Foreign
Children and teenagers walked out of classes all over the world on Friday to participate in a massive global climate protest.
In Sydney and other large Australian cities, tens of thousands of young people and adults joined the protests to demand no new coal or gas projects and 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
“They say ‘stay in school,’ ‘get good marks,’ but what is the point of that if our future is being ruined,” said 16-year-old Freya Croft in Sydney’s beach suburb of Manly.
In Bangkok, some 200 protesters marched through the city to submit an open letter calling on the Thai government to do more to mitigate climate change.
The Climate Strike Thailand group, which included participants as young as 7, demanded that the government declare a climate emergency.
The same demand was made on Friday by students at two major universities in the Philippines.
In South Africa, several hundred people gathered near the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg to join those around the world calling for more action against climate change.
With the sweltering heat seeming to back their demands, a colourful crowd sang, chanted and held up homemade posters with slogans ranging from “Don’t be a fossil fool” to “Let us now pause for a moment of science.”
Similar peaceful protests were held in Kampala in Uganda and Nairobi in Kenya.
Organisers in Britain said some 200 protests were planned across the nation, including one in central London close to the British parliament.
Climate change activists Extinction Rebellion planned a separate event in London.
Activists were also participating in acts of protest further afield.
Civil society group 350.org post photos of young people “arriving now via boat in Marovo in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands ready for their #climatestrike #MatagiMalohi event today.”
The Solomon Islands is made up of hundreds of tiny islets that are some of the worst affected by rising sea levels and unpredictable seasons. (NAN)
-Sep 20, 2019 @13:02 GMT |
Tags: Huge numbers of young people join unprecedented day of climate action
