Students striking for climate justice. Source: Unsplash/CC0, Public domain
Inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Nigerian activist Adenike Oladosu, and other young climate activists, students across the world organized school strikes for climate justice, culminating in worldwide strikes on March 15, 2019.
Young people organized similar strikes in the years after, demanding concrete plans to slash CO₂ emissions. They also called for antiracist climate reparations, which involve the wealthy countries most responsible for the climate crisis providing money and support to the poorer countries most harmed by it.
School students who are deciding not to attend classes and instead take part in demonstrations to demand action to prevent further global warming and climate change. Source: Christian Åslund, Greenpeace
According to Vox, “An estimated 1.4 million young people in 123 countries skipped school Friday to demand stronger climate policies in what may be one of the largest environmental protests in history.”
Nick Young with Greenpeace reported:
[S]chool students took to the streets in 123 countries out of fear for their future, love for our planet, and anger at our leaders’ failure to act. They are asking policy-makers and business leaders: are you as smart as we are? Here are some of the images from around the world. Read more.
Watch news coverage of school strikes for climate justice around the world, via Guardian News below.
Additional resources
Find photos, tweets, and posts about the international strike in Claire Elise Thompson’s Grist article, Breaking: Across the Globe, Students Go on Strike to Demand Climate Action.
See photos of student climate strikes around the world in the Vox collection by Eliza Barclay and Kainaz Amaria, Photos: Kids in 123 Countries Went on Strike to Protect the Climate.
This event is included on the Zinn Education Project’s Climate Crisis Timeline.
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