting our normal lives is the only way to secure our future.”
I would encourage people to become activists. And if you have a big platform, then highlight the crisis and communicate the information. There will be general, global climate strikes on 20 and 27 September. We need everyone to participate in these. Even adults and unions and so on. And of course we do this every Friday. Everyone is welcome to join.
There are thousands of ways to take action. For example, plant trees, pick up litter, join an organisation or movement that makes a difference and especially try to influence adults and put pressure on people in power. I started my activism at home, changing my parents’ and relatives’ habits and ways of thinking. We must focus on what we can do. Not what we can’t do.
Greta Thunberg answers questions
Do Something: There is No Planet B
In another post, I highlighted 10 Essential Documentaries on Climate Change. By starting there, you can gain more hope by seeing how others around the world are fighting for change. At the forefront of the fight against climate change, the Pacific Climate Warriors chant “We are not drowning. We are fighting!”
So don’t let the climate breakdown get you down. We can still act together to prevent the worst outcomes. It will take many conversations with our families and friends. It will take many of us disrupting business as usual with strategic actions. It will take us naming and shaming those who are profiting off the planet’s destruction and those who are complicit in allowing them to do so. But do not despair. Do something.
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