Climate Action

(Qariru Defa Pranaja - SMP Bali Kiddy)

Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever heard of fossil fuels? Well, this little thing we call
fossil fuels, is something that is both heavily correlated with money and the air we breathe. Isn’t
it ironic? - The very thing we use to run our cars every day is the same thing that feeds the US
economy, the same thing that causes modern wars, and the same thing that causes our oceans to
swallow up islands. Although this doesn’t happen directly, fossil fuels play a massive role in
modern society. Many rich countries are, well, rich simply because of fossil fuels. According to
data from the IMF, fossil fuel subsidies were $7 trillion or 7.1 percent of GDP in 2022 around
the world. My name is Qariru Defa Pranaja and today, I’ll enlighten you on one of modernity’s
biggest oppositions, Climate Change.
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what everyone is telling us, that Climate Change is bad. But
think about it, they keep telling us, this is a problem, that’s a problem, this is bad, this is good,
and we listen and sit on our chairs in a classroom every day and blindly agree. It’s just - a bit
silly to me. Education is definitely an important thing, but are the ‘visionaries’ of today’s society
really just putting all their efforts into spreading the root of the problem itself?
Sure, there has been progress made towards minimizing the effects of Global Warming,
progress towards Climate Action. But what have we been doing all this time? I think that people
should stop clinging to this tunnel-visioned mindset, we should stop clinging to the problem.
Instead, we should shift our perspective, just a little bit, and focus on the solutions. Instead of
‘why?’ we should be focusing on ‘how?’, how we, as the current generation, are able to
contribute to Climate Action.
Believe it or not, there are many ways an individual can contribute towards Climate
Action. And no, you absolutely don’t need to be an influential person, or have money. But rather,
I want to emphasize on the actions you can take in your daily life.
Picture this: it's 10 a.m., and you find yourself engrossed in content on your phone.
Instead of closing the blinds and windows while turning on the lights and air conditioner,
consider a different approach. Opt to open your windows and switch everything off, or simply
enjoy the view outside. Why is this a better choice? Well, for starters, practicing this consistently
can save you from the shock of your electricity bill hitting you harder than a dump-truck. But
there's a broader impact - by adopting this habit on a global scale, we can reduce the demand for
electricity, which also indirectly alleviates the effects of global warming. While the impact may
seem subtle individually, envision the positive change if billions of people embraced this simple
yet impactful shift in their daily routines.
Of course, for billions of people to start implementing this, it would take a tremendous
amount of effort to not only spread awareness, but also to get people to start contributing towards
climate action. But that’s okay, and it’s exactly why I’m standing here presenting this speech
today.
Moving on, what can you do? Is it only turning off your lights and air-conditioner?
Certainly not! There are many things you can do to contribute towards Climate Action in your
daily life, as per mentioned previously.
These solutions can be classified as Local Scale Solutions, as you’re acting on a personal
scale, and doing small, but impactful actions. Such as reducing energy consumption, reducing
use of transportations by means of vehicles and/or embracing sustainable forms of transportation,
planting trees, reducing meat consumption, or even following asystem like ‘reduce, reuse,
recycle’.
Ladies and gentlemen, with all said and done, humanity is facing a big issue. And in the
face of adversity, we must come together, to acknowledge, collaborate, and contribute - towards
Climate Action.

References:
Fossil Fuel Subsidies (imf.org)
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-action/