The latest in an ongoing series of climate strikes will happen on Friday as protesters in Cranbrook will gather outside of City Hall, meant to bring attention to the issue and show support to others around the globe.
This week’s event is scheduled to take place from 12:15 to 1:00 P.M. and according to organizers, Kevin Marshall, Cranbrook’s Energy Manager will be in attendance to offer information to demonstrators.
The strike is meant to coincide with a United Nations Climate Change Conference in the Spanish capital city of Madrid, from December 2nd to 13th.
“We believe that we are in the midst of an extremely important time for our planet,” said Trev Miller, who was in attendance at the November 29th strike. “There are things that are being done that are causing very serious changes that will directly reflect in the survival rate of future generations.”
Organizers of the event are making their intentions heard that they want action on a local level, and are showing support to other demonstrators around the world.
Demonstrators feel the goals of the climate strikes are something most people can agree on.
“It concerns everybody, it’s across parties,” said Sue Cairns, demonstration organizer. “We share values around having a future and having a livable planet. We all need to come together to have these conversations. Let’s find a way that we can set aside whatever differences there are and work cooperatively.”
Attendees feel that finding common ground is important to move efforts forward.
“At the end of the day, we want the same thing. We want security, we want to know that our families are safe and they will continue to be safe,” Miller said. “A large part of how we’re approaching this is structuring the conversation around the commonalities that we all have.”
According to the City of Cranbrook, it has signed onto a charter with 182 local governments to work towards cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Cranbrook receives funding from the province to help pay for carbon-neutral corporate operations, reporting and measuring GHG emissions, and creating an energy-efficient community. Cairns feels, however, that more action could be taken on the local level.
“They are definitely doing their part, but we’d like to get actively involved in that conversation and see what we can do to support those changes,” Cairns said to MyEastKootenayNow.com. “A big part of it is awareness, too, and having people be supportive of those changes.”
An important measure for local demonstraters is finding a shared ground to move forward with the needs of industry and the public while maintaining sustainability.
“It’s a tough situation, and we have real challenges around transportation because we are in a low-density area that’s quite spread out. There’s a lot of challenges, and we have a resource-based economy that needs to find a to move forward in low carbon energy,” explained Cairns. “There are some big changes and we need to put out heads together on solutions.”
Cranbrook’s December 6th demonstration is one of 2,308 climate protests happening around the world, according to FridaysForFuture.org.