Ever heard of Greta Thunberg? This is not a reality star, but a very brave Swedish climate activist.
She is a teenager turning up the heat (figuratively) for world leaders regarding the impact of climate change.
During the Unite Nations Climate Action Summit, she chastised world leaders for failing younger generations by not taking sufficient steps to stop climate change.
She even went as far as to say world leaders cannot be forgiven for their lack of action. She pointed out that global warming was pushing the world towards an era of “mass extinction”.
Politicians and lawmakers would not have liked it when she said people are suffering, dying and entire ecosystems are collapsing. At times the truth does hurt.
The young activist, who has sparked a worldwide youth climate movement, told the leaders gathered for the summit that today’s youth were “watching” them and were beginning to understand their “betrayal.”
Recently, thousands of Australian school learners walked out of classrooms across the country to demand action on the climate crisis. The global mass day of action took place three days before the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
It follows strikes in March this year in which 150 000 people marched in Australia and 1.5 million took part worldwide.
It is, therefore, noteworthy how across the world the youth are standing up to set an example. Which is great. The sad thing is that such power of change is hardly being witnessed among our youth, who it seems are more hell-bent on destroying their future.
Our youth can learn from Greta, and even from the youth in Australia.
Granted, there are those who are trying the make a change locally, launching initiatives such as Youth Progressive Movement and Youth of Boksburg. And then we also have youth desks, but more should be done by the youth to make their voices heard.
And yes, one also realises that some of the older folk do not want to listen to the youth, as in the case of Greta. But surely it is time that all voices are heard, and that together action is taken.
And this does not just apply to climate change, but also our country’s struggle with crime and unemployment. We all need to work together.
Secondly, Greta highlighted that climate change is still a reality. Like it or not, it has not gone away and will never go away. And such changes in the climate affects us all, and yes, we in Boksburg cannot hide from it.
I know, we have plenty of issues with cables being stolen and poor service delivery, but around us the planet is dying. Dams are polluted across the metro, for example, and that should be of great concern.
Yet people get more excited and passionate when the Royal Family visits South African shores.
By the way, poaching of rhino is also still a reality, since we are on the subject of the environment and nature.
September 22 marked the ninth World Rhino Day, which was launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa in 2010 under the theme Five Rhino Species Forever.
This annual day has since grown to become a global event, drawing attention to the impact of poaching on the continued survival of the species.
So sadly, climate change, along with poaching of rhino, is just as real as those who have no problem climbing over your wall to poison your dog and steal your stuff.
Greta’s lambasting of world leaders is a dose of reality. Just a pity South African leaders in general struggle to accept such medicine, since South Africa is contributing to the planet’s woes.
After all, it is well known that coal power plants, in addition to polluting the areas around them, are among the major contributors to global climate change. In South Africa, to add to our shame, coal-fired power stations are responsible for almost half of our carbon emissions.
A report recently showed South Africa has already warmed at a rate twice the global average, and climate change is making droughts in South Africa more extreme and more frequent.
In its 2018 Draft Integrated Resource Plan, the government committed to reducing South Africa’s reliance on coal for energy to less than 20 per cent by 2050. However, investments in coal continue, including for export, and research suggests that South Africa will not meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions in 2030 under its current policies.
World leaders are therefore not listening, and we know in our sunny land in the south of Africa no one in government hardly cares what happens to the planet or its people.
This is why it is heartening to see how the local CPF, for example, is taking the initiative to clean up our environment. At least someone is doing something productive.
And apparently there are also young people involved in these clean-up actions. Greta will approve.
The climate summit wrapped up with a speech from UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who echoed the calls of other leaders at the summit who have called for more urgent climate action.
Yes, more needs to be done, certainly in South Africa, lest we run out of natural resources before all is looted.
