4 encouraging ways climate politics went mainstream in 2019
In a video produced by Time magazine, Greta Thunberg — whose rapid transformation from lone climate striker to Person of the Year is proof on its own that 2019 was a momentous year for climate politics — says not all is lost. “We’re often told about these negative tipping points, things that we can’t change,” she said. “There can also be positive tipping points, like when people decide they have had enough.”
The kids took matters into their own hands. In 2019, millions of youth activists took to the streets to make it known that they vehemently disapprove of the job adults are doing to curtail rising emissions. Following in the footsteps of generation Z, teachers, parents, and employees of some of the world’s biggest companies walked out in protest of government inaction on the crisis. These climate strikes took place on multiple Fridays throughout the fall of 2019, in cities around the world like Islamabad, Seoul, Berlin, New York, and Seattle. They will continue in 2020, as a global movement sparked, in part, by the courage of an autistic Swedish teenager continues to grow.