The Kids Will Be Alright (if we’re not lost and damaged by COP-26)

published 05.11.2021

This op-ed is directed at decision-makers at COP-26. It has been co-created this week by 60 young people from all over the world, to make a unified call for climate justice. Most of us didn’t grow up speaking English and we had not met each other before. Yet in just 4 hours, we listened to each other, shared our experiences, and put together our vision for the future we want to inherit. If we can do this, decision makers can do it too.  

There is a Palauan proverb that says A klukuk a rkemei, which translates as ‘tomorrow is still to come’. It teaches young kids in Palau the importance of taking care of the future. Our actions today define what tomorrow looks like. Yet, these same children experience enormous loss and damage because of the current climate crisis they didn’t cause. 

We are 60 young people. We come from Burkina Faso, Burundi, Niger, the Central African Republic, Columbia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Belgium, and Spain. We come from diverse backgrounds, but all experience the devastating effects of the climate crisis, and are united in our demands for decision makers at COP-26.

We demand that Loss and Damage is a priority at COP-26 and a permanent theme in the COPs that follow. We believe that he who breaks the vase must pay for it. 

Today the opposite is true: he who breaks the vase, lets someone else clean up the  mess . The climate crisis is caused by people and countries that don’t put care at the centre of proverbs, let alone policies. The violent climate of hurricanes, droughts and flooding is not the root cause of this problem, but the consequence of a climate of violence. A climate fuelled by greed, exploitation, competition, colonization, inequality, racism, intergenerational injustice and gender-based violence.

If this is all a bit too abstract, allow us to illustrate what this looks like. Imagine your livelihood depends on the cultivation of a land you don’t own and can’t inherit because of your gender, yet you break your back every day to change it into fertile ground. Your neighbours have the biggest house on the block and generate a lot of waste that pollutes your land. Your ground becomes infertile. You lose your income, livelihood and eventually your house. You try to claim reparations at the local court but are ignored. You try to get your plea across the ocean, where policymakers are deciding over the fate of the trees, water, and air of your community. But your voice isn’t heard. You end up with nothing but the clothes on your back, unsheltered from all kinds of violence. You follow in the footsteps of the 30 million people who became climate refugees before you.

This fictional story echoes the innumerable stories of people affected by the climate of violence. People we have encountered here at COP26, who become activists  so others don’t have to experience what has become their daily reality. People like Marinel Sumook Ubaldo, a 24 year old Filipino whose family lived a harmonious life with nature, before they became victims of Typhoon Haiyan, victims of our climate of violence.  She became an activist, not by choice but out of necessity, to prevent this happening again to her community or others.

Climate Change, Bangladesh. Photo: Climate Visuals Countdown, Creative Commons Mandatory Credit - Moniruzzaman Sazal - Climate Vis

We must move instead to a climate of care, and place care at the centre of loss and damage policies. A climate of care addresses the physical, economic and severe psychological burdens caused by loss and damage. A climate of care could be based on community, local solutions, collective efforts, equality, intersectional responses, power sharing and attention to mental health. 

How do we disrupt this climate of violence?

First, let the person who breaks the vase, pay for it. The countries and corporations who contributed the most to the climate crisis should be held accountable. This can no longer be a voluntary commitment but must become a systemic and legally binding responsibility. There's a need for a structural framework where historical damage is considered and where adaptation and mitigation must be prioritized to avoid future loss and damage. Funding must be based on responsibility, not on guilt or out of charity, and it must be separate from the funding that is needed for adaptation and mitigation. More regular NDCs (nationally determined contributions) which include regular, explicit, and legally binding Loss and Damage contribution plans, will help ensure that those who are responsible are kept to their commitments.

Second, put communities at the head and heart of Loss and Damage policies. Those who have been affected, know the extent to where Loss and Damages reaches, let them decide the scope of policies. Let communities manage Loss and Damage resources and programs and make sure that women and youth are represented. To avoid further loss and damage, forests and natural habitats should be protected by their rightful guardians so that once again they can buzz with the rich biodiversity we rely on to thrive. Putting the most affected communities at the heart of Loss and Damage also acknowledges psychological impacts. Provide support and take into account emotional wellbeing.

