As thousands of young people joined in protest across the country to object the UK government’s lack of meaningful action against climate change, we joined the adventure.
Travelling to Truro, we clutched hand painted signs on the train and followed the stream of people towards council offices in the outskirts of the city. It was well and truly a youth strike. University and college students were joined by school children, young kids and hundreds of supportive parents.
The strike followed the actions of Greta Thunberg, a student from Sweden who has captured international media attention with her weekly ‘Skolstrejtk för Klimatet’, in which she protests outside the Swedish parliament building. Only last month she was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum:
“I want you to feel the fear I do. Every day. And want you to act. I want you to behave like our house is on fire. Because it is.”
Greta Thunberg, World Economic Forum Davos, January 2019
It was just this week that the UK officially joined the movement, with strikes in over 60 locations, demanding action from local and national government in order to force meaningful change.
The UK has made significant progress in many areas of emission reduction including renewable energy. In 2018, 27.9% of our energy generation came from renewable sources, but we are still a carbon heavy economy, emitting 373 metric tonnes of CO2 in 2017. Internationally we are not on track to reach Paris Climate Agreement targets which would minimise the most harmful effects of climate change.
In truth, the protests were not particularly well organised, and although we gained large media attention, the speeches made were neither profound or impressive. But this did not matter. It did not matter what we said. But that we said it.
The strikes are aiming to gain attention, to put pressure on policymakers and to force change. As the strikes continue I believe we can make a change. This action is making climate change an important topic for young people, they will grow up knowing the importance of reducing our emissions. In contrast, our primary school education focused very little on melting glaciers or ocean acidification. If our future policymakers grow up with an understanding of climate change, perhaps we will not replicate the mistakes of previous generations.
However, for these strikes to make a real impact, it must be current policymakers, the “adults” of the world who need to listen and act. They must create binding and large-scale policy which reduces emissions and shifts focus to renewable energy and ecological protection. Following UN announcements that we only have 12 years to act against climate change, it is today’s policymakers that must act to ensure that we actually have a future to fight for.
Watch an interview from one of our group. (0:30)
All photos from Truro Youth Strike taken February 15th 2019, content belongs to author.
