Fantastic reasons to #YouthStrikes4Climate

This is a letter I sent to New Statesman, of which part was published on 15 March 2019.

My generation is more aware of climate breakdown and the impact it will have than any generation before us and so we should care more than anyone else. It seems outrageous to us that the people deciding how to deal with climate breakdown will not even be alive to face the consequences that are surely going to define our lives and those of our children. The reason we are protesting and taking part in the Youth Strikes for Climate boil down to the fact that our government and policymakers have not taken sufficient action to combat climate breakdown, and, like most governments around the world, are almost completely ignoring it as it does not fit in with their own agendas. Many of us have become disenfranchised with the system. I have never seen anything like the strikes, which are energising so many people my age around the world.  It has have given us hope and – more importantly – motivation to act. The strikes are important because now we are able to take our future into our own hands; it feels like we could finally trigger change.

In many ways, the youth strikes are one of the most interesting ideas I have heard about, let alone taken part in. There are very few large impact protests like this that focus on the needs and desires of young people, giving us a voice. I think that it is essential for teenagers to take part; it is incredibly easy to feel that we are not being listened to and so, because of this, allow apathy to take over. Many feel there is no point in shouting when no one is listening.

I have been involved with the UK organisers and have been relentless in speaking to people my age at school and online; asking if they are going to strike and if not, then why not? Some people have said that there is no point protesting, implying that they feel we can not impact change. Asking my friends who are striking why the responses ranged from “I don’t want to die before I’m fifty” to “I want to be a part of something important” to “no one is listening to us and decisions are being made without us. It has to change.”

Although some schools have not been happy about striking, mine has been very good. When I first asked my head of the sixth form about the consequences of striking, he only responded by saying “I can’t endorse it” with a smile, suggesting that anyone striking would not be punished. I have also heard rumours that some teachers have been helping students make banners and may even be giving lifts into Bristol to attend the protest. Schools should be supporting pupils to strike as the benefits of engaging them in politics and protest far outweighs the lessons missed.

Another reason that I care so deeply about climate breakdown is the impact it will have on people in poor countries who have not contributed to its cause and can do nothing to stop it; sixteen of the twenty countries most at risk from climate breakdown are in the developing world.

Studies have shown that the Earth’s average temperature is projected to rise by 4 degrees Celsius while the mean sea level is also set to rise by about 0.5 metres. Such drastic changes are caused primarily by four agents:

• Greenhouse gases

• Deforestation

• Ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide

• Loss of sea ice

For me, climate breakdown is not some grim, dystopian future or vague concept, but a harsh reality. My maternal family is Bangladeshi and live in a country already facing some of the worst effects of climate breakdown. I hear constant news about the 3.5 million climate change refugees that have already fled to the capital, Dhaka, and the increasing numbers of typhoons destroying coastal communities and their livelihoods.

Projections indicate that sea level rise will cause heavy flooding in certain areas of the country. A rise of 45 cm in the sea level will likely result in the inundation of about 10 per cent of the country. For sea level rise of 1m, 21 per cent of the country will go under saltwater (IPCC, 2005). Such a rise is likely to inundate coastal wetlands and lowlands, cause an increase in coastal erosion, increase frequent and severe floods and create agriculture-related issues.

Bangladesh in floods Copyright 2002 National Geographic Society

Bangladesh is subject many of the effects of climate change due to its geographical location, hydrological regulation from monsoon rains and regional water aggregation patterns. The country receives too much rain during the monsoons and too little water in the dry season. This situation will be exacerbated by a warmer climate, resulting in increased flooding and droughts which threaten to adversely affect agricultural output. What worsens the situation is the fact that the sea level is rising from the south and the increase in the reception of water from Himalayan glaciers will cause inundation of the regions located in the base of the mountains.

At a personal level, my grandfather’s village had terrible storms causing flooding and wiping out rice crops – their food supply for the next  5 months. As a family we able to help to support them, but most families are not so lucky. Countries like Bangladesh are starting to demand that the West take responsibility and take climate breakdown refugees. By 2060 it is predicted there will be up to one billion of them worldwide.

A stereotype that irritates me is the idea that young people just do not care anymore, that we are social media obsessives who are detached from real-world issues. It could not be further from the truth. Social media is the tool allowing events like the climate strikes to occur, and it is the conduit that has helped increase awareness of climate breakdown. The Youth Strike for Climate campaign has been almost entirely driven through social media, gaining a global presence. This Friday is an amazing example of what social media can help to achieve.