THE GOOD FIGHT
Local students to join famous advocate in Friday strike to push for bolder action
Grade 12 student Samantha Lin, an organizer for the climate activist group Sustain a bi li teens, is thrilled that a planned rally and march downtown on Friday will include the participation of famous Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg.
Seventeen-year-old Samantha Lin has plenty of friendships, homework and exams to worry about. The Grade 12 student also counts herself among teenagers across the globe struggling with climate anxiety, who are cutting time out of their busy days to tackle an issue they believe can only be overcome through unity.
“Climate anxiety is real and it is scary when you continue to see governments who don’t necessarily listen to you, who don’t implement those bolder targets we need,” said Lin, a Grade 12 student at Prince of Wales in Vancouver.
On Friday, Lin, an organizer with activist group the Sustainabiliteens, will be buoyed by the participation of international climate activist Greta Thunberg in a climate strike they hope will pressure federal leaders to work harder to reduce emissions.
Thunberg, 16, the organizer of the Fridays for Future movement, will join them for a rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery starting at 11 a.m., followed by a march downtown.
The Swedish teen arrived in the U.S. in late August after crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a sailboat.
She has since been travelling across North America in an electric Tesla Model 3, provided by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to meet with leaders and support local climate activism.
Thunberg joined a Sept. 27 climate strike — where people left school or work to participate in climate activism — in Montreal, which, according to the city’s mayor, drew 500,000 people.
That same day, a Thunberg-inspired climate strike led by the Sustainabiliteens brought about 100,000 people to the streets of Vancouver, police said.
Lin said Friday’s climate strike will be her group’s ninth.
It has been tough organizing the events while being pelted with criticism from people who say climate change does not concern them, but the success of the last strike and growing unity Lin has seen have left her feeling mostly inspired.
“It’s really, really empowering,” she said. “It makes us feel like we’re doing something good. We’re making a difference. We’re getting all of these people out on the streets, a lot of whom wouldn’t have before. The amount of friends and close connections I’ve made through people I know through organizing or who are just passionate about climate justice, as well, just makes me excited and happy about the future to come.”
On Friday, B.C.’s largest school districts, Vancouver and Surrey, are among many where classes will be empty for a professional development day.
Lin expects a good turnout. “I think there are more and more people — as can be seen by the number of strikers that we have been seeing across Canada — who are going to make climate a priority and who are going to keep showing up to these types of things, and really putting the pressure on government to commit to bolder actions, to commit to Indigenous sovereignty, to commit to a just transition away from fossil fuels,” Lin said.
Lin said her group will continue to hold the strikes because they help their movement gain momentum and amplify its calls for action by leaders, including those who were elected Oct. 21.
Her group is excited to have the inspiring “power of Greta” join them in Vancouver, she said.
David Tindall, a professor in the department of sociology at the University of B.C., said he would be surprised if Friday’s climate strike draws 100,000.
But given Thunberg ’s “star power” and recent attention to climate change during the election, it will likely draw many thousands, he said.
Thunberg has been particularly inspiring to other teenagers and those who participate will likely retell the story of her visit for years to come, said Tindall, who researches environmental movements in B.C. and Canada.
“She’s obviously become an icon of the climate movement,” he said.
“She’s kind of a David-and-Goliath figure, in the sense that she’s an underdog. A relatively small, young woman who has this incredible determination.
“She started out with this solo campaign protesting outside the Swedish parliament and has continued on.”
Deborah Harford, executive director of the Adaptation to Climate Change Team in the faculty of environment at Simon Fraser University, said the teens organizing climate strikes have shown incredible leadership on the issue.
But they are “scared about their future” and she doesn’t expect them to slow down anytime soon, she said.
“This is an ongoing challenge and we’re just going to be working on this for the rest of our lives, so we need to keep the momentum going, and keep it top of mind and visible,” she said.
Harford said Thunberg’s visit to Vancouver strips away some of the perception of the teen as an “untouchable celebrity.”
Having her in Vancouver to inspire other teens is exciting for them and makes her climate activism personal, she said.
“I’ve also noticed, with Greta, that when she does show up, she very much gives the leadership of the event to the local leaders but she’s there supporting them,” Harford said.
“I think it’s a really great model of leadership that she’s putting forward and probably one that our more prominent leaders could learn from.”