Climate change is a racist and classist crisis—and it’s the youth who will inherit it

What’s one of the most unsettling aspects about climate change that often gets obscured? Its effects aren’t distributed evenly across the world. It’s the global south with marginalized communities and often poor economies that’s affected by it the most. That immediately makes this an issue of race and wealth, with already-oppressed communities being hit more than the privileged.

As a third world country with brownness a huge part of our genetic makeup, this makes it even more imperative for us to join in the fight to stop climate change. This isn’t limited to skipping plastic straws and cellophane bags (though yes, please do that). In the grand scheme of things, your personal actions are worthless if it’s not tempered with activism. Lasting, restorative change needs governments to take concrete actions to implement sustainability practices and bring down large-scale polluters. And many of the lawmakers who can do this just don’t care, simply because they’re not the ones who’ll experience it—it’s the generations after them, the young people.

This is why we’re joining the climate strike on May 24 at Mendiola.

In at least 15 cities around the country, young activists are taking to the streets to protest climate change inaction and demand for climate justice. It’s part of a global movement Youth Strike for Climate, made up of all the young people tired of hearing previous generations undermining the effects of global warming and/or making false promises to put an end to it. The strike was created by Greta Thunberg, 16 year old climate change activist wonder, in 2018. (Read: Greta Thunberg: How a 16-year-old will save the world)

This is actually the second youth climate strike this month, with students around the world skipping school and rallying last May 14.

If you want to find your local rally location or want to volunteer, contact Youth Strike for Climate PH.

 

Featured photo courtesy of Kin Cheung from Associated Press

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