Koro López de Uralde: "We are the last generation that can do something to save this planet, we are at the limit"

Koro López de Uralde

(Madrid, 1996) grew up in an environment where the environmental message permeated everything.

Daughter of the former director of Greenpeace and today a deputy of United We Can, Juan López de Uralde, she came of age with the idea of ​​being part of activism.

“I have lived surrounded by these messages all my life, but

.”

Hers made her an essential piece in Spain of the

climate movement , led worldwide by Greta Thunberg, against climate change.

Now, more in the background, she still sees the option to reverse the situation.

For not too long.

Have you noticed that the climate movement has grown after a lifetime with him? In 2018 and 2019, after a gradual rise with very conscientious and left-wing people, it reached the mainstream.

With the great mobilizations, many people felt they had the tools to go out into the streets, although with the pandemic that has evaporated. But terms such as climate change or the energy crisis have entered the public debate, right? It is that the mobilization of the young people gave them a lot of visibility, the scientific data is incontestable and we are noticing the signs.

Even the most skeptical see it with summers like this.

Added to this is that the big companies have seen an opportunity to make it profitable and it is important because they are increasingly looking for more sustainable businesses so as not to lose financing. Is there not a point of contradiction in that? Of course,

we are in a system that does not work at any level, we have to change the way we produce, consume and throw away.

If companies integrate it as a priority, there is no problem.

The problem is that they see it as an opportunity to continue generating money the same as now. Has the movement stopped being linked to the left and is it going transversal? This is not a matter of political parties or ideologies, it is a matter of respect to the environment and to life.

The way to solve it is a political issue: impose taxes or not, force companies to enter or not... But most people have realized that there is a problem.

It is true that my circle is biased, but I see much more awareness. In other countries it is not so ideologized? In countries like Germany it is neither right nor left.

The issue is that in Spain it has become especially politicized.

Many people are aware of this, but if the data scares you, it is easy to take refuge in denialism if there are populist politicians who champion it. And why does it happen in Spain? Because in Spain we come from a very strong division and we have a special facility for associate ideas to one side or the other, there is very little center.

Everything in Spain is associated with the right or the left: the Church, bullfighting, environmentalism, feminism, public services... We polarize any debate. Are we missing a great green party? EQUO but did not get deputies because other parameters are the ones that direct the vote.

In other places, sustainability is prioritized and in Spain it is not decisive.

Can the fact that it affects our daily life drive this change? Probably yes because it is already undeniable, a heat wave that has lasted almost two months is no longer a heat wave and I think there is no one who has not account that this is exceptional Well there are still negationist speeches. That amazes me, it's like listening to a flat earther or anti-evolutionist.

What kind of bubble do they live in? Is it linked to economic privilege? It may be because if one thing doesn't bother you, you don't realize it.

And if you can afford air conditioning, you won't be affected as much by a heat wave.

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

a heat wave that has lasted almost two months ceases to be a heat wave and I think there is no one who has not realized that this is exceptional, because there are still denialist speeches. anti-evolutionist.

What kind of bubble do they live in? Is it linked to economic privilege? It may be because if one thing doesn't bother you, you don't realize it.

And if you can afford air conditioning, you won't be affected as much by a heat wave.

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

a heat wave that has lasted almost two months ceases to be a heat wave and I think there is no one who has not realized that this is exceptional, because there are still denialist speeches. anti-evolutionist.

What kind of bubble do they live in? Is it linked to economic privilege? It may be because if one thing doesn't bother you, you don't realize it.

And if you can afford air conditioning, you won't be affected as much by a heat wave.

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

That amazes me, it's like listening to a flat earther or anti-evolutionist.

What kind of bubble do they live in? Is it linked to economic privilege? It may be because if one thing doesn't bother you, you don't realize it.

And if you can afford air conditioning, you won't be affected as much by a heat wave.

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

That amazes me, it's like listening to a flat earther or anti-evolutionist.

What kind of bubble do they live in? Is it linked to economic privilege? It may be because if one thing doesn't bother you, you don't realize it.

And if you can afford air conditioning, you won't be affected as much by a heat wave.

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

But in towns outside of Madrid I don't think it's a matter of privilege and there is very little environmental awareness.

There is a lot of love for the mountains and nature but when we talk about environmentalism it sounds Chinese

That could be a matter of feeling excluded by Madrid's centralism. I've talked to a friend who doesn't live in Madrid and he told me that in his town you tell someone to pay one more euro for a sustainable coffee and they won't pay five cents more How do you change that? I think the alarming levels are not being transmitted, as the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Experts warns us, which is a neutral scale.

The climate emergency should be on the news like Covid was

Neither in the media nor in Congress is the global picture contemplated, nor are the causes and consequences of this transmitted. Have feminism and the climate struggle established themselves as the two great social movements of this generation? I am an ecofeminist because everything comes from the same root: a patriarchal system that takes advantage of women, animals and the planet with terrible consequences for everyone.

It is normal that such large and transversal movements have emerged, feminism and environmentalism defend equality.

When you go with such clear messages, it is natural that many people unite and great changes take place. According to the institutions, we are on the verge of a major energy crisis. We are going to see that more in winter, although luckily ours is not so hard .

There is a widespread problem of not thinking about where things come from and we can extrapolate this to energy, food, clothing... With the lack of resources we consider that they are scarce and change our idea. Do we lack public debate? ?Very much, it is not worth that there are three deputies who do it, they are not considered matters of State.

They become relevant when they affect privilege, when measures are taken that could annoy the citizen. Is it possible to undertake a change in the short term? Yes, and it should not affect comfort so much, this is a country with ease to obtain renewable energies, which I am not saying that they are going to replace fossil fuels in the short term, and that it can change consumption patterns.

We can evolve in the short term to a more responsible consumption,

the problem is that we are at the limit and we are the last generation that can do something to save this planet.

You have to put pressure on companies and governments, discuss denialist statements even at the bar table.

Now it is not worth looking for those responsible, only solutions because in 10 years we will not be able to. There will be those who say that yours is an alarmist speech. The situation is alarming. The Earth is a rock that has existed for 4 billion years and will not disappear. but life does.

We are seeing the sixth mass extinction of species, we are extinguishing life on the planet by destroying ecosystems. Now we have seen organizations such as the UN or the European Union enter the debate At first I thought that the UN sustainable development goals were a farce , but they have managed to be a success.

Something has to be done with energy because it is scandalous, in Europe we have an oligopoly that generates shameful profits. Has this become more of a social movement than a political one? But it shouldn't, the institutions should protect the population as was done with the Covid, where they took responsibility, without defending the entire management.

And in this case nobody does it because the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement were signed but they are not even binding. It is always criticized that young people are little involved in politics, is that true with this generation? It is a generation with a lot I reject the term politics, it sounds like dandruff, corruption... but we get very involved in social movements: animalism, feminism, environmentalism... In the end you realize that the solutions lie in social movements, not in politics.

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