I want you to imagine that it’s the year 2028. I also want you to imagine that you have 10 grandchildren and, at the last count, 15 great-grandchildren. Maybe you have.
Anyway, your tribe has a surprise for you. They tell you that you’ve all got to go to the local community centre, where the surprise will be explained. There is great excitement in the air, and off you toddle.
You want to humour them. The souls. When everyone is seated, you notice that there are other young people in the crowded room.
It dawns on you that the room is laid out like a court. How strange.
Your oldest grandchild, Jessie, sits behind a desk. She has a notebook and a pen.
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She also has a gavel which she bangs and says: “I call this court to order.”
You wonder who the accused is, and what the charge will be. You look around the room to see who looks as if they might be a criminal.
Judge Jessie says: “I’m sure you’ll be wondering who is in the dock, and what crime they are accused of. Well, you are in the dock. You are the accused.”
Startled, you look around again, wondering who Jessie is addressing.
Jacob, one of your grandchildren, gets to his feet. He looks very solemn.
“You are all charged with a serious offence,” he says. “You are charged with betraying all the young people in this room.”
You are bewildered. What on earth is he talking about? Is this some kind of a joke?
“This is no joke,” says Jacob. This is for real. You must all agree, I’m sure, that our planet is in a mess. In fact, it’s in a very dangerous state.
“Who is responsible for this terrible state of affairs?”
At this point in the proceedings, a number of young people get to their feet. They are all carrying mirrors. They hold the mirrors up to each member of the audience.
By this time, you are feeling a bit nervous. What is this all about?
“You must admit that you have led pretty comfortable lives for the last while,” says Jessie. “You have allowed this to happen. You could have stopped this deterioration a good few years ago, but you chose to pretend it wasn’t happening.
“In our school project, we have been studying the history of the unfolding mess. We discovered that there have been many reports over many years warning about an impending catastrophe.
“By wilfully ignoring all the signs, you have betrayed a whole generation.”
You look around to see how people are taking this. One man from your street gets onto his feet.
“I think the teachers who are in charge of this school project should be dismissed, he says. “They have been filling your heads with nonsense.”
Jacob rises. He holds some papers in his hands.
“This report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released in October 2018. It says that urgent and unprecedented changes are needed if a catastrophe is to be avoided.
“There had been warnings for years before that. They were ignored by politicians who were focused on keeping their seats at the next election and didn’t want to upset their constituents.
“But why were the politicians not held to account by the public?
“This report, published 10 years ago, spelled out the crisis once more. It warned that there were only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree would significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.”
Jacob quoted one of the leading scientists, Debra Roberts, as saying: “It’s a line in the sand and what it says to our species is that this is the moment and we must act now.
“This is the largest clarion bell from the science community and I hope it mobilises people and dents the mood of complacency.”
You look around again. The man from your street again calls for the teachers in charge of the project to be disciplined.
Another member of the audience says: “We’ve had warnings before and we’ve always managed to muddle through somehow. Maybe these scientists are scaremongering.”
“Remember,” said Jacob, “they laughed at Noah”.
The allusion goes over the heads of most of the audience.
But the atmosphere is solemn, as people prepare to leave. Jessie bangs the gavel and shouts: “Guilty or not guilty? The decision is yours.”
Chastened, you go homeward, to think again. You are troubled. You have been taught by your own tribe. You too have been called to account, and the experience has made you uncomfortable.
In your heart of hearts, you know that if there was ever an example of humankind being unable to bear too much reality, it is the current debate on climate change.
You also know that the world is heating up and that this change has been triggered by human activity – and that the crisis can’t be solved by feelgood gestures such as eating organic foods.
But what to do? That is the question.
