THE name Greta Thunberg is one which has continued to infiltrate global news cycles over the past few weeks. With this name, two concepts are relentlessly brought under the spotlight: climate change and youth advocacy. Why? Well, that is because 16-year-old Swedish Greta stands out as a beacon of hope for the world. The teenage girl made it clear to the world’s current leaders that their inaction to remedy climate change is a factor to be blamed for the perpetuation of the dilapidation of ecosystems and well, life on planet earth.
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean,” she told the world leaders at a United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit held in New York on Monday last.

“Yet you all come to me for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she continued. But even so, Greta made known that she has not felt the brunt of climate change. In fact, she called herself one of the “lucky ones” compared to the people who are suffering, or even dying and the ecosystems that are collapsing, taking with it precious species that have now ceased to exist.

In the face of climate change which has for years been backed by sound scientific evidence, many countries have been mostly lethargic in their approach to mitigating this alarming situation, lest planet Earth gets to a point of ‘no return’. In my own opinion, I believe that for decades, if not for centuries, economic development has taken precedence in society at the expense of the natural environment. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century ushered in an era of rapid and unstoppable development, but also awakened a beast that devours the world’s natural patrimony.

Now, there is a global thrust (of some sorts) to ‘fix’ the problem with which the world is confronted and many countries have committed to reducing emissions and using more renewable technologies by 2030 to 2050. This seems all well and good, especially when you consider that the large emitters of greenhouse gases have all pledged to do better. At the same time, however, you have countries such as the United States (the second largest global emitter of Greenhouse gases, after China) dialling back on its responsibilities towards mitigating the harmful effects of climate change. There is our neighbour Brazil– the actual living, breathing lungs of this planet– allowing more and more of its rainforests to be cleared away in an attempt to boost economic development (I mean, are we really surprised at this point?).

How then do we navigate this situation? I don’t know what’s the correct answer, but people like me look to people like Greta who are bold enough to take steps to demand better, instead of just clamouring and complaining.

I take comfort in the efforts of other countries, as shared by the World Economic Report, in advancing their efforts to promote friendlier practices. Two small countries, Bhutan and Suriname, already have a zero carbon footprint and, in fact, boast negative carbon output.
Guyana has its eyes set on an incredibly ambitious plan of capitalising on its oil finds, while transforming its economy into a “green” state. Ambitious, but not impossible.
I also take comfort in the small efforts being made that could probably lead to a larger good. Many of my friends and I have cut back on our use of plastics (especially plastic bottles!), changed our consumption patterns (whether as pescatarians, vegetarians or vegans), and have adopted a more environmentally friendly approach to our decisions in life. If you look at the activities organised for the International Coastal Clean-up observed last week, I can bet my last dollar that the majority of persons involved were young people– both at home in Guyana and in Trinidad.

I think people of my generation are more aware of the impact of climate change and want to leave a world behind for future generations. And I’d like to hope that these efforts play some role in preserving our environment and add to the global effort, particularly from young people, to help remedy the effects of climate change.

Greta might be the global advocate pushing the conversation on climate change, but we need to also be our own advocates and our own movers and shakers.