Assembly script for young people – Zero Heroes

Good morning/afternoon everyone.

Recently, our government acknowledged that there is a climate emergency. Burning fossil fuels and deforestation is changing Earth’s climate and leading to more extreme weather. I don’t know about you, but the climate emergency easily slips down my list of priorities when I’ve jobs to do, exams to sit, and holiday plans to make. It doesn’t feel like an emergency at all.But, for the communities CAFOD works with, the emergency is now.

As part of the Catholic Church, CAFOD belongs to one of the largest aid networks in the world, Caritas. CAFOD’s local experts in more than 40 countries work alongside some of the hardest to reach communities, supporting them as they tackle extreme poverty and injustice.

And climate change is one of the greatest injustices affecting these communities.People living in extreme poverty are feeling the worst impacts of climate change – storms, floods and droughts - and they are the least likely to have contributed to it. This just isn’t fair.

They are already losing their homes, their way of life or even their lives.

Climate change is undoing decades of good development work and we need to ensure that people’s lives, homes and jobs are safe for the future.

Themes: Climate change, Net ZeroMaterials Required: Zero Hero assembly PowerPoint and Net Zero explainer videoDesired learner outcomes: to understand how climate change is affecting people and communities around the world to be inspired to act to stop climate change

Time: 10 mins (approx.)Date: Summer term 2019

So, what can we do?

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, we must limit global temperature rises to 1.5°C. To stand the best chance of doing this, we need to make a net zero world.

That means, a world where we remove at least the same amount of carbon emissions from the atmosphere as we are putting into it. In a net zero world, the UK no longer adds to climate change.

<< Watch net zero explainer film (3:04) https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Secondary-and-youth-

resources/Zero-Hero >>Let’s look at two parts of the world where young people are fighting climate change.

First, Peru.

Peru’s capital, Lima, is the second driest city in the world. Part of northern Lima is very polluted, suffering from illegal mining and from people illegally dumping waste. It has very few areas for children to play.

But in this same district is an area called the Lomas de Primavera, also known as “Lima’s green lung”.

It nurtures vegetation and natural life but is under threat from land traffickers who illegally sell the land to people desperate for somewhere to live. Mining companies also try to invade the area, and sometimes threaten community leaders.This is Abigail. She is part of an eco-brigade.

Eco-brigades in several local schools do a range of activities to protect the environment and manage the land.

In Lomas de Primavera, eco-brigades are involved in projects to clear space for a school garden, and to plant trees.

Here Abigail and her friends are giving up their free time to clear stones from the soil, dig holes, put the plants in and give them a special gel to lock in the moisture.

Abigail says, “It’s important to protect the Lomas because they give us our oxygen, they help our wellbeing and help our planet.”

Meanwhile, in Pacific island nations like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, a group of young adults called the Pacific Climate Warriors are helping and encouraging young people to respond to climate change.

They describe the Pacific as being like the canary that used to be carried into coalmines. If the canary fell off its perch, the miners knew that deadly gases were being given off.

As rising sea levels wash away their land and storms damage their homes, these Pacific islanders say that they may be the first to go, but they won’t be the last.

Eventually climate change will affect everyone unless we consume less and overcome our addiction to fossil fuels.Joe says: “This situation is urgent. We must ramp up ambition. We need young people, faith leaders, political leaders, all working together in solidarity. We are all in the canoe; if we start putting holes in the canoe, we all drown.”

By talking to people in power, the Climate Warriors try to protect the environment, in the Pacific and around the world. They say, “The Climate Warriors aren’t drowning, they’re fighting!”

Does anyone recognise this girl? (Greta Thunberg).

Greta is the Swedish 16-year-old who has been speaking up for the climate. After going on strike from her school last year, Greta has spoken to leading politicians around the world. She has spoken to the United Nations, the European Union, our UK political leaders and even to Pope Francis.If one 16-year-old can make that much difference, we can all make a difference!We can choose to walk rather than ask for a lift. We can eat less meat. We can reduce our use of plastic. Wear a jumper instead of turning the heating up. And we can talk to other people…You may not think that small actions matter but recent research shows that since there has been a 5p charge on plastic bags in shops, there are 9 billion fewer plastic bags in circulation and it is estimated that we have halved the amount of plastic bag litter going into our oceans.This year, CAFOD is asking us to join the Zero Hero campaign by creating a zero image to show we’re tackling climate change. We can simply stand together in a zero and take a photo. Or we could find zero shapes around school, take photos and make them into a huge collage, then photograph that.We send our image to our local MP and invite them into school so we can explain why protecting the climate matters to us and how we will help to achieve a Net Zero world. We can also ask our MP to be a Zero Hero by speaking up for the climate in Parliament and by talking to the Prime Minister about climate change. There’s a guide sheet on CAFOD’s website to help plan MP visits.On 26 June, we can even go to London to meet our MP with CAFOD and people from all over the country who are gathering to talk to those in power about climate change. There’s more information on CAFOD’s website. Speaking directly to our MP about the climate emergency can make a real difference.

What we say… and what we do… really does matter!Let’s finish with a prayer. Let us pray…

Thank you.