The leaders of the ‘Global North’ are still not acknowledging the full extent of the climate crisis. Those who do see it as a future problem and mainly focus on what will happen within their own borders. Within our country, The Netherlands, we only care to talk about our dykes and sea-level rise because it is water that we fear the most. We fail to acknowledge that the climate crisis is already impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people today and our role in causing it.
We need to demand that our leaders take full responsibility for the damage they are causing and have been causing for the last centuries. You would think that it is in our countries interest to help reverse the climate crisis. But most of our leaders do not feel the urgency to act (yet). With national plans staying the way they are right now, the average global emissions will increase by 16% instead of the agreed 45% reduction in 2030 (UNFCCC). This means that we are coursing towards a climate catastrophe.
It is crucial that we stand up for the Most Affected Peoples and Areas (MAPA) and not just for our own future. They are suffering due to the climate crisis we have caused – 15% of the world’s population is responsible for 60% of the GHG emissions (Our World in Data). We have been driving the destruction of the lands of MAPA through colonialism, imperialism, systemic injustices, and our merciless greed, which ultimately caused the warming of the planet. And now, overexploited countries and marginalised societies are systematically left behind to fend for themselves. This needs to change. We need to #UprootTheSystem.
Yesterday we joined people from all around the globe in the fight for climate justice during the #GlobalClimateStrike organised by @FridaysForFuture – here are some of our highlights from yesterday. Please join us in the upcoming Dutch events (Climate Rebellion, Oct 11 – 18, The Hague @ExtinctionRebellionNL & Klimaat Mars, Nov 6, Amsterdam @Klimaatmars21 ) or join one in your own region. In order to make a positive change, we need the weight in numbers.



