#climatestrike gains the momentum to change our world
Students skipping school, protesters inside Parliament, peaceful activists across Britain’s fracking sites. So far it’s been a big year for action on climate change, and not a moment too soon.
Some may call them troublemakers, but they will no doubt go down in history as change-makers.
In 2018, a 16-year-old Swedish student named Greta Thunberg launched the School Strike for Climate movement.
It all began when Thunberg, who has been interested in climate change since the age of nine, started skipping school on Fridays. Protesting in front of the Swedish Parliament, calling for stricter environmental protection policies.
She documented her activism on social media, where her posts soon went viral, inspiring youth on a global scale.
Since then, thousands of students have demonstrated all over the world on Fridays. Thunberg went on to speak at the European Commission, the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the World Economic Forum.
She has confidently and consistently denounced the lack of initiative by politicians and leaders to address the causes of climate change.
Due to her activism, she was nominated one of the world’s 25 most influential teenagers of 2018 by Time magazine. And in March 2019 she became the youngest ever candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Her activism is a ray of hope in the face of terrifying warnings. Including the IPCC SR15 report, and the more recent studies on thawing Arctic permafrost and Greenland’s ice sheets.
“It comes at a time in which most of us see first-hand the effect of climate change,” she said. “With extreme weather events taking place on a global scale. It provides students with a framework to act, as the world leaders fail to translate the Paris Agreement into concrete regulation.”
Earth Day on 22 April again put the spotlight on the state of our planet and our need to protect it. From the inconvenience of predicted beer and wine shortages to the more sinister impact of severe weather. Risking people’s safety and robbing children of a quality future. There’s no denying climate change affects us all.
As we face the growing threats of a rapidly changing climate, students are taking charge of their future. They are being more responsible consumers than their preceding generations. It’s inspirational, whatever your age.
Marc Middleton-Heath
Managing Director, Catalyst.
25th April May 2019