I have taken part in marches before, but nothing like this!

From the moment my colleagues and I boarded the bus at our WWF Newlands office in Cape Town, dressed in white T-shirts with the slogan, “There is no planet B, let’s fix this one”, and toting our placards with various messages to the leaders, I thought to myself, “today is the day”.

As we gathered ahead of the march behind our Panda banner, spirited singing, dancing and chanting energised the crowd.  

Chants of “Renewable is doable” and “One, two, three, four / Climate crisis is at the door / Five, six, seven, eight / Climate action cannot wait”, “What do we want? Climate action. When do we want it? Now”, rang out. We even invented a new song – “Change, change, climate change” which caught on with the crowd.

In both Cape Town and Johannesburg, WWF staff and volunteers were all shouting with one voice – calling for South Africa to be net carbon neutral by 2050 – an initiative that WWF has been driving with businesses, cities, labour and civil society. 

It was inspiring to see young and old uniting for change.

Children – some as young as seven years old – held up their handwritten posters with messages pleading with leaders to stop messing their future.

If our planet warms to a global average temperature beyond 1.5°C, scientists predict the climate impacts we are already witnessing today will worsen, threatening our future and that of generations to come.

The next generation has spoken; adults need to take action and build a better future for everyone.

Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, our own Ayakha Melithafa and the many youngsters who have followed their lead will continue marching until change takes place.

What are you going to do to take climate action?