This Friday, hundreds of thousands of students in more than 90 countries will skip school to participate in the massive worldwide “School Strike 4 Climate.”
Since January of this year, elementary, middle, and high school students have gathered to plan the massive global protests to demand politicians and policymakers take action to combat climate change. Many of these students were previously involved in the #FridaysforFuture protests last year, led by Swedish youth Greta Thunberg. Thunberg became well known last year when she solely sat outside the Swedish parliament building last August in an effort to pressure policymakers on making better choices to fight climate change.
According to the Guardian, “the global climate strike this Friday is gearing up to be one of the biggest environmental protests the world has ever seen.” In addition to the thousands of youth involved in the movement, environmentalists groups such as 350.org, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity, have partnered with students to offer their support.
"#Dearadults, please #useyourpower". Support 100,000s of school children & students going out on #climatestrike this Friday 15 March #FridaysforFuture.
Here's 5 ways you can support: https://t.co/jPbe6cRuGk pic.twitter.com/eUep2svehM
— 350 dot org (@350) March 11, 2019
This morning 1209 places in 92 countries… 8 countries left to make 100 by Friday! https://t.co/EFTn7eCfm6
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) March 12, 2019
In a mission statement, Youth Climate Strike, the group organizing events in the U.S., declares:
We, the youth of America, are striking because decades of inaction has left us with just 11 years to change the trajectory of the worst effects of climate change, according to the Oct 2018 UN IPCC Report. We are striking because our world leaders have yet to acknowledge, prioritize, or properly address our climate crisis. We are striking because marginalized communities across our nation —especially communities of color, disabled communities, and low- income communities— are already disproportionately impacted by climate change. We are striking because if the social order is disrupted by our refusal to attend school, then the system is forced to face the climate crisis and enact change. With our futures at stake, we call for radical legislative action to combat climate change and its countless detrimental effects on the American people. We are striking for the Green New Deal, for a fair and just transition to a 100% renewable economy, and for ending the creation of additional fossil fuel infrastructure. Additionally, we believe the climate crisis should be declared a national emergency because we are running out of time.
The protests come on the heels of the call for a Green New Deal, also proposed by youth activists, which demands radical policy initiatives be put in place in order to curb human’s involvement in climate change. The Green New Deal urges policymakers to make changes now, citing experts warning the “we have 11 years to avoid catastrophic climate change.”
For more information on how to get involved in this Friday’s actions visit FridaysForFuture.org. To find a protest near you click here (international) or here (U.S.). You can also register your own protest here.
Want to spread the word? Head over to social media with the hashtags #FridaysForFuture, #ClimateStrike, and #SchoolStrike4Climate.
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