What do you think of climate change? (Social experiment video)

A homeless person holds a sign that reads «Homeless due to climate change, I don’t want money, I want climate action».  A quarrelsome passerby jeers at him telling him to go find a job, as there is no climate change, provocking the reactions of other passersby that disagree with him and tell him that climate change is real and that we all experience it.

What is really going on? ActionAid, in the framework of the #ClimateOfChange programme, conducted a social experiment on the topic of climate justice to the end of bringing to the fore the scale of the crisis already present and the future risks if no changes are made. This social experiment evidences the need for climate justice for vulnerable populations that are most hard hit by climate change.

The social experiment was realised with the participation of two professional actors, one playing the homeless person and the other the quarrelsome passerby, while, cameras recorded the reactions of people passing by all along.

But, what do those passersby think of climate change? They all displayed positive reactions, some expressing their approval, some hugging the homeless actor and others asking how they could take climate action: «Good on you, congratulations, tell us how we can help?»

It is interesting that to the actor’s question: «do you believe in all this?», one passerby answered: «it is not a question of believing, don’t you see it happen?» Similarly, a young girl that was passing by asked the homeless actor «what exactly has happened to bring you here?» The answer she received was «What you are now reading is a true senario of the future».

Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical senario, but a reality already affecting the planet at large, creating especially adverse living conditions for the vulnerable communities in the countries of the South that do not have the means or the resources that would allow them to cope with the situation at hand. Climate crisis is here and it is necessary to take action for climate justice today.

The social experiment was realised in the framework of the #ClimateofChange programme that is funded by the European Union.