Dear Fabien, you don't know me yet, I am your grandson
I have been writing to you since the year 2083
I am sending you this message so that your time reacts
The planet is in bad shape here, you absolutely have to believe me
Jakarta, Lagos, New York have disappeared under the sea
But also Venice, London, and a third of the Netherlands
Timbuktu and northern Mali buried under the desert
And the Niger River no longer has a single drop of water in its arms
Coastal towns battling rising sea levels
We can build dikes, dams, and walls
They don't weigh very much and quickly break into pieces
When cyclones and hurricanes come to finish the job
In several countries in Africa and Southeast Asia
But also in Athens, Cairo, and a few other elected officials
It's often sixty degrees, every summer is a test
Where the rich live under air conditioning and the poor no longer live
Climate change has been so violent
That ecosystems have not had time to adapt
A million species in addition to the famous polar bears
Gone forever, they couldn't resist
Last year, New Delhi was completely evacuated
Asphyxiated as she was under a cloud of pollution
In Beijing and Shanghai, a new law has just been passed
Without an oxygen mask, it is forbidden to leave your house
The soils are so dry that there are no more vines in France
And in several southern countries, agriculture is impossible
When farmers no longer have water, we are beyond emergency
Famine and poverty have become irreversible
Drought and heat have caused millions of deaths
And millions of refugees fleeing their country
Borders are combat zones in northern states
It's war in Europe, America and Asia
Dear grandson, I read your letter with fear
I think I have understood the extent of the crisis
But to tell you the truth, for us in 2023
Everything you're telling me isn't really a surprise
It's been several years, even several decades
That scientists try in vain to alert us
That it's not yet too late, that the fight is not over
But right now we're all at stake for the future of humanity
I still don't understand what the great people of this world do
Every climate conference is a terrible failure
No G20 results in profound measures
They go there in a private jet and sweat the IPCC reports
When will they declare a global climate emergency?
And constrain countries on their CO2 emissions?
When will they make all deforestation illegal?
Invest massively to consume less, consume better
Changes in behavior will necessarily require laws
Politicians will have to come out of their inaction
We won't have to wait until we're in 2083
From today, half measures are no longer an option
My dear grandson, can you ask all your friends
To write to their ancestors, to follow your initiative?
The fight is not lost, the Earth is not dead yet
But victory for the climate can only be collective