Power Shift ended a successful weekend with a bang, with two
hundred young people descending on the London Eye and Parliament Square for a
flashmob highlighting the urgent action needed to combat climate change.
Coverage of the event was good, with
the Guardian, Channel 4 and the Evening Standard all giving it a story.
Although reporting
that "[t]he lovely thing about teenagers and 20-year-olds is that they don't
really see why it can't just all be sorted out" is pretty lame, when the
various youth delegations attending the UN conferences are part of a global
campaign formally recognised and fully integrated into the climate negotiations
and process.
The flashmob, originally planned to be
performed solely in front of the London Eye, was given an impromptu second act,
after Greenpeace supporters occupied the Parliament roof, and the entire Power
Shift group taking the opportunity to show their support. The fortunate
coincidence provided a good contrast of the diversification of protest. The
flashmob, although not new is still a product of social networking, and is tailor-made
to go viral on YouTube. It is also a far more community
based and inclusive way to get a message out. Although given the extensive
media coverage of the Greenpeace action, climate change activists will not be
dropping direct action from their toolbox any time soon.
It also provided the opportunity to
reflect on the ability of the UK political system to deal with an issue as
complex as climate change. Power Shift participants enthusiastically took up
the Greenpeace protesters slogan "CHANGE THE POLITICS SAVE THE CLIMATE".
Indeed it remains to be seen whether a system geared towards short-term results
to win elections, is even capable of acting on an issue that will primarily
affect people not even old enough to vote. The political parties and their
associated ideologies have had enough trouble dealing with social justice,
without having to suddenly consider inter-generational justice as well. Of
course this issue is not exclusive to the UK Parliament, and the legally
binding carbon-reduction targets in the Climate Change Act are an encouraging
start. But the battles of Kingsnorth and Heathrow, suggest that without
continued civil society pressure the government is likely to default to its old
carbon habits.
