If you cast your mind to this time last year, the cause dominating social media was Climate Change and, more specifically, the Youth Climate Movement. It's safe to say we had no idea what 2020 had in store for us. So, with everyone in their houses for months on end and global attention generally being on the pandemic, has Coronavirus helped or hindered the Climate Movement? 

Tori Tsui is an intersectional climate activist and mental health advocate who consistently raises awareness of related issues on her social media. She has a large following especially on Instagram with 26.2k followers. I came to discover Tori at a climate strike in 2019, where she gave a speech to the crowd that had gathered at Trafalgar Square. Since then I have had the honour of being able to virtually ask Tori a few questions about what has happened to the climate movement in Covid times. 

"It’s really hard to gauge," Tori tells me when talking about the question of help vs hinderance, "because on the one hand I feel like the global attention has been on the COVID-19 pandemic but, as a result, digital activism has become the primary form of communication. So many incredible initiatives like Fridays For Future Digital and ReEarth Org have gained traction. I also think that a lot of the issues encompassing the pandemic also heavily relate to the climate crisis." She goes on to explore the other side of this argument, saying: "My biggest concern is how deforestation has been going unchecked, how people are using COVID-19 as biological warfare against indigenous communities and how people are saying that COVID-19 is good for the planet - this is eco-fascism. This is why I believe it’s important for both issues to be talked about." 

"Eco-fascism" is a term that has grown in use especially in recent years. A good way to define this idea of "eco-fascism" is as an ideology which blames climate change on overpopulation and immigration. In this context, the solution would seemingly be to reduce population or target vulnerable groups of people. 

 
 

I then went on to ask Tori how Covid may have affected the movement more logistically. She informed me that "there have been some protests following social distancing protocols, but these come and go depending on the cause and area people are protesting. Other people have been championing online protesting through social media, petitions, panels and digital campaigns which is also very valid and powerful." 

 
 

When asked for any last comment she may want to make, she left me with this message: "The climate crisis hasn’t gone away and more than ever before we have to make sure the message stays strong!" 

So the answer is, Covid has both helped and hindered the climate movement, as it has many other causes. But perhaps this is the wrong question to ask. The real problem is that climate change is still an issue, so the urgent question is what to do about it and how. It is a moral imperative to do something about it, whether virtually, by following inspirational voice, like Tori's, or when we can, once again, gather in person. In the words of Greta Thurnberg: "Change is coming whether you like it, or not".