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the panic button is activated

Are you hearing the alarming siren?

By Roxanna Samii

April 21^st, 2019

With greta, we save the planet

If you have not been living on planet Mars, you will have definitely heard of Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist. Last August, Greta shocked by the unusual warm summer in Sweden, sat outside of the Swedish parliament challenging those in power to give her a response as to why our planet is in such a dire state.

Her three week strike outside of the Swedish parliament soon transformed into the global #FridaysforFuture movement.

She is now a celebrity in her own rights. Meets with global movers and shakers, policy makers and politicians. She delivers speeches at high-level events, parliaments, senates, rallies and more. She is amongst the 301 candidates for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has authored a book and is damn set to continue on this path until she sees concrete actions and commitments from those in power.

Here is what she had to say to the folks gathered at Davos:

“Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people, to give them hope.”

“But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.”

Like any global movement, #FridaysforFuture has had and will continue to have its share of controversy, cynicism and skepticism. Be that as it may, the consciousness amongst us, have recognized the urgency of the movement's call to action.

"My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry", says UN Secretary-General.

An informed and inspired #fridaysforfuture crowd

With all the hype around Greta and her movement, I was not going to miss the Friday event with Greta's presence in Rome. I got my camera, reusable bottle water and took the tram for Piazza del Popolo.

What I saw was 25,000 disciplined, inspiring, proud, climate-conscious environmentalists from all walks of life challenging business as usual, challenging the hypocrisy of our politicians, politics and policies, challenging the half-truths, challenging lip service, challenging the empty promises, challenging complacency, challenging business interest, challenging narrow-mindedness, challenging greed, challenging personal and political interests.

I saw young event planners who had mastered the art of organizing large-scale events. Organizers who had adopted an out-of-the-box and sound business model - that of not accepting corporate donations, as these inevitably come with strings - rather rely on self-financing and contributions for the general public.

What I saw was 25,000 people chanting in unison "We want our hopes and dreams back". I saw the young generation - the millennial - welcoming the adults with open arms. I saw an informed young generation - starting with the 9 year old Alice to the university students who passionately and eloquently outlined the catastrophic impact of our (the adult's, business and politician's) action on the planet, denounced our criminal undertakings, vowing to continue on their path until they get their dreams back.

I saw 25,000 people practicing what they preach. I did not see a single plastic bottle, but reusable ones. I saw posters and signs made of paper and cardboard. I saw the invention of Gino Bastianelli who works with the musical group Tetes de Bois, powering a stage with bikes. I saw hundreds of volunteer bikers, producing 5 to 6 kilowatt of energy, powering the stage!!!

And guess what, when the event was over, the piazza was stunningly clean. Now this was truly a first. There were no plastic bottles, no food wrappers, no coke or beer cans in sight!!!!! The 25,000 people gathered did not leave any waste behind!!!!

an eyesore absence

What or rather who I did not see, were the politicians and policy makers. None of the senators who the day before sat in the senate hall and listened to Greta were there. No member of the European Parliament who had the privilege of listening to Greta's passionate talk couple of days earlier were in presence.

Not even the Rome's mayor who could have walked from her office was present, let alone parliamentarians, manufacturers, business representatives. Not a single CEO or CFO. Not a single member of the fashion industry.

All those absent missed one of the most touching moments of the event - the one-minute silence to honor the millions of people who lost their lives in climate-related disasters.

The 25,000 gathered did not hear the voice of those in power pledging - let alone committing - to put in place concrete actions to reverse this catastrophic trend.

Their absence was noted, condemned and criticized. And no doubt these young folks will remember it when in a couple of years, they get to cast their first vote.

paying tribute to a committed and passionate community

I left the event with a renewed sense of hope. On the eve of Earth Day, I swallow my humble pill and bow my head in awe to the passionate, inspiring and committed #FridaysforFuture community.

No doubt this community will manage to get their dream back. Their strength - unlike political parties and what we adults are used to - lies in the fact that they can do so with or without Greta. This is because they genuinely want to bring about change and believe in what they are doing.

They are committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement and "keeping a global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and are pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius."

They have heard loud and clear the alarm bells of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, highlighting how the window to 1.5 degrees Celsius is closing fast and furiously.

They have rolled up their sleeves to address all dimensions of pollution - air, plastic, soil, water; they are set to reverse the trend of rising sea levels; curbing climate-related mass migrations; biodiversity loss and more.

They are the most powerful non-state actors to save our planet!!!!!!

Trust me they do not need us, we need them to undo our mess. I thank each and everyone of them and with a great sense of guilt offer them my support.

Thank you for what you are doing for our mother earth. You will win this battle!!!!

Happy #EarthDay to you all and see you on 24 May for the second global climate strike.

Footnotes

Photos by Roxanna Samii - 19 April 2019 #FridaysfoFuture event in Rome.

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FootNotes

Photos by Roxanna Samii - 19 April 2019 #FridaysfoFuture event in Rome.

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