London Culture Edit 2.0 - The Climate Conversation @ The Southbank

Culture | Toni | 5 minute read

The Climate Conversation

London Culture Edit 2.0 - The Climate Conversation @ The Southbank

Culture | Toni | 5 minute read

This Sunday the 30th I attended The Climate Conversation at London’s cultural hub: The Southbank Centre. Not to be dramatic, but it was quite possibly the most interesting conversation I’ve ever witnessed. Although, considering that it involved Greta Thunberg and an incredible all-star group of young climate activists, this is not a surprising statement. The discussion, chaired by climate documentary filmmaker and campaigner Alice Aedy, involved a host of young climate leaders from around the world who had previously gathered at the New York Times Climate Hub during COP26 in November 2021. The line-up included: Tori Tsui, Dominique Palmer, Daphne Frias, Mya-Rose Craig, Ati Viviam Villafaña and of course, Greta Thunberg. Notice anything in particular about this line-up, aside from the fact that this is literally the Avengers-Assemble of incredible climate activists? Yes, that’s right, they’re all women. Slay.

Attending a climate discussion at the end of the hottest July ever recorded, and the very same week that the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres confirmed that the era of global warming has officially ended, and that “the era of global boiling has begun”, felt poignant to say the least. As we queued up to enter the venue, we were met by a mob of angry (and elderly) climate change deniers toting “Greta Doom Goblin” signs and misleading graphs evidently attempting to convince us that “man made climate change is a myth”. It felt both laughable and bitterly depressing that even in this historic month for global warming (or, more accurately: boiling), people are still violently denying the facts. It was chilling, moreover, witnessing the contrast between the angry denial of the older generation, and the relative youth of the discussion panel; the youngest of whom is a mere 20 years old (Greta Thunberg). That being said, a significant point raised by this panel was that climate activism isn’t a war of the generations; we all inhabit the same planet, and will be subject to the same fate unless we act now.

Over the course of two hours, the flawlessly eloquent climate leaders unpacked pressing contemporary climate issues ranging from intersectionality in the climate movement and ‘petromasculinity’, to how to become a climate activist movement and how piss off your local MP.

One aspect of the conversation that I found to be particularly poignant addressed the importance of, and action needed, to achieve a ‘Just Climate Transition’. According to the ‘Just Transition Alliance’, a Just Transition is a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. In other words, as we begin to transition from an exploitative petrodollar economy fueled by corporate greed, white supremacy and the patriarchy, we need to consider equality and justice for all members of society around the globe. For, whilst the transition away from fossil fuels is inevitable to ensure the future survival of our species on the planet, justice is not. An example of how we can work towards a Just Transition was articulated by Daphne Frias: a disabled, female and Latina activist whose advocacy focuses on the intersection between disability, environment and POC justice. She explained that if the process of campaigning to achieve climate transition is not just and intersectional, then the outcome will not be either. Thus, she argued that we must work to ensure that climate protest is inclusive of all members of society, including the differently abled, such as herself; a Just Transition describes both where we are going, and how we should get there.

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Just Transition - Climate Justice Alliance

A further aspect of the discussion that I found to be especially moving was Tori Tsui’s explanation of the #StopRosebank campaign, and why it should be at the forefront of our environmental agendas. Tori shot to fame in 2021 with her advocacy for the #StopCambo movement which successfully stopped Big Oil in its tracks when it forced Shell to pull out of the controversial North Sea Cambo oil field development project. Today, an even bigger North Sea development project has been proposed: the Rosebank oil field. The UK government is planning to approve this project, which is three times the size of Cambo, despite the fact that burning Rosebank’s oil and gas would create more CO2 emissions than the combined emissions of all 28 low income countries in the world, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique. What’s more: the UK public are primed to carry almost all the costs (91%) of developing Rosebank, while the oil companies, such as Equinor, will lap up the profits. Thanks to the UK Government’s oil and gas subsidies, the UK public will hand over £3.75 billion to oil stakeholders to develop the field. So, not only will the planet be irrevocably hurt by this development, so too will the UK economy; the Observer estimates that Britain will face losses totalling over £100 million. So much for fixing energy security and the cost of living crisis. The UK public doesn’t want to bankroll the Norwegian government’s wealth fund (which majority owns the oil giant Equinor); we want cheap, clean renewables to combat the energy crisis and kickstart the Just Climate Transition.

At the end of the Climate Conversation, the youth leaders gathered at the front of the stage to rally the audience in a “what do we want? Climate Justice” chant, holding a “#StopRosebank” poster. The audience was absolutely galvanised by the cause; you could hear the anger and passion in everyone’s voices reverberating around the colossal auditorium. If any attendee wasn’t already tied to the climate cause, I can guarantee that they will be now.

If, like me, you have been utterly mortified by the proposed Rosebank oil field, and want to do your part to help halt this development, you can sign the petition linked below.

https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/

Furthermore, if you’d like to attend similar events this summer, I urge you to check out the Southbank Centre’s ‘Planet Summer’ line up, running until September 3rd 2023. Here are some of the top events to look forward to at this iconic cultural venue this summer.

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