It’s never been clearer that the climate crisis is everyone’s problem, writes School Strike for Climate organiser Aurora Garner-Randolph.
As a School Strike for Climate organiser, I get to talk to all sorts of people about climate change. It’s my favourite thing to do.
I’ve debated MPs about passenger rail, and CEOs about airport developments. I’ve argued about aliens with climate denialists. I have conversations with incredible long-term activists, and I try to learn from their wisdom and passion. I get to talk to academics who are experts in urban density, or regenerative farming, and ask them all sorts of stupid questions which they answer patiently.
But perhaps the most important discussions I have about the climate crisis are with ordinary citizens. This global environmental breakdown is going to affect us all, and we all deserve to understand it and have the tools to fight against it.
Talking to people, I also hear a lot of reservations that are stopping them from participating in climate activism. But this movement needs everyone’s voice to be a success. Here’s what I tell those people who say they couldn’t be a climate activist.
I couldn’t be a climate activist because… that’s something other people do.
Activists are just ordinary people. The organisers I know are also students, authors, farmers, teachers, grandparents – the line between activist and civilian is not some strict dichotomy. We all participate in politics whether we like it or not: a lack of engagement with the political sphere is in itself a political statement. But if you vote, or pay taxes, or donate money to charities, you are already engaging with politics. Activism is just voicing your political frustrations most effectively.
… I can’t do it all by myself!
Nobody is expecting you to be the next Greta Thunberg! The idolisation of singular movement leaders, admirable as they are, is ultimately counterproductive to the cause. We only have to look at the most iconic activists in Aotearoa’s history to see this in action.
Kate Sheppard may be the figurehead of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa, but we shouldn’t forget the backbone of the movement: the 32,000 signatories on the suffrage petitions, and the labour unions and Māori women’s committees that campaigned tirelessly too. Likewise, Dame Whina Cooper’s leadership of the Land March was incredible, but so were the young activists who organised it, and the marchers that attended.
People power is the key behind successful political movements, not martyrs or lone leaders. When we forget this, we lose our way as activists. When we remember that our strength lies in solidarity and collaboration, that’s when we succeed.
… I’m a hypocrite.
Maybe you forget your reusable bags sometimes, or indulge in the odd long shower. Lots of people worry that because their personal carbon footprint isn’t perfect, they therefore aren’t entitled to speak up on the climate. But while personal emission reduction is admirable, it isn’t going to fix the climate crisis by itself. What is required is a systemic overhaul of environmental and economic policy. And we can’t achieve that without citizens out in the streets demanding those changes.
…I don’t know anything about it.
Me neither! I stay up to date with climate news, and I understand the science. But I’m not a climatologist or an oceanographer or a historian. When researchers say that the deaths of 5 million people annually have been linked to extreme temperatures, or predict that one third of all animal and plant species could face extinction by 2070, I listen to their expertise and I act on it.
And I’m no activism genius either. Any organising knowledge I have comes from the support and guidance of other activists. It can be an intimidating prospect to try attending or organising protests for the first time, but this crisis means we are morally obligated to stand up and act now.
… I don’t want to give up my time.
In all seriousness, what other choice do we have? We aren’t on track for the 1.5 Celsius warming goal, or for carbon neutral by 2050. Climate change is killing millions already, and it’s only getting worse. The recent floods and Cyclone Gabrielle have shown us only a taster of the kind of devastation we are headed for.
I’m 17. Sometimes I have better things to do on a Friday night than write health and safety plans for strikes. But I do what I can out of compassion for my fellow humans, and so should you.
Join the global climate strike this March 3rd:
- Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland): Britomart Station, 3pm
- Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington): Civic Square, 2:30 pm
- Ōtautahi (Christchurch): Cathedral Square, 3pm
- Ōtepoti (Dunedin): Octagon, 3pm
- Whakatū (Nelson):Trafalgar St, 3pm
- Te Papaioea (Palmerston North): The Square, 3pm
- Tāhuna (Queenstown): Village Green, 3pm
- Kaitaia: Te Ahu Centre, 2:40pm
- Wānaka: Lismore Park, 3:15pm