Strange Season is a play written by Ahti Tolvanen, who attended the UN’s COP25 Climate Summit in Madrid in December 2019. The characters are fictional, but the story is based on what actually happened two years ago in Spain.
My character, Art, is one of those attempting to obstruct Summit proceedings for their own personal gain. Art’s goal is to prevent actions being taken by conference delegates against the coal industry. If he succeeds, he will be richly rewarded by sponsors of a coal mining project on land occupied by First Nations people in a Canadian province. First Nations folks are easy targets, because they don’t have much political power and their protests are frequently ignored.
The play is a good illustration of opposing forces at work in debates about climate change. On the one hand, climate activists paint a grim portrait of what is likely to happen if strong measures are not taken to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Pulling in the other direction are corporations and individuals who stand to gain from business as usual.
Aside from the climate and political issues, a little intrigue is added to the story when it becomes apparent that Art, who is married to a wealthy oil industry investor, has invited Melinda, a former working colleague, to join him in Madrid for a romantic interlude. What if his wife finds out about Art’s little tryst?"
Text: David Rogers
Photo: Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash
Read more about Strange Season