In the streets for the climate

It all started last summer with the solitary protest of a 15-year-old girl who, having skipped school, sat outside the Swedish parliament to ask the government of her country for concrete actions against climate change. Today that protest has turned into a real movement, which has gathered support and approval in about 70 countries and over 700 cities, with numbers that, in recent weeks, have grown by the hour. Today, March 15, is the “Global Strike For Future”, the global climate strike day in which students, but also adults and scientists from all over the world participate.

In the beginning, there was Greta. “You are stealing our future”. The words spoken by the young Greta Thunberg at COP24 in Poland left their mark on young people from all over the world, so much so that from her example a global movement came to life, driven by the 15-year-old girl’s example of strength and determination. Young people from different countries, including Italy, have started to imitate the climate protest Friday launched by Greta, with demonstrations that have reached many cities around the world.
Now, however, the issue has taken on an even greater dimension, so much so that the one scheduled today could go down in history as the largest environmental protest that man has ever seen.
Greta has become a symbol, so much so that a group of Norwegian Socialist deputies proposed the girl for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A growing concern. Parallel to the Greta protest and the youth of the world, in recent months the concern of experts and researchers has grown, who have published studies, reports and research that are not very encouraging. For this reason, over three thousand scientists have decided to join the climate strike, convinced that there is no more time to waste and that the earth needs concrete actions to tackle as soon as possible the climate change.

How much time do we have? According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the next 12 years will be decisive for reversing the course and limiting the effects of climate change on our planet. The report, published last October and the result of research by thousands of scientists, has established that we have only this time to intervene and keep the global average temperature at acceptable levels. The IPCC report suggests four strategies that we have to follow to ensure that the global average temperature does not exceed the critical threshold of 1.5 ° C.
Will it be enough? Will governments be able to move compact to tackle this situation, which is fundamental to our future?

The picture that appears before us is not the best, but the energy, determination, strength and ideals of Greta and of all the young people in the square today can really make us hope for the best possible future.