“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.”
Greta THUNBERG
From the 20th to the 27th of September takes place the “Global week for future”. If you were wondering what it means, maybe we can light you up.
Since Greta Thunberg started her first climate strike in 2018, a lot of people have been following her lead. Thanks to her, a new initiative called “Friday for future” was born and have been spread all over the world. The idea? Students striking to let people know that we must act now.
Change the system, change the world
The concept of climate change refers to the increasing global warming, long-term precipitation and changing of wind patterns. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assesses all possible impacts of climate change world-wide and points out extreme weather phenomena boosted by the rise of temperatures. In a word, this report scientifically emphasises the significance of catastrophes caused by the climate breakdown.
Although the scientist warn about the gravity of the situation, decision-making mechanisms do not take steps. In fact, we should consider climate change as an environmental problem alone. One of the most important consequences of this situation is that it forces people to migrate. The catastrophes caused by climate breakdown – such as famine, water shortage or storm damage – make life harder in many countries. As a result, the concept of “climate refugees” emerges. However, receiving countries address the problem as a social one, often ignoring the effects of the climate crisis and giving voice to anti-immigration discourse.
As anyone can act individually to lower emissions and waste, governments too should do their part. It shouldn’t be just a step to grow green economies, as Greta Thunberg says: “System Change Not Climate Change”. It is obvious that the carbon-based economy established since the industrial revolution is no longer sustainable. In consequence, world leaders should act now to change their ways in order to prevent the dangers of ecological crisis.
The fight in Thessaloniki and in Greece
Following the call from Greta Thunberg, climate strikes began to mobilise many young people, gaining a vast response across the world. This nonviolent movements, which started with young people, has now turned into actions involving every kind of people. Thessaloniki is one of the cities where the protests continue, and it began in March 2019.
We met Dimitris and Charalompos to better understand their investment in the ecological causes. They define themselves as activist, and they are part of the movement “Friday for Future” in Thessaloniki. So, they explained to us their own reason for being part of this movement and what they want to achieve. They want everyone to understand how much climate change affects us all but also that we can change things together if we act now.
Thessaloniki will not be the only city to strike. You can do it in many other cities in Greece such as Athens or Patra and Kalamata in Peloponnesus. In the north of the country there will be actions also in Larissa, Alexandroúpoli, Veria and Serrès; but also in Zante in the Ionian island, Chania in Crete and all over the world.
Astrid Vallet & Gizem Inan
