Kirsten Hjørnholm Sørensen works as a policy officer for MS ActionAid Denmark – currently with her agenda dominated by climate policy.
Human nature continues to amaze me. Yesterday, in the streets of Copenhagen we celebrated life as we know it and demanded climate justice now. What a party! Sources say 100.000 people took it to the streets of Copenhagen and thousands of others did the same all over the world.
Our red ActionAid block was particularly fun, I think I can safely claim. The ultra-cool climate debt agents danced and rocked totally while leading us all in chant to leaders:
We are watching you
You know what to do
The number has been set
Pay your climate debt
The background of our celebration of life and our political manifestation is a tragic one. Climate change already has devastating effects on the poorest of this world and it will only grow worse. I have seen what that looks like. I have seen death due to hunger and illnesses, I have seen unimaginable human suffering because of oppression and human rights violations, I have seen children maimed and handicapped by wars. But no matter how deep the pain, how great the loss and how bleak the future, the people I have met have always found a little energy to celebrate life, and nourish hope. The energy I spent yesterday was in honor of them. I hope our leaders paid attention.