Global climate strike: “Words and empty promises mean nothing to us”

The “Fridays for Future” movement called for protests worldwide this Friday. According to the organizers, actions were planned in more than 1000 cities on all continents. In Sydney, hundreds of students protested outside Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official residence to demand more action on climate change.

It was not until the end of February that there were again unusually heavy floods in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland. The students call for more government action to combat climate change.

At the time of the protest, however, Morrison was not in his office – he was answering questions about climate change at a press conference. In doing so, he explained that Australia has reduced its emissions more than many other economies and that he hopes to help other countries reduce their emissions through the production of green technologies.

Statements that the activist Natasha Abhayawickrama, one of the organizers of the school strike, does not take seriously: “I would say to Scott Morrison that his words and empty promises mean absolutely nothing to the young people of Australia. I would also say that the coming Elections, young people who have just turned 18 will vote for the climate – and all eyes are on our politicians.”

In Stockholm, the students demanded that politicians should work towards the agreements of the Paris climate agreement. Greta Thunberg, who initiated the protests in 2018 with her school strike for the climate, was also present.

In France, where presidential elections are due in April, demonstrators complain that the climate crisis hardly plays a role in the election campaign.

Around 300 protests were planned in Germany. Thousands of mostly young people gathered in the government district of Berlin, many of them with the yellow and blue national flag of Ukraine.

The activists call on political decision-makers to take swift action against global warming and linked their message to the call for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Germany should stop buying fossil fuels from Russia – so the demand. Instead of looking for alternative sources of oil and gas, activists are also calling for more investment in renewable energy.

The one released in February Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report had again urgently warned of an impending climate catastrophe. However, the international community is a long way from the goal agreed in the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

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