Students demand climate action
Children and teenagers from Auckland to Invercargill gathered at Parliament in Wellington yesterday, demanding politicians take climate change seriously.
Around 150 protesters, ranging from schoolchildren to teachers and other members of the public, came together for the School Strike for Climate NZ 100 Days 4 Action campaign rally.
They presented politicians with a list of demands to be acted on in the first 100 days of this parliamentary term, including phasing out fossil fuels, moving to 100 per cent renewable energy sources, and investing in climate education in schools.
School Strike for Climate spokesperson Ethan Reille told the crowd that climate change was a global issue which needed to be addressed collectively. Time was already running out. ‘‘We know our response must include the team of 5 million, the same way we have done in regard to the pandemic.’’
Seventeen-year-old Abbie Williams said she was at the rally because she would not forgive herself if she had to tell her children and grandchildren she had sat by and done nothing to solve the climate crisis. ‘‘I think climate change is the biggest threat to our generation, and I think if we don’t take action now, nothing is really going to happen. Our future is not guaranteed.’’
It should not be up to the young people to make change. ‘‘We can go vegan, we can use public transportation, but we are not the ones making the big changes.’’
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw told the rally the time for words was over.
‘‘You have every right to be angry, I’m angry. For 30 years, which is more than most of my life, and most of yours combined,
governments and businesses have kicked the can down the road, and now we’ve run out of road.
‘‘This is the year that we’ve got to move from talking about doing something about climate change, to actually doing something about climate change.’’
He said a report from the Climate Change Commission, due to be released next week, would shape New Zealand’s climate response for years to come.
National MP Stuart Smith said climate change was a cross-party issue, and Labour MP Ibrahim Omer said the world was already grappling with 60 million politically displaced refugees. ‘‘We don’t want another 60 million . . . climate change refugees.’’