Today, whilst the adults around the world are spending their time arguing about how to build a wall to keep immigrants out, mine coal, or turn their passports blue, children are taking a stand against the biggest threat facing our planet; climate change.
Kids across Europe have been staging strikes against climate change for months, walking out of school to draw attention to the issue and demand action from politicians. The protest movement has now spread across the world, with walkouts being held in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and today the USA, as well as more than 100 other countries across the globe.
It was all started by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish girl who created the hashtag #FridaysForFuture. She went on to stage a strike outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. By November, the movement had caught on, with many strikes being held across Europe, and just yesterday she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
India, South Korea, France, and the UK will also be involved in the strikes today. Thousands are expected to turn out across the globe, leaving their schools to do so. The protests that took place in Australia saw a lot of children across the nation getting involved, with the organizers saying they saw crowds of more than 20,000 in some cities.
Children across the world, from Tokyo to Glasgow, are all out there spreading the same message: We demand action against climate change.
In the UK, a group of children and teenagers calling themselves (quite delightfully) the Extinction Rebellion are marching on Parliament.
“We are choosing to rise up and take direct action where older generations have failed," they said in an emailed statement (that's right, these kids are so well-organized they're sending out press releases). "We are already facing devastating and irreversible impacts around the world. This is our final chance to fight for our futures, and our ages will not be what stop us.
"Friday will be a moment of history, but it is only the beginning, what’s truly exciting is what comes next!”
With climate change set to irreparably damage the planet unless urgent action is taken, let's hope the adults are listening.
