Oce-anna

“Stop denying our earth!”

This post is a follow-up to my “Thousands of Teens to Strike for Climate Action” post.

I attended the #CliamteStrikeCapeTown on Friday, 15^th March 2019, which was part of the #GlobalCliamteStrike inspired by Greta Thunberg. As expected there were just over a thousand pupils who participated and stood outside Cape Town’s parliament in protest for government to take action against climate change.

Pupils showing-off their posters. Photo: Anna Cocks

The strike was conducted peacefully but there was a buzzing undertone of urgency and excitement in the atmosphere. The crowd was excited over the fact that this issue of climate inaction was finally being acknowledged. The pupils represented were from a range of schools; pupils from Simons Town High School to Rustenburg Girl’s High School were all united in protest. They made their voices heard through singing, chanting, speeches, dancing and most importantly raising their posters towards the parliament buildings.

The chant of “What do we want?”

“Climate Justice”

“When do we want it?”

“NOW!!!” … could be heard throughout the streets.

I interviewed a few pupils and most came out saying they wanted cleaner oceans; a movement towards single-use plastic; the use of renewable energy and the termination of the use of fossil fuels. This is in-line with the memorandum that was submitted to parliament asking for a change in the way this country cares for its environment, asking for climate justice and action to take place now!

A boy on his mother’s shoulders holds up a poster, “This is my future”. Photo: Anna Cocks

When asked what the government could implement/change, a few pupils from Westerford High School believed that education could be a good solution. The government should be implementing a curriculum focused on climate protection and rehabilitation in Life Orientation or in other subjects such as biology and geography.

A few pupils also stated that solving climate change can lead to solving problems like poverty and inequality. I know this strike may seem like a bunch of middle-class white people finally showing they care about something, but in fact this problem is affecting us all. I know many people might be thinking ‘but what about poverty?’ and ‘what about the hierarchical unequal class system in our society’? Why aren’t we striking for that? Those issues are important but climate change is a massive, global issue and by attempting to solve it we will indirectly start solving other problems, like poverty.

Only time can tell what the government will do… if they will do anything. Each party may begin to start showing that they care about this issue as the elections roll in, but we wait for the elections to be over, for the new party to be elected and to see if they actually do implement any system to start moving towards renewable energy or towards any climate justice action. If they do listen to our cries than happy days… but if they don’t, we strike again and again until they hear the voice of the youth.

Thousands of Teens to strike for climate action

Scholars are expected to stand with Greta Thunberg and thousands across the globe in the #GlobalClimateStrike this Friday in Cape Town.

This coming Friday, 15^th March, 500 to 2000 school children are expected to be seen standing outside Cape Town’s Parliament buildings in peaceful protest against politicians’ lack of urgency to fight climate change by reducing fossil fuel emissions. They will stand with thousands of scholars from across the globe who will all participate in the Global Strike for Climate. In Cape Town, it will be locally led by Ruby Sampson (17), a Wynberg Girls High School matric pupil.

Program for Friday 15^th March:

12pm: Meet under Louis Botha’s horse outside Parliament
1:30pm – 2pm: School leader Speeches
2pm – 3pm: Stage performances

The #CliamteStrikeCapeTown aims to raise awareness for politicians to include climate change strategies in their election agendas. The hope of the strike is to encourage policy makers to put in place policies that reduce fossil fuel emissions.

The Global Climate Strike in Cape Town hopes political parties can commit to:

Making climate action the priority of the 2019 election
A moratorium on new coal, gas and oil mining licences
100% renewable energy in the electricity sector by 2030
A “Green New Deal” for South Africa
Initiating climate adaptation education in schools

Greta Thunberg, the girl who started the movement. Image: Anders Hellberg / The New Yorker

The Global Strike for climate will see school children from North America, Europe, Australia and many countries from around the world boycotting school to protest against politicians’ lack to reduce fossil fuel emissions. The movement was started by Greta Thunberg (16) last year, August; when she missed school every Friday to sit outside Sweden’s Parliament in protest for action against the release of greenhouse gas emissions. During the UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) last year in October, it was reported that if we want to prevent the average global temperature from rising no more than 1.5 ˚C by 2100 and causing devastating climate consequences, we have to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050. After the release of this report, Greta set out to speak at the World Economic Forum where she urged politicians and business entities to urgently have climate protection as a priority on their lists. She spoke out saying, “I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic … and act as if the house was on fire.” Through her impact she has inspired other youth such as Jonas Kampus, from Zurich, Switzerland; to stand up and say, “To study for a future that will not exist, that does not make sense”. Together Thunberg and Kampus have written a letter published by the Guardian calling for global alliance on the issue. Locally, Ruby Sampson has been inspired by Thunberg’s efforts.

Sampson states, “I am too young to vote, but we want our voices heard. Climate change is not even on the election agenda.”

With South Africa’s lack to move towards renewable energy and with the new find of a gas field off the coast of Mossel Bay, environmentalist believe this protest for climate justice could not have come at a more perfect time.

For more information on the strike in Cape Town, visit the Climate Strike Cape Town Facebook Page.

Welcome

I am Anna Cocks and I want to have some ocean talks with you.

I moved to Cape Town a year ago to study and partly to explore the ocean surrounding this beautiful city. I want to start conversations about conservation. I want to discover the many organisations tirelessly working to help protect our oceans and inspire myself and others to get involved.

I am currently in my second year at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and I am part of this club called the UCT Underwater Club. Through my experiences in this club and as a scuba diver and a freediver, I hope to share with you some of the incredible creatures this ocean here is home to.

I’ve also recently been inspired by Lauren Singer to try to live a zero-waste lifestyle. Let’s see if this is possible for a South African student to accomplish this…