Greta Thunberg arrived in Madrid last Dec. 6 to let the attendees of the COP25 hear the voice of the people with regard to the climate crisis. It is to be remembered that Thunberg traveled from her home country of Sweden to the United States to attend the United Nations summit in Santiago, Chile only to be met with the fact that the UN conference is postponed and moved to Madrid, Spain (READ: Greta Thunberg Asks for Help to Reach the Climate Summit in Madrid).
However, Thunberg's movement is far from futile. Since she launched the campaign #FridaysForFuture, more and more people -- especially youth -- joined the movement. As a matter of fact, in a tweet by Greenpeace Germany, as soon as the climate conference started in Madrid, an estimated 500,000 people marched in the streets of Madrid to demand a concrete climate solution.
Unfortunately, the summit concluded without a concrete climate solution and has not tackled on how to approach the five biggest contributors of carbon emission in the world. It also seemed that the Paris Agreement took a step-back as carbon emissions reached an all-time high this year. With the lack of concrete climate solutions, Greta Thunberg says that the school strikes over the past year have achieved nothing.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE?
Climate scientists have warned about the climate crisis for decades, and what frustrates them is the lack of urgency from organizations and policymakers to create a concrete climate solution. The recent UN climate summit focused on how to implement policies signed under the Paris Agreement. However, there were no talks about how fast should the world needs to lessen its carbon emissions. Four years after the Paris Agreement was signed, the level of carbon emissions has risen by 4%.
The primary solution that climate scientists see to prevent the dire effects of climate change is to reverse the emissions of greenhouse gases -- and it has to be done within twelve years. In an interview with the Guardian, Johan Rockstrom, joint director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, explains, "we must bend the curve [of the emissions] by next year. Next year is the year when we must move decisively to an economy that really starts to reduce investments in fossil fuels." According to Rockstrom, governments should consider doing geoengineering like cloud seeding or putting reflectors in space.
WHAT WILL THE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS DO NOW?
Greta Thunberg is optimistic that eventually, everyone will come to their senses and work together for the sake of the planet. She said in an interview with the Guardian, "I sincerely hope CO25 will reach something concrete and increase awareness among people, and that world leaders and people in power grasp the urgency of the climate crisis because right now it does not seem that they are.
Thunberg also said that they are willing to cooperate as long as governments around the world will be able to provide concrete climate solutions. She acknowledges that it is not sustainable for children to always skip school, and for that to happen, they need to see action and not just mere words. "People are suffering and dying today. We can't wait any longer." She said.
