The Global Climate Strike is happening this September as is the Nationwide Rebellion in October. I am hugely supportive as I believe we need to raise public awareness but I’m not sure whether simply making national demands is sufficient (see their demands below).
Even if national policy changed tomorrow it would take ages to filter down. Shouldn’t these strikes also be asking the institutions which are being disrupted for policy change at a local level?
We know that to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees we need to be at net global carbon emissions by 2040, and to halve carbon emissions by 2030 (see report Climate Change Committee report). For the UK to lead in this change we will need to reduce our individual carbon emissions from 5.65 tCO2 to half the global average; 2.17 tCO2 (see World Economic Forums per capita analysis).
Individuals, organisations and local and national governments need to be given a means to respond to this challenge with feasible action. We have already shared so much to support this such as the discussion about what an individual could do and how a council could implement a climate emergency.. We would do well to talk about what a school, organisation or national government could also do to respond.
We have a huge amount of specialist knowledge within our community of renewable energy, energy efficiency, EVs, how money can be change maker and how we can alter our lifestyles.. I think we should start using that knowledge to help activists make demands across the board. We should also support them with people power where possible.
What do people think? Could you contribute to helping in some way by chipping in how you will support the action or giving some ideas about policy which these activists could ask for?
I’ll kick off the discussion with a few of my own thoughts.
Extinction rebellion National Policy Demands
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Tell the truth: Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
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Act Now: Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
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Beyond Politics: Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
School for Strikes National Policy Demands
- SAVE THE FUTURE: The Government declare a climate emergency and implement a Green New Deal to achieve Climate Justice.
- TEACH THE FUTURE: The national curriculum is reformed to address the ecological crisis as an educational priority.
- TELL THE FUTURE: The Government communicate the severity of the ecological crisis and the necessity to act now to the general public.
- EMPOWER THE FUTURE: The Government recognise that young people have the biggest stake in our future, by incorporating youth views into policy making and bringing the voting age down to 16.