From the 11th to the 15th of March, in more than 1000 cities all over the world, a protest against climate change took place. Many people joined, including various year 8 and 9 students, who spent part of their day supporting a noble cause. The protest, called Global Strike for the Future, was first launched by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old natural activist, who has recently become a symbol for the fight against climate change.
All over Rome, students shouted slogans such as “Why should we study for a future when there will not be any?” or “Don’t contemplate, educate”, trying to draw attention to the impending downfall of our climate. The protest was completely peaceful, but some people refused to clear the streets, eventually forcing some exasperated policemen to carry them away.
This is only one of the many cries for help launched by students and activists, desperately begging for people in power in the world to do something, to react to the impending downfall of our planet. As if this wasn’t enough, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has recently stated that humans have no more than 12 years to limit climate change, to prevent temperatures rising by more than 2°C. If action isn’t taken, the rise in temperatures could make the amount of floods, droughts and high temperatures worse, possibly causing mass extinctions all over the world. Forest fires and heat-related deaths would increase, and the ocean levels would rise, affecting millions of people. If the temperature change is kept at 1.5°C or less, the number of people in the world having food and water problems would be significantly lower. Unfortunately, not all politicians agree with science, and refuse to make changes, fearing it would negatively affect their country’s economy.
And what about you? Do you believe climate change exists and should be prevented? And, most importantly, do you believe there is still time to do so?