{"id":8733,"date":"2019-07-01T14:02:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T14:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/?p=8733"},"modified":"2019-07-02T07:38:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T07:38:00","slug":"strike-now-for-the-future-we-have-a-world-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/2019\/07\/strike-now-for-the-future-we-have-a-world-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Strike now for the future \u2013 we have a world to win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The youth of today are revolting and they are right to do so. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her Edinburgh Medal address in April this year, Christiana Figueres<\/a>, a recognised world leader on global climate change, told her audience that the young are seeking \u201cintergenerational justice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greta Thunberg is leading the way with her school strikes which\nare happening right here, right now as youth take up her call to get the grown\nups to act, well, grown up. They have a hard task as we don\u2019t appear to be\nlistening and we can\u2019t say we were not told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now 32 years since Gro Harlem Brundtland<\/a> (former prime minister of Norway) chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development which introduced the concept of sustainable development.   The Brundtland report Our Common Future<\/a><\/em> <\/a>\u2013 presented to the United Nations General Assembly in October 1987 \u2013 included the results of a public hearing in Tokyo six months earlier.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tokyo Declaration called for all nations to adopt a sustainable approach to development: \u2018an approach to progress which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs\u2019. To do this, \u2018a successful transition to a sustainable development through the year 2000 and beyond requires a massive shift in societal objectives. It also requires the concerted and vigorous pursuit of a number of strategic imperatives\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why our children are on strike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1987 we were told to act there and then in preparation for\n2000.  This is why in 2019 Greta Thunberg\nand her generation are on strike. It took until December 2015 in Paris for\nagreement to be reached to limit temperature increase to 2 degrees whilst\npursuing a target of 1.5 degrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worth acknowledging here the significance of the Edinburgh Medal<\/a> award which was instituted by the City of Edinburgh Council in 1988. It is given annually to men and women of science and technology whose professional achievements are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, this year\u2019s winner Christiana Figueres<\/a> told us that the 0.5 degrees meant the difference between increasing impacts such as water security, forced migration, environmental degradation in our seas and on our land. But Greta Thunberg tells us, and the science backs this up, that lowering emissions is not enough. We have to stop now if we are to reach the 1.5\/2.0 target, or face the consequences detailed by Figueres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018What we do in the next two to ten years will decide the quality of life on this planet\u2019<\/p>Christine Figueres<\/a> in Edinburgh April 2019<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\nhttpss:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eJGwazWixLE&app=desktop\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And it can be done. In the foreword of Our Common Future<\/em> Gro Harlem Brundtland pointed out that: \u2018The challenge of reconstruction after the Second World War was the real motivating power behind the establishment of our post-war international economic system. The challenge of finding sustainable development paths ought to provide the impetus \u2013 indeed the imperative \u2013 for a renewed search for multilateral solutions and a restructured international economic system of cooperation. These challenges cut across the divides of national sovereignty, of limited strategies for economic gain, and separated disciplines of science\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. <\/p>Brundtland Report<\/a> 1987<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This might be too much here in Scotland where the case for\nIndependence is based on the exploitation of \u2018our oil\u2019 and with a third\nconsultation on fracking presenting the distinct possibility that Scotland\ncould become the dirty man of Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t take my word for it take Greta Thunberg\u2019s in her\nrecent speech to Parliament:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe UK\u2019s active current support of new exploitation of fossil\nfuels \u2014 for example, the UK shale gas fracking industry, the expansion of its\nNorth Sea oil and gas fields, the expansion of airports as well as the planning\npermission for a brand new coal mine \u2014 is beyond absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global change requires local action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s right and it doesn\u2019t have to be like that. Edinburgh is<\/em> leading the way. Harlaw Hydro<\/a> is an energy\ncooperative that produces electricity \u2013 139,550khw last year \u2013 for the benefit\nof the local community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edinburgh Solar Co-op<\/a>\ninstall panels on buildings like Prospect Bank Special School, helping reduce\nthe carbon contribution of our built environment.  Promising but small scale actions. It will\ntake a combination of micro production such as these co-ops along with a real\nchange in how we live, consume energy and transport ourselves to make a real\ndifference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leith has two of the 8\nAir Quality Management Areas<\/a> in Edinburgh \u2013 Great Junction Street and\nSalamander Street \u2013 that contribute to climate change and if the school run\nbecame the school walk then that would see a 25% reduction in cars and the\npollution they cause to our environment. The irony of ruining the future of the\nchildren being \u2018safely\u2019 transported to school seems to be lost on these\ndrivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key point is as Gro Harlem Brundtland, Christiana Figueres\nand Greta Thunberg agree: it can and should be done. Empowering cities was a\nkey finding in Our Common Future.<\/em> Local power is an essential component of global change but\nthe current agenda of both Westminster and Holyrood is centralisation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More power and more resources for cities would enable more to be\ndone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to act now if we are to make the difference the science\ntells us must be made for our planet and our future. When making her speech to\nParliament Greta repeatedly asked the audience if her microphone was on and\nwhether she could be heard. Loud and clear Greta. We have a world to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttpss:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rYNM4rsnNFM\n<\/div>
Greta Thunberg\u2019s \u2018Our Future Was Sold\u201d speech to the UK Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Featured image taken at Global Climate Strike in London on Friday 15th March 2019. Public domain picture by <\/em>Garry Knight<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was first published in <\/em>The Leither <\/em><\/a>magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Further Reading: Our Common Future <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children around the globe are right to go on strike, and we must listen to them. Gordon Munro explains why<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":8736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[397,228],"class_list":["post-8733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-climate-emergency","tag-scottish-local-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}