On 29 November, activists, citizens, students and employees around the world (expected: 11 million) will gather near local landmarks and government buildings demand one thing: urgent action on climate change.
This international, coordinated protest will be the fourth of it's kind — a Global Climate Strike led by the international organisation Fridays for Future (FFF), a non-governmental, student-run organisation whose members take time off from school on Fridays to protest for due attention to climate change and global warming.
The Strike is perfectly timed to coincide with the UN COP25 Summit, to be held in Madrid between 2-13 December 2019. Before climate experts, international delegates and policymakers gather to chart out their progress on the Paris Agreement to limit emissions and further global warming, kids and teens around the world have set out to make some noise in the days leading up to these important meetings. Millions of kids and adults alike are expected to take to streets and put pressure on their local and global leaders to respond to climate change on war footing.
A protester holds up a placard as he demonstrates during a rally held the day before the start of the Paris Climate Change Summit in Madrid, Spain, November 29, 2015. The placard reads: "The thermometer of the life, No more CO2". Reuters
Since the first protests took shape in 2018, the climate strike movement started by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg has grown exponentially. The movement may have also extended beyond Thunberg's influence at this point. Lots of young climate activists have picked up the baton and started local climate revolutions of their own, taking inspiration from Thunberg's raging success.
[Also read: How Greta Thunberg mobilised millions to act on climate emergency in just a year]
What is the objective of the strike?
The series of Global Climate Strikes is a fight to disrupt the status quo, with students, parents, teachers and employees increasingly staging walkouts to signal without any ambiguity that the masses want change.
At the heart is a push for a swift transition away from fossil fuel-dependant economies, a move to sustainable renewable energy sources, and a strong commitment by all nations to adhere to targets set by the Paris Agreement. Three key demands the students have made are:
- No new coal, oil and gas projects.
- 100 percent transition to renewable energy and export by 2030.
- Fund transition and job creation for all fossil fuel workers and communities.
An aerial shot of a large crowd fills the streets outside a government building in New Zealand’s capital Wellington. Image: Twitter/350.org
This Global Strike means business
While regular, weekly Fridays for Future strikes engage students, the Global Climate Strike invites the masses. Organisers hope these strikes will have the largest turnout of any climate strikes thus far, involving labourers, employees, university students, the retired, even major businesses in addition to school students that led previous strikes.
During the Global Strike held in September, a number of companies pledged to participate by closing their stores and displaying signage about the climate emergency and strike instead. Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, and Lush were among some of the better-known brands.
Clothing store Burton shut sales on its website, redirecting its customers to the Global Climate Strike site, based on a Fast Company report. It also turned its stores into spaces for people to gather before and after the march, and offered employees paid time off to participate in the Strike. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft employees also pledged in the thousands to walkout of their jobs to strike — which they did.
Extinction Rebellion environmental activists protest outside Google UK's HQ demanding they stop climate deniers profiting on their platforms on 16 October in London. Image: Getty
The urgency underlying Thunberg’s Strikes for the climate are directed at big businesses and politicians, many of which aren’t just contributing to the problem, but preventing a solution.
When will the Global Climate Strike be held?
The Global Strike will be held on 29 November, the Friday before the UN COP25 begins. The dates and times for individual local strikes vary greatly. A total of 283 strikes have been planned across India, based on FFF's website.
You can find a strike near you on Fridays For Future's official website, or in the map of events below.
Why should you Strike today?
The planet is set to warm by somewhere between 3—4ºC by 2100, with huge ramifications for everyone’s quality of life, particularly in developing countries in the tropics like our India.
One estimate suggests that humans had 12 years to make the changes required before permanent and irreversible changes take place in the environment. At the other extreme, experts have also put the estimate closer to 18 months! With a lot at stake unless drastic measures are taken fast, children are taking a strong stand to fight for their future.
A young protester takes part in a rally against climate change in Mumbai on 24 May 2019. Image: Getty
But here are three out of a dozen great reasons to join the protests, from environment scholar and author Bill McKibben's list in the Guardian:
"Strike because the people who did the least to cause this crisis suffer first and worst – the people losing their farms to desert and watching their islands sink beneath the waves aren’t the ones who burned the coal and gas and oil."
"Strike because coral reefs are so gloriously beautiful and complex – and so vulnerable."
"Strike because sun and wind are now the cheapest way to generate power around the world – if we could match the political power of the fossil fuel industry we could make fast progress."
Public polls are now showing "climate" leading the list of the "most important issues" that need addressing. Maybe the overlords (of the will finally submit to the new order: fixing the climate change fiasco should be the next order of business.
from Firstpost Tech Latest News https://ift.tt/2XYkKfc
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