The Battle for Climate Action

The battle against climate change has never been more urgent. With wildfires in Australia and the Amazon breaking international headlines, record breaking heat reported in countless countries throughout the past year and even entire islands on the verge of becoming submerged, the realities of climate change has never been so clear. But what can we do? Only world leaders can make a difference, not us students, right?

Over a year ago, a young Swedish schoolgirl refused to go to school one Friday morning. She wasn't cutting class because she was avoiding a test, nor did she forget to do her homework. No, she was on strike, a strike to save the world. This young lady was Greta Thunberg, and she was on a mission. She was on strike against school because she believed there was no point in getting an education for the future if there was no future in the first place, so she stood outside her school every Friday demanding that the world leaders start to take climate action to safeguard our future

Within months, one young girl became millions of students in over 1,000 cities in more than 100 countries across the world, joining rallies and strikes held on Fridays to support the movement, which later became known as "Fridays for Future". The movement has become a global sensation and has grown far larger than anyone could have foreseen. The movement inspired many, adults and children alike, including Zara Campion, a founding member of what would later become Climate Action Hong Kong (CAHK), a student-led non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of raising awareness for climate change and encouraging climate action in Hong Kong.

She, along with Emily Tar and Elisa Hirn, organized a strike in March last year, where over a thousand participants marched to the government offices to hand in a position paper. "The turnout was far greater than we could have ever hoped for, especially because this is the first time that this has happened in Hong Kong, " Zara said reminiscing the march. But this was only the beginning for the trio, as not only did the strike raise eyebrows amongst students and teachers, the press and even government officials grew interested in the group's goals and ambitions. The team quickly expanded to the NGO it is today, not only organising marches and strikes but also meeting government officials and attending environmental forums.

"We were truly inspired by Greta's movement, and we were saddened that Hong Kong and the rest of Asia hadn't caught on, so we thought why not do it ourselves" said Campion. "I mean if one Swedish girl can start a global movement, then there's no excuse for us three not to give it a shot" Tar added on.

CAHK is now an NGO with a core team of 7 members, frequently meeting legislators and lawmakers to discuss plans for climate action in Hong Kong. They have also held 2 other strikes after the success of their first one. The team has been praised by local media for bringing attention to the problem of climate change to the city as it is not often brought up in legislature. Haruka Cheung, one of the new core members said that "It feels great to be making a difference for sure, we just hope that more people could get involved."

The team have struggled in getting locals interested in movement, "it's just such a sensitive issue in Hong Kong, to be seen 'joining a protest', so many parents won't allow their children to join," Cheung said, "obviously nothing we do is illegal, we get all the required approval, but because of the current political situation, many are just scared when they hear the term 'protest'," she adds on.

This hasn't brought down the team's morale however, as they are still hopeful that they can get more involved by branching out from simply holding strikes. They have used social media to launch campaigns and raise awareness, as well as attending events such as forums on weekends to avoid cutting class. "Adapting the movement to the culture of Hong Kong hasn't been easy, but it is all definitely worth while in the end." quotes Cheung.

When it comes to climate action, each person is as important as the next one. We all have to pitch in to make a difference, because although your individual actions may seem insignificant, it all adds up in the end if we all take the same action against climate change. So it's not just the world leaders that can incite change, but you, a student can do the same. Whether it's inspiring an entire movement like Greta, or merely just getting your household to recycle more, you can make a change.