As the leader of the Toronto, Ont. chapter of Fridays for Future, the organization started by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg in 2018, which coordinates strikes to demand action from world leaders, Alienor Rougeot will be heading the climate strike in Toronto on Friday, and will be leading Canada鈥檚 mass 鈥渢each in.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e learning facilitation techniques on how to talk to adults about the climate crisis,鈥� Rougeot said on CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Friday. 鈥淏ecause clearly they haven鈥檛 been listening.鈥�
Rougeot says she has been a climate activist since she was ten years-old, after she learned that certain animal species were going extinct 鈥� her path then led to an interest in human rights and finally climate justice. Now in her twenties, she studies economics and public policy at the University of Toronto and says the 鈥�,鈥� is too important to ignore.
In her quest to address climate change and demand environmental policies from the Canadian government, Rougeot says that the federal election candidates are 鈥渁bsolutely not鈥� focused on climate change enough.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about climate change as if it was one of a thousand other issues, as if we could keep saying 鈥榯here鈥檚 environment on one side and then families, health and jobs on the other,鈥欌�� Rougeot said. 鈥淲e have to recognize that we鈥檙e going straight into a wall, and that families鈥� jobs and health are a climate issue now.鈥�
Rougeot鈥檚 vision for Canada is an 鈥渆nergy transition鈥� where the country 鈥渟top[s] subsidizing fossil fuels,鈥� and begins investing in 鈥渃lean energy.鈥�
Her vision includes 鈥減eople that are working in the high carbon economy, helping them, giving them the skills they need, the transition they need, the financial compensation 鈥� so that they can be in the our low-carbon economy with us.鈥�
Rougeot says that Canada needs to be 鈥渓eading by example,鈥� in the hopes that other countries, including the main big emissions culprits such as Brazil, China and India, can follow suit.
鈥淚f we model the change, if we show how we鈥檝e transitioned its easier for other people, whether they are grassroots鈥� or other [world] leaders.鈥濃�� she said.
The Toronto youth climate strike will take place at 12:00 p.m. Friday outside of City Hall according to the Fridays for Future .
