'Still a glimmer of hope': Portsmouth Youth Climate Strike demands NH action plan

PORTSMOUTH — Lined up to inherit a world experiencing rising temperatures across the globe and elevated aerial carbon dioxide levels, the Seacoast’s young people participated in a worldwide call for climate-minded legislation Friday afternoon. 

There were 1,434 youth-led climate strikes across every continent, save for Antarctica, scheduled for Friday in affiliation with the Fridays for Future, a youth climate strike movement group born from the actions of world-renowned youth climate activist Greta Thunberg, who first led a strike outside of the Swedish Parliament in 2018.

Approximately 50 youth, as well as older activists and climate supporters, formed a ring in front of the North Church wielding signs with evocative messages such as “There’s No Planet B” and “Stop Denying the Earth is Dying,” which earned applauding car honks and support from bystanders. 

In coordination with New Hampshire Youth Movement, 350NH and Rights and Democracy NH, 16-year-old city resident Loreley Godfrey organized Friday’s Portsmouth Youth Climate Strike.

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“The climate crisis has clear solutions,” Godfrey said in her remarks. “It’s a matter of enacting them. We cannot let the adage of ‘too little, too late' represent our state and our response to the climate crisis. And I’m striking because the climate crisis should not be swept under the rug. Facts shouldn’t be political and neither should the climate crisis.”

While every climate strike taking place Friday is seeking worldwide change, Godfrey said each New Hampshire strike, with the others in Concord and Durham, was focused on different aspects of climate progress. Portsmouth’s strike demanded legislative climate action at the state level, specifically asking legislators to form a climate action plan that seeks to build offshore wind energy structures in Portsmouth and secures carbon neutrality in the Granite State by 2050.

A member of the state Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources committee, state Sen. David Watters, a Dover Democrat, spoke to the need for decarbonizing transportation, implementing more renewable energy in the Granite State and addressing income, health and general disparities within the climate crisis.

“I think Greta Thunberg spoke some of the wisest words ever: ‘We want our future back,’” he said.

Coastal communities such as Portsmouth, he added, are fit for offshore wind, a mode of renewable energy that could create jobs and provide clean power in the region.

“We can do offshore wind, it is ready,” said Watters, who chairs the state’s Commission to Study Offshore Wind and Port Development.

More:New Hampshire to study pros and cons of offshore wind energy development

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s report released this month found that in August, the average global land and ocean surface temperature was over 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit- 1.62 degrees above last century’s average and the sixth-warmest August since data collection began 142 years ago.

During the Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day in April, the Biden administration announced its intent to drastically reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 2030 by upwards of 52%.

By 2050, the White House added in a statement, the United States aims to hit net-zero emissions “economy wide.”

“Our elected officials were put in office to take care of our future, but when New Hampshire legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions repeatedly failed, we cannot help but feel abandoned,” Godfrey said. “But for how depressing this may all seem, there is still a glimmer of hope but only if we take climate action. Right now, by being here, we are taking climate action.”

Information: fridaysforfuture.org/september24