Climate action: it's time to change strategy
The last Conference of the Parties (COP) has come to an end, 26 long years of negotiations, compromises, dialogues but also deceptions, subterfuges, broken promises, and empty words.
Yet the problem that our political representatives have found themselves facing is nothing new, it has been more than half a century since scientists started sounding the alarm but despite everything, our leaders have once again failed; the task of protecting the interests of the population.
The US continues its insane resignation, China and India refuse to abandon fossil fuels "in order not to lose the economic advantage", the other major polluting states ignore and decline their responsibilities and refuse to face the ecological crisis while the southern hemisphere, which is already paying for the terrible consequences of climate collapse, cries out for help...
Business as usual is once again allowed to continue.
To say that this COP has been a success is to do a grave disservice to mankind; more than half a century of activism, protests, marches, and demonstrations have clearly failed and it is time to change our strategy, to raise our voices and to break the chains of oppression in this toxic system in which we live.
It's time to participate in civil disobedience and break the law by breaking the status quo because if we can learn at least something from climate change, it is that we are living in a situation that is not normal and will get worse and worse if we continue to give free rein to our leaders.
It's time to participate in civil disobedience, to change our strategy, to raise our voices and to break the chains of oppression in this toxic system in which we live.
Our politicians have set us on a path that will lead us to a world that will be warmer by at least 2.7°C and that means the collapse of ecosystems and life as we know it. We will not stand by as they enrich themselves through our misery and suffering, we will disobey, strongly, by breaking through the false narrative of "everything is fine", using our strongest weapon, nonviolence, so that the wall of business-as-usual does not lie at our feet and the horizon of a just future is within our reach.
The authors of this article is Domenico Barbato, Extinction Rebellion activist and founder of XR Naples, with a strong passion for Science and Journalism.