From the South Pacific to the edge of the Arctic Circle, students mobilized by word of mouth and social media skipped class Friday to protest what they believe are their governmentssa国际传媒� failure to take thorough action against global warming.
The co-ordinated sa国际传媒榮chool strikes,sa国际传媒� were inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who began holding solitary demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament last year.
Since then, the weekly protests have snowballed from a handful of cities to hundreds, fueled by dramatic headlines about the impact of climate change during the studentssa国际传媒� lifetime.
Thunberg, who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, a rally in Stockholm that the world faces an sa国际传媒渆xistential crisis, the biggest crisis humanity ever has faced and still it has been ignored for decades by those that have known about it.
sa国际传媒淎nd you know who you are, you that have ignored this and are most guilty of this,sa国际传媒� she said, as protesters cheered her name.
Fridaysa国际传媒檚 rallies were one of the biggest international actions yet. Protests were underway or planned in cities in more than 100 countries, including Hong Kong; New Delhi; Wellington, New Zealand; and Oulu, Finland.
In Berlin, police said as many as 20,000 protesters, most of them young students, gathered in a downtown square, waving signs with slogans such as sa国际传媒淢arch now or swim latersa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淐limate Protection Report Card: F,sa国际传媒� before marching through the capitalsa国际传媒檚 government quarter with a stop in front of Chancellor Angela Merkelsa国际传媒檚 office.
In Poland, thousands marched in rainy Warsaw and other cities to demand a ban on the burning of coal, which is a major source of carbon dioxide. Some wore face masks as they carried banners that read sa国际传媒淭odaysa国际传媒檚 Air Smells Like the Planetsa国际传媒檚 Last Dayssa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淢ake Love Not CO2.sa国际传媒�
In Indiasa国际传媒檚 capital New Delhi, schoolchildren protested inaction on climate change and rising air pollution levels that often far exceeds World Health Organization limits.
sa国际传媒淣ow or Neversa国际传媒� was among signs brandished by enthusiastic teenagers thronging cobblestoned streets around the domed Pantheon building, which rises above the Left Bank in Paris. Several thousand students gathered peacefully around the landmark. Some targeted President Emmanuel Macron, who sees himself as the guarantor of the Paris climate accord but is criticized by activists for being too business friendly and not ambitious enough in his efforts to reduce French emissions.
About 50 students protested in South Africasa国际传媒檚 capital, Pretoria, chanting sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 No Planet B.sa国际传媒� One protester held a sign reading sa国际传媒淵ousa国际传媒檒l Miss The Rains Down in Africa.sa国际传媒� Experts say Africa, with its population of more than 1 billion people, is expected to be hardest hit by global warming even though it contributes least to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause it.
Police in Vienna said about 10,000 students rallied in the Austrian capital, while in neighbouring Switzerland a similar number protested in the western city of Lausanne. Last month, lawmakers in the northern Swiss canton of Basel symbolically declared a sa国际传媒渃limate emergency.sa国际传媒�
In Helsinki, police said about 3,000 students had gathered in front of Finlandsa国际传媒檚 Parliament sporting placards such as: sa国际传媒淒inosaurs thought they had time too!sa国际传媒�
A website used to co-ordinate the rallies listed events in over 2,000 cities.
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Carla Reemtsma, a 20-year-old university student who helped organize the protest in Berlin, said shesa国际传媒檚 part of about 50 WhatsApp groups devoted to discussing climate change.
sa国际传媒淎 lot happens on social media because you can reach a lot of young people very quickly and show them: look theresa国际传媒檚 lot of us,sa国际传媒� she told The Associated Press. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a very low threshold so we reach a huge number of people.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 think thatsa国际传媒檚 how we managed to get so big,sa国际传媒� said Reemtsma.
Many protesters in Berlin took aim at politicians such as the leader of Germanysa国际传媒檚 pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner, for suggesting that complicated issues such as climate change were sa国际传媒渁 matter for professionalssa国际传媒� not students.
Others, including Germanysa国际传媒檚 economy minister, Peter Altmaier, have urged students to stage the protests outside school hours.
By contrast, scientists have backed the protests, with thousands signing petitions in support of the students in Britain, Finland, Germany and the United States.
Volker Quaschning, a professor of engineering at Berlinsa国际传媒檚 University of Applied Sciences, said it was easy for politicians to belittle students.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 why they need our support,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚f we do nothing then parts of this planet could become uninhabitable by the end of the century.sa国际传媒�
Scientists have warned for decades that current levels of greenhouse gas emissions are unsustainable, so far with little effect. In 2015, world leaders agreed in Paris to a goal of keeping the Earthsa国际传媒檚 global temperature rise by the end of the century well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
| Thousands of students demonstrate during a "Climate strike" protest in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, March 15, 2019. Students from several countries worldwide plan to skip class Friday in protest over their governments' failure to act against global warming.(Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP) |
Yet at present, the world is on track for an increase of 4 degrees Celsius, which experts say would have far-reaching consequences for life on the planet.
In Germany, environmental groups and experts have attacked government plans to continue using coal and natural gas for decades to come.
Quaschning, who was one of more than 23,000 German-speaking scientists to sign a letter of support this week, said Germany should aim to fully sa国际传媒渄ecarbonizesa国际传媒� by 2040. This would give less-advanced nations a bit more time to wean themselves off fossil fuels while still meeting the Paris goal globally.
sa国际传媒淭his is going to require radical measures and there isnsa国际传媒檛 the slightest sign of that happening yet,sa国际传媒� said Quaschning.
A poll published Friday by German public broadcaster ZDF found that 67 per cent of respondents backed the studentssa国际传媒� protests during school hours, with 32 per cent opposed. The representative telephone poll conducted between March 12 and 14 involved 1,290 randomly selected voters. The margin of error was about 3 percentage points.
In Stockholm, Greta Thunberg predicted that students wonsa国际传媒檛 let up their protests.
sa国际传媒淭here are a crisis in front of us that we have to live with, that we will have to live with for all our lives, our children, our grandchildren and all future generations,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淲e wonsa国际传媒檛 accept that, we wonsa国际传媒檛 let that happen and thatsa国际传媒檚 why we go on strike. We are on strike because we do want a future, we will carry on.sa国际传媒�
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