I woke up last Saturday with a monstrous hangover (bear with me, this post is really about climate change). Due to the fact that I was momentarily incapacitated, I didn't go the Extinction rebellion event that happened in London, where thousands of people blocked bridges to voice their concerns about climate change impacts and the government's stillness in front of it.
I felt guilty for days.
Why though? If I look at what I do in my every day life, I would consider myself an environmentally aware and active citizen: I buy my shopping low waste, I recycle as much as possible, I'm plant-based, I don't fly, I cycle to work, my entire bathroom is waste free, I work in an environmental NGO and spend my days trying to convince governments to do more . You get the idea.
And still.
There is something undeniably powerful about getting together for a common cause. You've heard about the civil rights movements, the suffragettes, India's independence, the abolition of apartheid etc. These fights required citizen power, they required people to come together to see that action was taken by the governments. Climate change is part of these problems that are inherently political and therefore requires political and radical action (complemented by actions from businesses and ourselves). Like the issues mentioned above, climate change is life threatening. It's distressing. It's intimately linked to social justice. But it also makes us feel guilty (not all of us, but many). It makes us feel distraught and powerless.
Climate change can make us feel all these things. But what mainly makes us feel distraught, powerless and keeps us apathetic is the feeling that nothing can be done, fast enough, big enough, or just enough. It is the global political and economic frameworks that shrink the freedom of significant action, and that reduces to the bare minimum what little processes are being implemented (CO2 emissions increased globally in 2017 whereas we're meant to have hit our max already - if you want an idea of what catastrophic changes look like, this will tell you all you need to know).
We need to understand that, while climate change is one of our biggest concerns, it is also an opportunity (and no, not an opportunity for green growth). Because the problematic of climate change is related to (and results from) patriarchy, capitalism and neoliberal economics, it can be taken as a tool to shift away from those mechanisms, and implement new, safe-for-all, effective political, economic and social structures.
I will never deny the seriousness of climate change, and I will always be realistic about our aims: I don't believe that we will reach the 1.5 degrees celsius so strongly recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last October. However, I believe we can still change the course of action, if we act very, very fast. To achieve this, I believe that we have to act together. So I registered to vote in my London borough. I keep doing what I can at my level. I write for this blog. I share content. I meet like-minded people. I start discussions. I don't shut up about climate change and the environment.
And I will most definitely go to the next event that happens in London, hangover or not.