August 20th, 2018 marked as the first Climate protest outside the Swedish Parliament by Greta, who has become the face of Climate Activism all around the world.

Exactly 13 months later, on September 20th, 2019, millions of people around the world came outside their offices, classrooms, homes and comfort zones on the streets to protest against the climate injustice.

Global climate strike: An experience of a lifetime

I had participated in the 40th Climate Strike in Varanasi this summer, but the global Strike for Climate was just another level.

I went to the Climate protest at the Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi where about 500 people belonging to all parts of India regardless of caste, color, creed, gender and sexual orientation, marched as a unit towards the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to meet Mr. Prakash Javedkar and address the ongoing climate injustice and declare climate emergency.

No Planet B

All of the participants were highly driven and shouted slogans at the top of their lungs reminding people that there is no Planet B.

Delhi Police was informed a week ago and prior permission was taken by the volunteers. Police was themselves in awe of the energy that they witnessed on the day of the strike and also appreciated our effort.  People sang, danced, made speeches and peacefully dispersed taking back a positive experience with them.

My journey of being environment-friendly

In these few months, I’ve seen myself evolve as an aware citizen towards the ongoing Climate catastrophe and have taken individual steps myself to reduce waste and carbon footprint. I have participated in Climate strikes, debates and discussions and have contributed in wherever I could.      Our team in Varanasi have successfully managed to provide a plastic-free experience to our customers at our Hostel (Wander Station).

Will people ‘actually’ take climate action?

What concerns me is the number of people who will actually go back and take Climate Action back at home. All the online outrage that you and I observe on social media is futile if we don’t take Climate Action when nobody is watching.

Everyone needs to alter their lifestyle and take small steps individually and big steps collectively in order to turn the tide against the climate crisis to build a sustainable future for the coming generation.

(The views expressed in the article are the author’s own. Let Me Breathe neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

(Vaibhav is a political science student who’s working towards mobilizing humans towards taking action against Climate catastrophe)