{"id":5958,"date":"2020-06-27T22:44:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T06:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/?p=5958"},"modified":"2020-06-30T00:23:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T08:23:50","slug":"lets-talk-about-climate-change-11-year-old-lance-lau-commits-to-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/blog\/5958\/lets-talk-about-climate-change-11-year-old-lance-lau-commits-to-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s talk about climate change: 11-year-old Lance Lau commits to Climate Action!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the first Friday since primary school reopened after 4 months of COVID-19 closure, a Hong Kong teenager Lance Lau was back in his weekly climate action at school in the morning. Inspired by the Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who initiated #FridaysForFuture movement in 2018, the 11-year-old Lance has entered the 40th week of climate action at school in June 2020.<\/p>\n\n

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Lance Lau, 11, with a banner he made himself, told us that everyone can act to help to ease climate change. \u00a9 Patrick Cho \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Stepping out from classroom, and comfort zone<\/h2>\n\n

On March 15th<\/sup> 2019, Hong Kong students joined the global movement of #FridayForFuture, marched to government headquarters from Charter Garden, and submitted a climate manifesto to the officials. Greenpeace was there and supported the event<\/a> with solidarity. <\/p>\n\n

Inspired by the global movement, Lance decided to jump on do something himself. \u201cThe first time I took action,\u201d Lance said, \u201cI just DIY a simple banner out of cardboard and paper, write down \u2018Climate Change\u2019, then step out from the classroom and start walking around in school.\u201d And what happened next? \u201cBeing stopped by a teacher soon after!\u201d He chuckled.<\/p>\n\n

Lance is determined to act for climate, he decided to go around concerns of disrupting activities in schools and started his own #FridayForFuture September last year. He arrives school 1 hour earlier every Friday since then and grasps the chance to directly communicate to students and parents while they are coming to school.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPeople think I am crazy in the first place, but after a few weeks, they know I am serious. They start to pay attention to what I am talking about. I am delighted that my friends are joining me too. I would say I have \u2018influenced\u2019 them to act for the climate.\u201d Lance further shared with Greenpeace that even teachers and headmaster of his school are very supportive of his action.<\/p>\n\n

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Lance and schoolmates influenced by him in his 39th school climate action on Jun 12th 2020.\u00a9 Patrick Cho \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

From sharing to taking action <\/h2>\n\n

The issue of Climate Change is complex and broad. How to articulate it while making it relevant and interesting to the public? Lance has his tactic: timely. Every Friday, Lance brings out current news around the world to demonstrate how climate change is now a climate crisis, say talking about Australia forest fires back in last winter, and shift to the impact of extreme weather or heatwave now as the weather is getting hot. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cPeople think COVID-19 is disastrous, but to me, it will fade away one day. It is not irreversible like Climate Change. If an iceberg melted, sea level went up, you cannot \u2018undo\u2019 it. There is no going back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

While Lance is persistently spreading the message of climate emergency week after week, a new objective emerged naturally in his mind. He wants to take real action in his community, Tung Chung. Therefore, he starts writing \u2018Green Letter\u2019 to the management office of housing estates and the district council, to advocate for more green facilities such as solar panels, food waste composting facilities, better bicycle track, etc. Lance also determined to push corporations, restaurants to cut down single-use plastic.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNow I am just on my own, and my opinion may be perceived as a minority. That is why I am launching a petition too. I need to demonstrate that it is the demand of the majority,\u201d Lance said. <\/p>\n\n

Lance is proactively looking for chances to engage the public, he will now go to the nearby shopping mall once to twice a week with his mom, not for shopping, but to speak to people in the community hoping to build up a bigger power base for change. <\/p>\n\n

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 Lance explained to residents in Tung Chung about climate change and what could help to ease the climate emergency. \u00a9 Patrick Cho \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Although a positive correlation between \u201ctaking action\u201d and \u201ccampaign success\u201d is not always guaranteed, Lance determined that it is the right way to go. \u201cI do believe that if we are persistent enough, we keep on pushing and pushing, we can see the impact in the end!\u201d Lance said.<\/p>\n\n

Joining force with Greenpeace <\/h2>\n\n

Lance strongly believes that every single action matters, and this is what drives his climate action. \u201cIf everyone is willing to take his banner and stand up for the climate in his school or company, it will be impactful. You just need to do it for 10 minutes a day, or an hour or so per week. That is how I start, and people are listening to me. I do believe that if we act together, either online or offline, we will be influencing more people to act with us.”<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace is also keen on collaborating with activists to set a public agenda of climate emergency in the community and the district council. Going forward, Lance and Greenpeace will be \u201cclimate action partners\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI observed that foreigners in Hong Kong are more active in taking action to save the climate than the locals. Take Climate Protest 2019 as an example, I just saw a few local faces among a thousand of protesters. On the other hand, the contents of the international climate movement are mostly in English too. I wish to create more Chinese content and raise awareness of the locals,\u201d Lance said. <\/p>\n\n

Lance has signed the \u2018Climate Declaration\u2019 with Greenpeace on June 19th<\/sup>, together with district councillors Lee Ka-ho (Islands District), Cheung Kwok-cheong (Eastern District), and Debby Chan Ka-lam (Sai Kung), they pledged to joint force for further climate action. Please stay tuned for more \u2018Lance X Greenpeace events\u2019 on our official platforms!<\/p>\n\n

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Lance signed a climate manifesto with Greenpeace on Jun 19th 2020 and district councillors came and supported our climate action. From left to right, Frances Yeung, Greenpeace senior campaigner, and district councillors Lee Ka-ho, Cheung Kwok-cheong, and Debby Chan Ka-lam, and Lance Lau. \u00a9 Fung Pik Yee \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

About \u201cLet\u2019s Talk about Climate Change\u201d series<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Climate change is not only here, but it has also evolved to \u201cClimate Emergency\u201d. As global citizens, we should not ignore the crisis we are in. Yet sometimes if not all, we might feel the issue is too big for us or too far away. We are inviting people in our local community, from all walks of life, to share with us how they connect to and make the effort to deal with climate change. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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