'12 years until the damage we have done will be irreparable': are we doing enough?

By Robin Connolly, First Year History

Robin Connolly calls on the student body to follow the lead of Attenborough and Greta Thunberg and mobilise ourselves against the climate crisis. We cannot complain about inaction whilst we ourselves remain apathetic ourselves; we must be the change.

Sir David Attenborough in his address to the 2018 UN Climate Summit: ‘If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon’. A bold claim. His speech at the recent University of Bristol Alumni Awards addressed young people, urging us to do something about the climate emergency. He exclaimed that our history has been a ‘disaster’, before passing on his message to young people to 'get engaged, come together and do something about it’.

This is a man who has committed his life’s work to nature and the environment, a man who is an expert in the world around us. He is a man who really, truly knows what he’s talking about. Attenborough shares strong ties with the University of Bristol, partially due to BBC Bristol’s key role in the production of nature programmes. These connections are what led to his being honoured at the recent alumni awards, and how come he opened the University’s Life Sciences building in 2014.

Gretta Thunberg, meanwhile, made the audiences of TedxStockholm laugh, when she explained that her OCD, Asperger’s Syndrome and Selective Mutism prevent her speaking except when she thinks it is necessary, but that now is one of those moments. However, she didn’t make the World Economic Forum laugh, when she stated that she didn’t want the hope of adults, but that instead she wanted them to panic and to ‘feel the fear’ she feels every day.

>'she didn’t want the hope of adults, but that instead she wanted them to panic and to ‘feel the fear’ she feels every day.'

These are two people whose words have helped to inspire the Youth4Climate Strikes and #FridaysForFuture Protests all over the world, where students have been invited to walk out of their lessons in order to protest climate injustices.

On Friday 15 March, young people from 2000 cities, roughly 1.4 million people, walked out of school to protest government inaction on the topic of climate change. Bristol was one of these. The city saw teenagers up to their knees in the water feature opposite City Hall on College Green, shouting into megaphones that they ‘want climate justice’ and that they ‘want it now’.

While the strike itself was incredibly uplifting and full of hope for the future, it was somewhat frustrating to hear fellow students claim that they couldn’t attend the strike (a cessation of work) because they had lectures (the work!). The university felt severely under represented and I might even go as far as to argue the turnout was disappointing. There are just under 20,000 under students at the University of Bristol, yet I would estimate that there were considerably less than 1000 university students there in total. When this seems to be a topic that is so important, I was surprised at the lack of university students who attended. But, on a more positive note, it is highly commendable of those students who did make the effort to go to the strike. You were a small but powerful force!

>'There are just under 20,000 students at the University of Bristol, yet I would estimate that there were considerably less than 1000 university students there in total.'

Young people, and especially students, have the potential to be a mightily powerful pressure group. Recently, our political interests have been notoriously snubbed, yet I feel like there is limited action on our part to try and make that change. We complain a lot about how things aren’t going our way without making them happen ourselves. Discussions such as those on the environment should be being led by us, as we are the ones who will be firefighting the problems that come with climate change in the future. This is what Greta and David are arguing – that those of us who are going to be affected by this the most need to step up and start taking action.

>'Discussions such as those on the environment should be being led by us, as we are the ones who will be firefighting the problems that come with climate change in the future...those of us who are going to be affected by this the most need to step up and start taking action.'

I believe we are painfully aware of the climate emergency. We know that the IPCC have given us 12 years until the damage we have done will be irreparable, and we have all heard of the damage that will come with 6 degrees. Bristol City Council have been making a concerted effort to reduce its effect on the environment, for instance reducing carbon by 71% since 2005, hitting their target two years early. In 2015, Bristol was declared to be the European Green Capital. Meanwhile, in the recent Student Union elections, George Bemrose, the new Student Living Officer was voted in on his promise to ‘work with the University to reach their goal of being Carbon Neutral by 2030’.

>'Bristol City Council have been making a concerted effort to reduce its effect on the environment, for instance reducing carbon by 71% since 2005, hitting their target two years early.'

This shows that both our city and our university are working to limit their effects on the climate. I hope that we, as students, want to do the same.

Featured Image: Epigram / Maggie Sawant

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