‘No Future, No Children’ Until Governments Address Climate Crisis, Canadian Youth Declare

A group of more than 450 youth, most of them Canadian, are declaring they won’t have children until they see the federal government taking sufficient action on the climate crisis.

Climate Strike Canada launched the campaign Monday, and had received 190 sign-ons by noon Pacific Time, CBC reports. The count had reached 465 by Tuesday evening. The campaign echoes a global #Birthstrike movement that began building momentum earlier this year.

“It’s an expression of fear, but it’s also a plea for action,” Emma-Jane Burian, 17, told CBC’s The Early Edition, adding that she hoped her pledge would prompt political leaders to begin implementing climate solutions. 

“Generations past have not had to think about this,” but “I have the responsibility of doing it because the adults aren’t adulting,” she said. “I, for one, couldn’t watch my children suffer because the government didn’t take any action.”

“I’ve always imagined I would be a mother,” wrote Emma Lim of London, Ontario, on the No Future, No Children site. “There are all of these little things I can see myself doing: singing to my babies, listening to their stories, working through homework, baking, finger painting, going for nature walks, dancing in the kitchen—and it hurts almost like a physical pain when I realize I might never get to do these things. Because even though I want to have children more than almost anything—what kind of a mother would I be if I brought a baby into a world where I couldn’t make sure they were safe?”

“I have always dreamt of having a happy family with a loving wife, but I will not bring in a new generation into a world that is destined for destruction,” said Joshua Kearney, 18, of Whitehorse. “We must make some change before we focus on having children, so today I pledge to not have children until I know they have a world to live on.”