Berlin - Tens of thousands of pupils - from Australia and New
Zealand to Europe and beyond - skipped school Friday in a second wave
of global school strikes demanding action on climate change.
In Melbourne, thousands of school children and adults took over the
streets to pressure the Australian government to take strong action,
including the declaration of a climate emergency. It was led by the
local branch of Extinction Rebellion, a British direct action group.
The protest disrupted public transport as demonstrators marched
through the city and staged a "die-in" to draw attention to the
Earth's sixth mass extinction.
In Australia's capital Canberra about two dozen students and adults
protested at Northbourne Avenue in the city for several hours.
Eleanor Houghton, 12, said her parents supported her skipping school
for the climate protest "as long as I don't miss too many classes."
"We want the government to stop approving coal mines and fossil fuels
and invest in renewable energy. We are all very worried about the
future," she said, holding a placard that read "Stop Adani."
The controversial multi-billion-dollar Adani coal mine was one of the
most divisive topics during last week's federal election, which saw
climate action-supporting Labor suffer a bruising defeat.
In New Zealand's capital Wellington, youngsters led a noisy march to
parliament, where they urged politicians to do more to secure their
future. Protests were held in 20 other locations.
The worldwide protests were inspired by Swedish teen environmentalist
Greta Thunberg.
She has staged a weekly protest outside parliament in Stockholm since
August 2018 that has inspired students around the world to hold
demonstrations calling for climate action under the Fridays For
Future slogan.
In Stockholm, Thunberg thanked thousands of youths for skipping
school to take part in Friday's climate strike.
"Right now, hundreds of thousands of children are on strike all over
the world. It's really incredible," she said, amid chants of "Greta,
Greta."
"We are in the midst of an existential crisis, and time is running
out," Thunberg said, citing the need to slash carbon dioxide
emissions.
Stockholm participants chanted slogans like "Keep it in the ground,"
referring to coal and oil, and "The oceans are rising, and so are
we."
They cheered when organizers announced that Bermuda, Jordan and
Sierra Leone were among new additions to the global protests.
Fridays for Future organizers listed activities in over 1,700 cities
and towns in more than 120 countries.
The protests are taking place amid elections to the European
Parliament that began on Thursday and will end on Sunday, when
Germany and many other European Union countries vote.
Thunberg, who is not eligible to vote in the European elections, as
she is 16, and other speakers urged young Europeans to make use of
their ballot.
In Germany, protests were staged in over 200 towns and cities.
Luisa Neubauer, a symbol for the German climate movement, said in
Berlin that it was necessary to consider the climate when voting.
"We need an EU Parliament that rolls up its sleeves in the face of
humanity's biggest crisis and does not close its eyes," she said.
In Italy, thousands of youths attended protests in cities including
Rome, Milan and and Turin. In Turin, a placard showed US President
Donald Trump standing in water up to his chest.
Fridays for Future is calling for political leaders to adhere to the
targets of the 2016 Paris Agreement that limit global warming to 1.5
Celsius degrees by adopting the necessary measures.
In Istanbul, around 80 children and young people attended a rally in
Macka Park. Participants carried banners that read "There is no
Planet B."
The series of demonstrations in Turkey's largest city was started in
March by 12-year-old Atlas Sarrafoglu. "When I listened to Greta
Thunberg last year, I started to worry about our future," she told
dpa.
Thousands of youths also took to the streets in Paris. Some carried
placards with the text "I am climate" (Je suis Climat). Rallies were
also held in Strasburg, Montpelllier, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
In London, students assembled in Parliament Square and called for
reforms of the school curriculum to include more material on climate
change under the slogan "Teach the Future."