September 20th, 2019
Teenage
climate activists took to the streets of Cork today to urge the Taoiseach and the
Minister for Climate Action to “listen” to their voices and take action
to prevent climate catastrophe.
The rally was part of the global school strike in which hundreds of thousands
of students around the world, anxious about their future, took to the streets
of their cities to demand climate justice.
Micah Neilson, an 18-year-old climate activist, told the crowd of
teenage protestors in the centre of Cork that “we are living in a dying
planet that is home to billions of species” due to the inaction of adults.
“We are killing off biodiversity. We need to change that, we need
radical Governmental action,” he said, urging the State to take action to
reverse the accelerating pace of climate change now rather than later.
“Leo Varadkar, are you hearing us? Do you hear the cries of
‘Listen, Leo, Listen,’” he continued.
Sumaya Mohammed, a 12-year-old climate campaigner, also told the crowd
that it was curious how “small creatures” such as humans were causing
significant, fundamental damage to a vast planet.
“Life is too precious to live it in worry and fear,” she said. “Do you really expect us to sit down and just go along with the story? Our future is about to be taken away by people who care about money more than they care about the world.”
Photos: Shamim Malekmian
Theresa Rose Sebastian, 15, also urged the Government to listen to the voice of science and save our planet. “This crisis could no longer be taken lightly. It needs to be dealt with seriously, efficiently and effectively,” she said.
Sebastian said that it is often only the voices of Western
schoolchildren that are being amplified, while young people in developing
countries face a dire destiny.
“This is very close to my heart. I come from India. My country is
no stranger to the effects of climate change. I strike for [Indians too]. I try
that their voices are heard just like others.”
The Cork strike was supported by adult volunteers from SIPTU with Eva
Mitchel telling The Green News that the trade union has been providing
safety for the strikes since March as it supports all collective action for
justice.
Similar rallies with the participation of thousands of young protestors
were held in Dublin and other cities and regions in the country, while over 300,000
teenage activists took to the streets in Australia.
Last fall, the world’s climate scientists said that to limit temperature
rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, we need to cut our fossil fuel
consumption to half by 2030 and eliminate them entirely by
mid-century.
This spring, the world set another high mark for carbon dioxide production in the atmosphere of 415 parts per million, the highest level in many millions of years.
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