Quite suddenly, the politics of climate has changed

Despite the storm clouds there was a thumping turnout at the second climate strike in Sydney today, and the same riot of colour and shouting as last time. The message of the protest, which was the same as it was last time and will be the next, and the time after that, is this: “What do we want? Climate action. When do we want it? Now.” Some among us grown-ups hanging towards the back were feeling a little teary, as the truth of this protest is that we have utterly failed the next generation, and bequeathed them a diabolical mess to fix. Among those grown-ups was Tim Flannery, head of the Climate Council, with his young school-age son. Something has changed in the politics around climate, Flannery agrees, which carries hope even for a scientist who has been researching and writing on the subject for a quarter of a century.

"So to see people out getting angry and
demonstrating is bloody fantastic" - Tim Flannery.

“I’m just so happy to see them out there and doing it,” says Flannery. “The amount of despair that young people feel today with this crisis can be immobilising. So to see people out getting angry and demonstrating is bloody fantastic.”

Read the story from The Monthly Today by Paddy Manning - “Quite suddenly, the politics of climate has changed.”