16-year-old Greta Thunberg barged into the world's consciousness when she started her movement of skipping school in Sweden and stood in front of the Swedish parliament as a protest against government neglect regarding the issues the environment is facing. Ever since then, Thunberg became the face of environmental activism. She encouraged the youth from all over the world to do the same. Because of her impact, movement #FridaysForFuture was established in 2018.
Thunberg traveled from London on an emission-free sailboat for two weeks to attend the climate summit organized by the United Nations that was scheduled back on Sept. 23. Two days earlier, people around the world responded to Greta's call to action and unleashed the climate strike with 4 million people in estimated attendance.
THE DILEMMA
After successfully traveling the North Americas to reach Santiago, Chile for the climate summit—also called COP25—scheduled in December, the venue was suddenly changed. The new venue will now be in Madrid in Spain.
Because of this sudden change, Greta Thunberg is asking for help for her travel back to Europe. Thunberg then turned to social media for help. "As #COP25 has officially been moved from Santiago to Madrid, I'll need some help. It turns out I've traveled halfway around the world, the wrong way:)" she tweeted last Nov. 1.
It could be easy for Greta to beat the schedule if she took a plane. But she does not take the plane. It actually makes sense why. For environmental activists like Greta riding, the plane is a mortal sin: planes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. In fact, in an article published in Vox, a plane ride across the Atlantic emit 1 ton of carbon dioxide per passenger. As a matter of fact, avoiding any aviation service will be an effective way of lessening the carbon footprint.
AVIATION CRISIS
Amid the issues of global warming brought forth by excess carbon dioxide emissions, the aviation industry is in its boom.
Demand for air travel continues to increase as trade and commerce are done easily via flight service. There is also an increase in leisure flights due to the decrease in ticket prices.
According to Vox, suspending or eradicating air travel will definitely be not a dinner party and will make a dent on the economy, especially nowadays, when there is a demand for fast and overnight shipping. Big-commerce companies rely on air travel to deliver their products in faraway places in half the travel time.
Air travel also helps in delivering services to remote places, bringing in goods and services. However, the environmental impact of air travel can no longer be denied.
Back in 2015, 197 countries signed the Paris Agreement, a pact that promises to lessen the carbon dioxide emissions down to net-zero by the year 2030. Unfortunately, it seems that the top five countries that produce large scale carbon emissions are not taking the threat of climate change seriously as scientists recorded a new high in the rate of carbon emissions.
The carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere also increased, prohibiting excess heat from escaping. The polar caps and the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are the first ones to feel the effects of global warming as ice is starting to melt, resulting in the rise in sea level.
