Mitchelstown teen takes aim at big banking with Greta Thunberg inspired climate protest
A 15-year-old Mitchelstown climate change activist is set to resume climate change protests by targeting large international bank Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), with a socially distanced protest in New Square, Mitchelstown.
Amy O’Brien, a student at Presentation Secondary School, will strike instead of attending school on the date of the next international Fridays for Future climate strike, on March 19th.
However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, Ms O’Brien will not travel to Cork or Dublin with other protestors, but will instead mount a solo protest in Mitchelstown.
“Huge gatherings obviously have a huge impact, and others are choosing to gather to protest, but I’m personally not comfortable doing that at the moment,” Ms O’Brien said. She said she would wear a mask while protesting solo.
Ms O’Brien has penned an open letter to Bill Winters, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, which she claims is “one of the largest UK financiers of the fossil fuel industry.” She, alongside a global network of fellow young climate change protestors inspired by the Swedish Fridays for Future founder, Greta Thunberg, is demanding the bank make changes in its upcoming annual coal policy review, to divest from fossil fuels.
“They’ve changed a tiny part of their coal policy, but it’s not enough,” she said.
“I don’t think that I can singularly have an impact on a big company like SCB, but I’m part of a huge global movement so I do think we can make change happen.”
Skipping a day’s school each month is a small price to pay for securing a “future that’s not devastating,” the teen said.