Finally, rethink what global citizenship looks like in light of climate related displacement. People should be able to move by choice, not by tragedy. Resources, land and reparations must be accessible and shared equitably.

Rethink what childhood you want to give to us, children, so that we no longer need to carry the weight of the world as we become adults in the midst of an emergency.

Don’t let this climate of violence be our legacy, because we are your tomorrow.

Signed,

Sixty youth activists, crossing borders and cultures in a shared quest for climate justice
 

Musíme se odvrátit od násilí a postavit starostlivost a péči do středu tzv. politiky ztrát a škod, protože jen tak dokážeme čelit fyzické, ekonomické a psychické zátěži, kterou nám způsobují dopady klimatické změny. Měli bychom se zaměřit na hledání lokálních řešení, naslouchat místním komunitám a zaměřit se na společné úsilí o rovnost a intersekcionální přístup k řešení problémů. Je potřeba, abychom hledali synergie a také věnovali pozornost duševnímu zdraví.

Jak narušit systém, který stojí na násilí

Za prvé, kdo rozbil “vázu”, platí. Státy a korporace, které ke klimatické krizi přispěly nejvíce, by se nám měly zodpovídat. Není nadále možné, aby nám dávaly jen dobrovolné závazky, ale musí přijmout systémově i právně závaznou odpovědnost za svá rozhodnutí. Je třeba vytvořit strukturální rámec, který zohlední historické škody a upřednostní se v něm adaptace a zmírňování negativních dopadů tak, abychom zabránili dalším budoucím ztrátám a škodám. Financování těchto kroků musí být založeno na principu odpovědnosti, nikoli na principu ochoty přispívat na dobročinné účely. Pravidelné národní příspěvky by také měly zahrnovat jasné a právně závazné plány na pokrytí ztrát a škod způsobených klimatickou krizí.

Zadruhé, musíme postavit komunity do čela a středu všech politik týkajících se ztrát a škod. Ti, kteří byli klimatickou změnou postiženi, vědí nejlépe, do jaké výše jejich ztráty a škody sahají, a proto by to měli být oni, kdo rozhodují o rozsahu přijímaných opatření. Nechme komunity, aby spravovaly zdroje programu Loss and Damage a dohlédněme na to, aby v nich byly zastoupeny ženy a mládež. Abychom dokázali předcházet dalším a dalším škodám, měli by lesy a další oblasti ochraňovat jejich právoplatní správci, aby opět mohly bujet bohatou biologickou rozmanitostí. Ta je podmínkou pro to, aby se nám na naší planetě dobře žilo. Tím, že se zaměříme na nejpostiženější komunity a postavíme jejich zájmy do středu vyjednávání, jim dokážeme zároveň poskytnout podporu a zvýšit jejich psychickou pohodu.

A nakonec, je třeba přehodnotit, jak by mělo vypadat globální občanství ve světle migrace způsobené klimatickou změnou. Lidé by měli mít možnost stěhovat se z vlastního rozhodnutí, nikoliv kvůli tomu, že jim domov vzala přírodní tragédie. Zdroje, půda a přístup k odškodnění musí být dostupné všem, kteří je potřebují.

Přehodnoťte, jaké dětství nám chcete nachystat, abychom pak jako dospělí, nemuseli nést na bedrech tíhu celého světa.

Nedovolte, aby se násilí na klimatu stalo naším dědictvím, protože my jsme váš zítřek.

Tento komentář psali společně mladé aktivistky a aktivisté, kteří se 5.11. účastnili v Glasgow workshopu, který na COP26 pořádala organizace Oxfam společně s partnery v rámci projektu EC DEAR Climate Action by European Citizens. V českém překladu ho vydal online magazín A2larm.cz.

Did you like this article?
Recommend this article to your friends!

Search term

[ close ]