April 29 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Victoria, B.C. – Youth striking for climate are launching a Meatless Monday Campaign this evening at 5:30pm at a Meatless Monday Potluck at the CRD community room. They are urging residents of the capital region to give up meat one day a week in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Like so many youth across the country, I am deeply concerned about my future, and what will happen if we don’t start to act more urgently on climate change,” said Emma-Jane Burian from Our Earth, Our Future. “I worry about the impact that not meeting our Paris targets will cause. For as we see from scientists, we have only 10 to 11 years to turn this ship around.”

Having a Meatless Monday every week for a year reduces an individual’s carbon footprint by 416 pounds. The youth have calculated that if our whole region (413,406 residents as of 2018) stopped eating meat on Mondays, we’d did reduce our carbon footprint by 171,976,896 pounds. That is equivalent to reducing 78,007 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

“Since most governments aren’t taking climate change seriously, we need to lower the carbon footprint one small step at a time,” said 12-year-old Rebecca Wolf Gage, one of the key leads in the region’s climate strikes.

Although big changes are required from all levels of government, individuals can do so much to help curb climate change. The inspiration for Meatless Mondays comes from helping to empower citizens to join the youth in creating the change they wish to see.

They hope that by showing that there are so many solutions that have great benefits more people will be motivated to take the action that is so desperately needed in our country and the world. They believe Meatless Monday is a great way for us all to make a relatively small change in our lives, that will make big positive ripples in our world.

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Media Contacts
Emma-Jane Burian, Our Earth, Our Future, 778-967-4696
Lisa Helps, Victoria Mayor, 250-661-2708