I just got back from dropping my daughter off at daycare. On the way back, children are rushing in from everywhere. It’s back to school, on this beautiful August morning. That moment that is both beautiful and disturbing when, as a parent, we become fully aware of the time that passes on the faces of our little ones, from one year to the next. A bittersweet feeling that, without fail, brings a few tears to my eyes that I try to hide under my overenthusiasm. “Have a good start to the school year, kids!”
So here we are in the last days of a summer that, once again, has taken the form of a clear and strong alarm signal concerning the environment, and, by ricochet, the future of our children: heat records everywhere, flooded parents and friends, forest fires, oil slicks in the river… The list is long.
I am rereading an article that appeared in these pages, shortly before the holidays. In The Duty On May 8, environmental reporter Alexandre Shields brought to our attention information that should have made us all tremble: “for the moment, the commitments made by States are leading the world towards a warming that would go beyond 2.5°C, assuming that these commitments are scrupulously respected.”
However, the conclusions of the experts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — as well as the Paris Agreement, of which Canada is a signatory — are very clear: the limit that must not be exceeded, the limit of “VIABLE”, is that of a warming of 1.5 °C. An ultimate ceiling that we have, moreover, temporarily crossed over the past year.
But what are we waiting for to react?
The solutions exist, they are clearly outlined in the latest IPCC reports. While they certainly shake up our habits, they also bring about a fairer, gentler world with a less hectic pace. Alternative options are possible, and above all, they can be beautiful. Much more so than the chaos that awaits us if we do not act. The science is unequivocal: there is still time to act, it is not too late.
So now more than ever we are at a crossroads. On the one hand, we can choose to ignore the implacable reality. We can choose to get entangled in our sense of helplessness, our cynicism. We can choose to be that slice of humanity who, at a particularly pivotal point in history, will have deliberately allowed humanity to destroy itself, taking the dreams of our children and grandchildren with them.
Or we can choose, collectively, to rise up, to break out of our apathy, and to reverse the course of events. While humans can certainly destroy, history has shown us that they are also capable of the extraordinary.
Against the tide of defeatism that is undermining us, let us dare to be part of this great era that will have succeeded in meeting one of the most important challenges that humanity has faced so far. This avenue is still, always possible. All we have to do is choose it, massively. And immediately. Very concretely, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced by 45% by 2030, and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (IPCC, 2018). This objective should guide all of our actions, both individual and collective. The window for a viable future is closing rapidly, time is running out.
This letter is a call to rise up, now. In each of our environments, let us mobilize, speak out, try to change things. Individually, let us each make a pro-environmental resolution for the coming year, to the extent of our abilities: reduce our consumption, eat less meat, use the car less.
Let’s speak out and question every project that doesn’t seem to lead to a radical reduction in GHGs. Let’s take a look at our democratic institutions: city councils, regional county municipalities (RCMs), and borough councils.
Let’s applaud the steps forward. Let’s prevent the steps backward.
Let’s bring the issue of the environment to the kitchen island. Let’s not try to antagonize each other, but to join together. If there is one issue that should be a consensus, beyond any political allegiance, it is the survival of humanity. Let’s discuss our practices, our ideas. Our fears too. Let’s bring these questions back into the spotlight, so that they are on everyone’s lips. Everywhere. As something obvious that gives us strength. Let’s rally together.
And then, let’s make ourselves heard. Let’s take to the streets in large numbers, write, create, talk about it, everywhere. We are the people who are capable of rising up. Let’s demand that our elected officials rise to the challenge. Let’s show them that the population is thinking big. On September 27, large demonstrations “For the Future of the World” will take place all over Quebec. Let’s go in large numbers, let’s be there in the thousands. Out of love for our children, out of love for all living things. Personally, I don’t see what could be more important for me to do that evening. Because I refuse to let us lose this fight. Because I demand a viable world for all these children who are heading off to school this fall, and those who will come.