Return of the Recluse

This feels a little awkward. 

Tinged with a bit of shame.

Like the return of a repentant family member whose spent 17 years estranged.

It's been a while since I last engaged in climate politics, and except for a recent statement against the destruction of trees by Plymouth City Council, even longer since my last blog. Not that I haven't been following the news - my ears always prick up at the words "climate change". I am nonetheless out of touch with the activist community and need to thoroughly update myself with the facts before I can hand on heart speak with sufficient confidence in my knowledge.

You could say I've been a climate recluse, critiquing things from afar without getting myself in on the action. But in activism, nothing is achieved if you hold back from engaging with others. Whether it's contacting politicians, planning with other activists or simply keeping in touch with campaigns on social media, results require you to stick your head out the door and be present, even if a sign says everything for you.

Climate change protesters from Fridays For Future in Valparaiso, Chile on 22 September 2022, ahead of COP27. The nearest sign reads "Let's change the system, not the climate". 
Image source: REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

In the dubious land of climate politics, a community of activists can also provide a vital lifeline. It is all to easy to get dispirited by the lack of progress and so skeptical about promises that you presume a negative outcome before politicians open their mouths. Disappointment becomes familiar and in its depths it can be hard to keep faith. Yet in its wake, encouragement from like-minded activists can provide a lifeline to keep the message going, keep you going, and acting as a reminder to take time out for yourself.

I guess this is where I wandered off. With covid lockdowns, university on pause and my health taking a turn, motivation slipped away. Guilt then crept in stronger each time the topic came into question, inviting me into a black hole of depression. It scared me to broach the subject. And believe me, I have so much admiration for activists like Greta Thunberg - we need more people like her! - but nothing I've ever accomplished comes close to what Greta has achieved. I felt I knew nothing. Tapping away in a warm house, vaccinated with my family in a country of relative privilege - what good was I to the movement? Whilst the rest of the world struggled, all I was to do was stay put, so the doctors said. Where was my purpose? Already straddling a fine line with my health, I saw myself slipping away...

I'm not sure where these last three years have gone (three years!). I'm supposed to be 22 but I feel I'm yet to experience life as a teenager. Meanwhile, as an outsider looking in, climate action appears to have stagnated. Even though I know this does not do justice to the relentless action being taken within activist circles, government jargon and vague commitments continue to inhibit necessary radical action. If anything, the very fact that the details behind the "historic" loss and damage fund agreed at COP27, which intended to provide poorer nations with financial assistance upon experiencing climate disaster, was left so vague exemplified that countries in the Global North remain unwilling to reshape global power dynamics. Yet even the IPCC (2023) state that elevating the voices of the most marginalised and providing assistance to those worst afflicted by climate disaster in the Global South will play a crucial role in averting the most dire effects of climate change.

The scientists have concluded. This is our last chance to prevent catastrophic and irreversible climate change. If we don't take rapid, deep and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors this decade, we will be unable to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 

Although it is scary and the state of climate politics left wanting, there is reason to be hopeful.

All around the world, people are turning to activism. From the schools of Uganda to the capital of Iran, from the inner cities of the UK to the mountains of Peru. The tides are changing for climate justice and I believe we can make the necessary changes. We cannot afford to think otherwise.

I am ready to bring myself into the furious and beautiful scene of climate activism. 

Will you join me?


H_M

Bibliography:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2023. AR6 Synthesis Report Climate Change 2023. [Online]. [Accessed 21 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/

Abnett, K. 2022. Global climate change protests demand compensation ahead of COP27. Reuters. [Online]. 23 September. [Accessed 21 March 2023]. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/world/global-protests-demand-climate-change-compensation-ahead-cop27-2022-09-23/

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