The ONGD InteRed, promoted by the Teresian Association, has joined the support platform for these mobilizations and has made its own materials available to educators and social animators who want to collaborate in the dissemination of the information about the problems caused by climate change, as well as some projects trying to mitigate their effects.

The mobilizations, with more than 3,500 actions planned worldwide, have been driven by the Friday For Future (FFF) movement, which since last year has been carrying out protests, demonstrations, concentrations and activities every Friday to raise awareness of the seriousness of the environmental crisis that affects the life of the Planet and, above all, the survival of the most impoverished populations.

Uneven effects

The effects of the crisis are not theory. We have seen it repeatedly during these past months in floods, tornadoes, forest fires... that have affected entire populations in various parts of both hemispheres.

These mobilizations, in the framework of the “Global strike for the climate”, began on Friday 20th and will continue until the 27th. The protests initiated by the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who is currently in New York, continued all over the world in order to press governments, gathered at the UN climate action summit.

Urgent and effective measures are requested from the states to combat avoidable disasters caused by climate change. Companies and social forces are also asked to practice codes of conduct that may contribute to generate habits of responsible consumption.

All countries suffer the effects of climate change, but not equally, InteRed says, and, in addition, these effects are not proportional to their responsibility for global warming.

In the Philippines, where InteRed works in the prevention of natural disasters, carbon emissions barely represent 0.25 percent of world levels. However, it is one of the countries most affected by tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, etc.

Nuevas formas de vida

We must recognize the link between our lifestyles -consumption of fossil fuels, use of plastics, cutting down trees, abuse of water resources, etc. with the pollution, global warming, natural disasters, destruction of livelihoods, and human losses that cause forced displacements for so many people.

A change in collective consciousness is necessary and has to be translated into new lifestyles to collaborate in the proper use of resources, their reuse and fair distribution, so that not only the environment is respected, but, above all, helping the peoples most affected by natural disasters, who are the most impoverished and vulnerable, to avoid risky situations caused by human action.

Info-IT.
Translation: C. Zabalegui and R. Cameron.
Photographs: FFF.