SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

Letter 126

Are the Kids Alright in the Era of Climate Change?

By Isabella Kwai

Greta Thunberg was the keynote speaker at the climate protest in New York last Friday.Damon Winter/The New York Times

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. This week's issue is written by Isabella Kwai, a reporter with the Australia bureau.

The marchers in the climate change strikes gathered in tens of thousands last Friday; first here in this region, then the rest of the world as the earth spun.

It heralded a week of intense scrutiny over climate change as the United Nations hosted its climate action summit and a grim report emerged warning that sea level rise is accelerating, putting low-level coastal cities are a risk.

For Australia, an island continent where over 80 percent of people live with within 50 kilometers of the coast, or around 30 miles, and the country's way of life depends on the ocean, the implications are heavy.

And yet, rather than debate the substance of the risks, we've instead seen an intense back and forth about who is carrying the message. With young people coming to the fore of the climate change movement in recent months, most notably the 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, some have wondered: are the kids alright?

Much has been made by some commentators of the anxiety some children now feel. Adults, they argued, are poisoning children with panic. "I think we've got to caution against raising the anxieties of children in our country," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this week.

But is it really anxiety, or is it something else?

It's worth noting that climate change activism in young people is not new: as a teenager 10 years ago, I remember campaigns and flash mobs aimed at raising awareness. The fact that those protests led to so little change, especially in Australia, suggests that what's bursting forth now is not so much anxiety as frustration and outrage.

The dissonance between slow action by politicians and increasing urgency from scientists has meant that young people are not speaking in the language of anxiety as much as forceful anger.

"You all came to us young people for hope," Ms. Thunberg said, her voice emotional, in an instantly viral speech at the climate action summit. "How dare you? You have stolen my childhood and my dreams with your empty words — and yet I'm one of the lucky ones."

It was a sentiment found also in some of the young protesters here in Australia. "It's unfair that we pretend we own the planet but we won't take actual responsibility for any of the actions we're having that are affecting other things that live here," said Jemima Grimmer, 13 at the climate strike in Sydney last Friday. "I'm angry that I have to be here."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not attend the climate action summit, or the protests he criticized. But in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday, he said Australia was on track to surpass its Kyoto commitment by 2020 and was doing its part to address climate change. Children, he added, had a right to optimism.

But again, we have to ask: Is optimism really the right emotion based on the facts at hand?

The Climate Council said Australia's targets were among the weakest of developed nations and that given greenhouse emissions have risen for the last four years, the government was trailing on the global stage, leaving local and state governments to take up the cause. (Something we'll keep reporting on.)

Mr. Morrison's call for optimism also comes at a time when scientists are expressing even more urgency in their warnings about climate change — and as flooding, drought and bushfires have pushed Australia to the brink of a "penny-dropping moment" about climate change, said Amanda McKenzie, the chairwoman of the Climate Council.

"Perhaps children would take feel more optimistic if he started to take the problem of climate change seriously," Ms. McKenzie added.

Over the last year, she said, concern has deepened: thousands of people have written in to the Climate Council asking "what can I do?" For many, protesting is one of the answers.

"Organizers estimated the turnout to be around four million in thousands of cities and towns worldwide," we wrote in our front-page article about the protests worldwide. "It was the first time that children and young people had demonstrated to demand climate action in so many places and in such numbers around the world."

So what comes next?

Tell us, what emotion (or emotions) are you or your children feeling about climate change? And what if anything are you compelled to do about it?

Write to us at nytaustralia@nytimes.com or join the discussion in our NYT Australia Facebook group.

Tacey Rychter contributed reporting.

Australia and New Zealand

The A.F.L. celebrated on-field violence for decades. Now, retired players are mobilizing and accusing the league of failing to protect them.Alana Holmberg for The New York Times

The Concussion Crisis in Australian Rules Football: It's a brutal game, and retired players are suffering the consequences of hits to the head. But the league is following a familiar playbook, one used by the N.F.L.
Sydney Is for the Birds. The Bigger and Bolder, the Better: It's easy to take Sydney's still-growing population of large and colorful native birds for granted — it's actually highly unusual. "It's quite different in other cities around the world."
In a First for Australia, the Capital Legalizes Recreational Marijuana: The Australian Capital Territory on Wednesday became the first jurisdiction in the country to legalize the recreational possession and cultivation of cannabis.
Facebook Tests Hiding 'Likes' on Social Media Posts: The social network, which has been under fire for extreme content on its site, said it was testing making Likes to posts private in Australia

To Feed a Hot Planet, They're Making More Efficient Plants: Australian scientists are part of a worldwide effort to boost agricultural output to meet the growing global food demand.
Australia's Most Populous State Decriminalizes Abortion: The measure, which was approved in New South Wales after days of debate, overturned a 119-year-old law.
Labradoodle Creator Says the Breed Is His Life's Regret: The Australian dog breeder, who has been credited with sparking a crossbreeding frenzy resulting in cockapoos, shih poos and puggles, said the labradoodle was originally intended as a guide dog, not a fashion accessory
'How Did We Miss Him?': Student Death Prompts Inquiries in New Zealand: The body of a male student was discovered Monday evening at a campus residence in Christchurch, reportedly weeks after his death.

Impeachment Inquiry: What to Read

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump.Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock

Opinion | Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You: What's just and what's wise aren't always the same, columnist Frank Bruni writes.
Live Updates: Trump Impeachment Inquiry: A whistle-blower's complaint accused President Trump of using his office to try to get Ukraine to help him in 2020. The acting intelligence chief told Congress that the controversy is "unprecedented."
What is Impeachment and How Would it Work? The inquiry into President Trump has the potential to reshape his presidency. Here's an impeachment explainer.

Around The Times

"It's hard for me to be as open as I want to be when there are certain things I haven't shared publicly," Jonathan Van Ness said about his new memoir.Isak Tiner for The New York Times

Jonathan Van Ness of 'Queer Eye' Comes Out: The reality-show star says he's living with H.I.V., and speaks about being an addict and a sexual abuse survivor.

Closing My Curtains for Xi Jinping and His Grand Parade: Beijing is banning kites and balloons as it celebrates the 70th birthday of modern China. I, too, would have to go, writes one China correspondent.
The World's Oceans Are in Danger, Major Climate Change Report Warns: Climate change is severely straining the world's oceans, creating profound risks for coastal cities and food supplies, a U.N. report finds.
She Quit Her Job. He Got Night Goggles. They Searched 57 Days for Their Dog: A couple combed a rural Montana community for their Border collie, Katie.

… And Over to You

Last week, our correspondent Jamie Tarabay wrote about how rugby became a touchstone for her while living abroad. Other readers felt the same way:

"I was in Hong Kong watching the Rugby World Cup in 2003 with my son, then 6 years old.

When Jonny Wilkinson kicked that drop goal in extra time to put England ahead, I jumped up, hands on my head, screamed "Oh no!" I crashed back into the sofa, and it smashed to pieces!

We had to get a new sofa.

Luckily the new sofa is much better quality and I'm sitting in it now as I watch Japan beat Russia in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup 2019. My son, now 22, thinks it's All Blacks, England or South Africa. I like Oz …"

— Peter Forsythe