Exasperated by governments’ lack of climate ambition, young people and workers plan to demonstrate in the province on Friday to demand a “radical shift” in favor of the fight against climate change and a rapid exit from fossil fuels. This anger of a youth who fears the worst for its future is also completely legitimate, believe various stakeholders contacted by The duty.
“The climate crisis affects us directly, and it is time for governments to take it seriously. Individual actions will not be enough to deal with it, and it is the future of future generations that is at stake. Why study on a planet that is being destroyed? However, it is the search for economic growth that still directs the vision of governments, regardless of the consequences,” summarizes Amélie Beaulé, delegate of the Student Association of Cégep Saint-Laurent and one of the spokespersons for the coalition which organizes the mobilization in a dozen cities in Quebec, including Montreal. These events are part of the international movement Fridays for Future.
Nearly 130,000 students and 15,000 workers will be on strike for the occasion. They are calling for a “radical shift” which involves the complete exit from fossil fuels by 2030, but also increased funding for social programs, to prevent global warming from exacerbating social inequalities. “Recent examples of floods, tornadoes and heat waves illustrate how vulnerable people, including a large majority of renters and people experiencing homelessness, are the most affected by the increasing extreme weather hazards”, argues Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment.
Individual actions will not be enough to deal with it, and it is the future of future generations that is at stake.
After the large-scale mobilization of 2019, with the participation of activist Greta Thunberg, and the hiatus of the pandemic, the young people who mobilize say that the elected officials have still not heard them. “The politicians feed our fed up, and we will escalate the means of pressure, if they continue to refuse to act”, affirms Amélie Beaulé.
Essential voice
For the moment, Quebec is indeed far from doing what is necessary to fight against the climate crisis and prepare for its impacts. The fleet of gasoline-powered personal vehicles continues to grow, mainly based on larger vehicles, and Quebecers consume approximately 360,000 barrels of oil daily, or more than 130 million barrels per year.
With regard to greenhouse gas emissions, they have fallen by barely 2.7% since 1990, according to the most recent report available, that of 2019. And even if the Legault government has often argued While Quebec’s per capita emissions are the lowest in North America, they still amount to 9.9 tonnes per capita. This is more than double the world average. Climate experts also believe that to meet the most ambitious objective of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit climate change to +1.5°C, it should be capped at two tonnes, at most.
In this context, young people have the right to be angry, according to Lucie Sauvé, professor at UQAM, eco-citizenship specialist and co-signer of a letter of support for the coalition’s demands signed by some forty researchers. . “Young people are right, and their voice is essential and moving, because we realize that the very foundations of life on Earth are compromised. We can therefore understand their concern and their anger. And fortunately they have taken more space at the forefront. We need their strength and their creativity. »
A point of view shared by director Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, one of the instigators of the Mothers at the Front movement. ” I can not stand it anymore. I don’t know how to let go of the situation. This is also how the Mothers at the Front movement was born. I no longer assumed my role as a mother, because we are not able to protect our children. We are mortgaging their future. We therefore demand more political courage to help us protect our children. »
“Sacrifice”
Former director for Quebec of the David Suzuki Foundation, Karel Mayrand believes that climate failure stems in large part from the logic that dominates among governments, that of the short term. “There is a question that was asked during the leaders’ debate on TVA: what will be the sacrifices that you will demand? It shows to what extent the interests of the older generations are in total contradiction with those of the younger generations. The older generations refuse to make what they consider to be sacrifices. We should rather ask ourselves: what are you going to sacrifice in the future by maintaining the status quo ? “, argues the one who recently published the book Letter to a young ecologist.
“When we talk about the public debt, we always say that we cannot leave a debt to future generations. But we don’t do the same exercise for the climate crisis. It is said that sacrifices should be made, which reinforces the out of phase discourse that is held and which wants not to do too much. It’s a discourse that reinforces inaction,” adds Karel Mayrand, who is now President and CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal.
“We rely a lot on technological strategies. But the necessary changes will be extremely difficult and demanding,” insists Lucie Sauvé. “We will have to shake up our daily habits. We will not be able to settle for a technological ointment to resolve the crisis. It will take courage to explain what will need to be done. »
Karel Mayrand also stresses that there would be definite benefits in acting with more ambition. Reviewing the layout of our cities to promote active transportation and greening or changing our diet to reduce the proportion of foods of animal origin, for example, would be positive for the health of citizens.
Inaction is not an option anyway, recalls Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, who has just launched a music video with singer-songwriter Ingrid St-Pierre to invite mothers to vote on October 3 “thinking to children whose future is threatened. “Many young people no longer want to have children or are demotivated. What kind of country are we building, if young people no longer have hope for the future? »