Climate Change: False Alarm or National Emergency?

Vibrant colors and loud cheering of thousands of youth were flocking over the streets nationwide across United Kingdom on February 15 as students demand action over climate change. Inspired by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and her own strike in August 2018, the protest led students to skip school until the government takes notice and declare national emergency. The strike went all out to even bringing the protests to British Prime Minister, Theresa May’s residence in Downing Street after being called a “waste of a lesson” by a government spokesperson.

Although ridiculed by authorities and residents alike, it appeared that the protest might makes more sense to be seen as an emergency compared to UK’s problematic Brexit. According to infographic disclosed by NASA, the Earth is losing over 413 Gigatons of ice sheets a year, decreasing amount of the arctic ice minimum to 12.8% a decade, and the increasing global temperature over 1.9° Fahrenheit since 1880, making 18 of 19 warmest years on record since 2001.

Moving to a more localized perspective, Indonesia too has taken its toll on climate change. One of the devastating examples was the horrifying forest fire in 2015 that consumed over 2,6 thousands of hectares which our government stated was 32 times more than the province of Jakarta. Former Minister of Living Environment, Emil Salim, has also stated in an international conference last December that if the climate change is not handled wisely, Indonesia is predicted to drown entirely by 2045.

While the demand of action over climate change is a complete necessity, school strike may—or may not—prove ineffective with Indonesia’s current social and educational dilemma. There are other ways to spread awareness regarding climate change that we’d happily share with you on our next article. Meanwhile, if you really want to contribute to the cause, be sure to check out all the current AIESEC Global Volunteer projects that support climate actions on AIESEC Indonesia’s website.