An appeal to parents of the Climate Summit

Our Kids’ Climate and Parents For Future coordinated 222 climate parent groups in 27 countries and together signed a passionate appeal for delegates to the COP25 conference in Madrid to reflect on love for their own children and act to protect their health and future in the world.

“Our sons and daughters are what we love the most in life. And yet we are leaving them a broken world on the brink of climate chaos and ecological collapse. For us mothers and fathers, to see this is torture.

The disasters associated with climate change that are occurring right now are causing children around the world to lose their lives, health and future. Tropical cyclones in Africa and Asia, floods and landslides in parts of Europe and Brazil, and devastating fires worsened by drought in California and Australia are affecting families and communities in every corner of the world. Greenland’s ice sheet is melting at an unprecedented rate, and the state of climate emergency is rapidly becoming normal.

We write this petition as mothers and fathers to the delegates at the UN climate summit in Madrid, COP25, who will negotiate on our behalf and on behalf of our children.

This summit is a crucial opportunity to jointly demand ambitious climate action in line with the commitment to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5C. With every minute of political inaction, the climate crisis worsens, threatening the lives, health and futures of more children. We have reached the critical moment, when every tonne of carbon emitted brings us closer to the dangerous climate tipping points that could destroy our species in our lifetime, or that of our children.

Industries such as coal, oil and gas, with very powerful vested interests and in the midst of a battle to keep their business model alive, are using their power and influence to obstruct the necessary political action. Current political commitments lead us towards a catastrophic global temperature rise of 3-4°C.

We cannot accept that this is the world we are going to leave to our sons and daughters.

The demand for action by citizens is at its highest and science has never been clearer about what is at stake if we do not adopt the solutions that already exist, stop burning fossil fuels and transform our societies. Millions of children have led the way with school strikes by showing their firm resolve to fight the impending catastrophe and now their parents also stand up to protect them and demand immediate action. Together we will do whatever is necessary to protect them. Addressing the climate crisis is not the responsibility of our children: it is our job as adults and as parents to act to try to give them the future they deserve.

We are at a turning point in the history of our species and you, the delegates to this influential UN climate summit, have the opportunity to choose what happens next. We demand a secure future for our children – for all children – and for future generations. And for that we need them to act.

We hope that the delegates to this summit will show courageous leadership and act together rather than waiting for individual countries to take the lead. If we can all act one by one to open a new way, we will be safer. This summit is a moment of hope that must not be wasted.

Many of the COP 25 delegates are also fathers or mothers, and this is a particular appeal to them, because because of their professional skills, they can become true heroes in the eyes of their sons and daughters.

We only ask you to stop, close your eyes and imagine your children’s faces a few moments before making any decision at the summit. Then visualize the future you want for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Will you do whatever it takes to make this future a reality for the children who will inherit the earth?

We know that they can do it, and we trust that they will know how to do it.

To parent/family groups: please add your organization’s name to this statement and join our global effort.

These are the Parents for the Future (PFF) and Our Kids’ Climate groups that have signed on in support:

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An appeal to parents of the Climate Summit

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